5th Circuit

Liquidating a Defunct Corporation Qualifies for the SBRA, Judge Lopez Says

Increasingly, courts are allowing defunct corporations to proceed under the SBRA while individual owners of defunct businesses aren’t being treated as small business debtors in chapter 11.

NRA’s Bankruptcy Dismissed as Being Filed for an Improper Purpose

Filing bankruptcy to gain a ‘litigation advantage’ in the N.Y. Attorney General’s dissolution action meant the chapter 11 petition was not filed in good faith and must be dismissed, Judge Harlan Hale rules.

Once Repudiated, a Contract Is No Longer Executory

Courts disagree on whether a repudiated contract remains executory.

Judge Isgur Knocks Down a Special Counsel’s Fees for ‘Unprofessional’ Conduct

Incivility may be acceptable in matrimonial matters, but not when the lawyer represents a debtor.

Filing a Timely Extension Motion Won’t Extend a Deadline Without an Order

Creditors’ lawyers shot themselves in the foot by having the bankruptcy judge moot a motion for an extension of the dischargeability deadline.

Trustees Don’t Need a Pecuniary Interest to Have Standing to Appeal, Fifth Circuit Says

Fee allowances aren’t made with the benefit of hindsight, the Fifth Circuit says.
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Reverse Contingencies Are Permissible in Bankruptcy Cases, Judge Olack Says

Compensation in a bankruptcy case can be based on savings to the estate, not only on cash recoveries by the estate.

Split Grows on Whether a Subchapter V Debtor Must Be ‘Currently’ Engaged in Business

The owner of defunct businesses was held ineligible to be a small business debtor because he was no longer the owner of an operating business. Being a non-owner executive of an operating business didn’t qualify him.

To Invoke Equitable or Statutory Mootness, the Record Must Be Clear that a Sale Closed

Unsubstantiated statements that a sale closed didn’t persuade a district judge in Dallas to invoke equitable or statutory mootness.

Medicaid Fraud Suit in State Court Isn’t Subject to the Automatic Stay

Even though the debtor was no longer in business, a Medicaid fraud suit was not subject to the automatic stay and thus served as a deterrent to others.

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