5th Circuit

Fifth Circuit Permits Gatekeeping to Serve the Function of Third-Party Releases

Adhering to the categorial prohibition of nondebtor third-party releases, the Fifth Circuit now allows a workaround to protect principal participants in chapter 11 cases.
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Fifth Circuit Holds that Surety Bonds Are Not Executory Contracts

The Fifth Circuit said in dicta that courts might apply the ‘functional approach’ rather than the Countryman test in deciding whether a triangular contract is executory.
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Bankruptcy Removal Isn’t the Same as General Removal, Fifth Circuit Explains

Fifth Circuit finds ‘related to’ jurisdiction in a lawsuit between two third parties who were neither debtors nor creditors.
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A Judgment for Punitive Damages Might Not Support Nondischargeability Automatically

Jury instructions and a special verdict form can determine whether issue preclusion automatically results in nondischargeability.

FERC Strikes Out a Third Time in the Fifth Circuit on Rejecting Power Contracts

FERC tried the patience of the Fifth Circuit by arguing again that the agency can bar a chapter 11 debtor from rejecting a filed-rate contract.
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The Right to Credit Bid Does Not Preclude Charging a Buyer’s Premium at Auction

When a secured lender credit bids, a buyer’s premium can be a legitimate surcharge against the lender’s collateral, Judge Rodriguez says.

Parties May Not Consent for Magistrate Judge to Decide a Bankruptcy Appeal

Fifth Circuit holds that 28 U.S.C. § 158 requires district judges or BAPs to decide bankruptcy appeals.
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A Deceased Chapter 13 Debtor Can Still Obtain a Discharge, Judge Parker Says

Death is a reason for waiving the requirement for completing a financial management course.

Published Notice Doesn’t Result in Discharge of Some Types of Lease Claims

Status as a ‘known’ or ‘unknown’ creditor misses the point when a lease was either assumed or rode through the chapter 11 case, Judge Jernigan says.

Fifth Circuit Majority Bars Reforming Mortgages in Bankruptcy

In a nonprecedential opinion, the Fifth Circuit suggests that a mortgage that could be reformed in state court cannot be reformed in bankruptcy.
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