Sometimes, a Settlement with No Admission of Liability Can Be Nondischargeable
To avoid automatic nondischargeability, the debtor in the settlement of a fraud suit must deny liability.
Unlike the Eleventh Circuit, Barton Is Alive and Well in the Fifth Circuit
In a case irreconcilable with two recent opinions from the Eleventh Circuit, the Fifth Circuit invokes Barton to bar a lawsuit against a trustee after the bankruptcy case had been closed.
Court:
A UCC Lien on ‘Accounts’ Won’t Attach to a Postpetition Sale of Real Property
Although a UCC lien on ‘accounts’ would attach outside of bankruptcy to proceeds from the sale of real property, Section 552(b) cuts off attachment if the sale occurs after filing
Burford Abstention Can Apply in Bankruptcy Alongside Abstention in 28 U.S.C. § 1334(c)
Interference with state regulators can compel a bankruptcy court to abstain, even if abstention was not required under 28 U.S.C. § 1334(c).
Court:
Judge Gargotta Splits with the Fourth Circuit on Nondischargeability in Subchapter V
The Fourth Circuit had recently held that both individuals and corporations in subchapter V of chapter 11 are barred from discharging debts that are nondischargeable under Section 523(a).
‘Economic Unit Approach’ Best Fixes the Size of a ‘Household,’ Judge Larson Says
The IRS and Census methods for determining the size of a ‘household’ undercount or overcount economic realities, judge says.
Fifth Circuit Interprets Section 363(m) More Broadly than Other Circuits
Anything that is ‘integrally related’ to a sale is moot in the Fifth Circuit, according to a New Orleans district judge.
Judge Grabill Imposes $400,000 in Sanctions for Violation of Confidentiality Order
Subjectively laudable reasons for violating a confidentiality order didn’t absolve the lawyer of sanctions.
Possibly Dicta, the Fifth Circuit Disallows Make-Wholes
Creating a circuit split, the Fifth Circuit holds that the solvent-debtor exception to the allowance of post-petition interest survived adoption of the Bankruptcy Code.
Court:
Another Court Holds that a Debtor Has a Property Interest in Contracts, Not Customers
Once the debtor loses the right to do business, taking customers for no consideration isn’t a fraudulent transfer, Judge Isgur holds.