A Texas Bankruptcy Lawyer's Blog: Bankruptcy

Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Bankruptcy Blogs

OR PHONE (866) 635-1838 for Bankruptcy Help, (866) 635-6190 for Divorce,
(866) 635-2689 for Personal Injury or (866) 635-9402 for Criminal Defense

Find a Local Lawyer

Bankruptcy (866) 635-1838
Divorce (866) 635-6190
Personal Injury (866) 635-2689
Criminal Defense (866) 635-9402

Bankruptcy

A Texas Bankruptcy Lawyer's Blog

Case updates and commentary of interest to Texas bankruptcy lawyers.
By Stephen Sather

Post Frequency: 4.6/day

Last Entry: May 14, 2013 at 23:58:00

Supreme Court Sets Defalcation Bar at Gross Recklessness under Section 523(a)(4)

Posted on May 14, 2013
In the only bankruptcy case pending before it this term, a unanimous Supreme Court has ruled that the archaic term "defalcation" used in 11 U.S.C. Sec. 523(a)(4) requires knowledge of, or gross recklessness in respect to, the improper nature of the relevant fiduciary behaviorcomplained of...

Wife's Homestead Claim Remains in Limbo With No Answer From Fifth Circuit

Posted on April 18, 2013
The plight of the non-filing spouse who stands to lose an interest in the homestead is a trap that is easy to overlook. Under 11 U.S.C. Sec. 541(a)(2), when one spouse files bankruptcy, all joint management community property enters the bankruptcy estate...

Meet Judge Tony Davis

Posted on April 01, 2013
From 1989 to 2007, Judges Larry Kelly and Frank Monroe occupied the bankruptcy bench in Austin, providing a period of judicial continuity rivaled only by their colleagues in San Antonio (Judges Leif Clark and Ronald King served at the same time from 1988 to 2012)...

A Warning Against Do It Yourself Legal Forms

Posted on March 29, 2013
A debtor avoided losing her home in a recent case illustrating the perils of do it yourself legal forms. Lowe v. Vazquez, No. SA-12-CV-00399-DAE (W.D. Tex. 3/28/13). The Debtor paid $10 to download a living trust form while she was living in Nevada...

To access this complete feed in the blog feed reader login or register for free.

Fifth Circuit Issues Two Decisions Easing Path for Chapter 11 Debtors

Posted on March 19, 2013
Within the span of a few days, Judge Patrick Higginbotham of the Fifth Circuit released two decisions which will ease the way for chapter 11 debtors to confirm their plans. In the first decision, the Court definitively put a stake through the heart of the artificial impairment doctrine, while in the second, the Court held that the Till prime + formula, while not mandatory, was becoming the "default" rule for calculating interest in chapter 11 plans...

Fifth Circuit Affirms Ruling That "The Loan Has Been Paid!!!;" Rejects Stern and Jurisdictional Defenses

Posted on March 14, 2013
The case of a creditor who did not want to acknowledge that its debt had really and truly been paid received little sympathy from the Fifth Circuit which rejected a panoply of defenses and affirmed the Bankruptcy Court ruling that "The Senior Loan Has Been PAID!!!" Fire Eagle, LLC v...

Two Cases Emphasize Distinct Approaches to Trustee Discretion

Posted on March 12, 2013
Trustees, like debtors-in-possession, owe a fiduciary duty to their constituents, but are protected by the business judgment rule. Two recent cases illustrate how a trustee?s discretion can be exercised depending upon which rule is given primacy...

Bloggers Rally to Defense of Defamation Defendant

Posted on February 15, 2013
I have previously written about Crystal Cox, a self-styled investigative blogger, who found herself on the receiving end of a judgment for $2.5 million after she posted caustic comments about a bankruptcy trustee. You can find the prior post here...

The Leif and Times of Judge Clark (Pt. Two)--The Consumer Opinions

Posted on January 09, 2013
Part Two of this post will focus on the consumer decisions of Judge Leif Clark. As a bankruptcy judge, Leif Clark dealt with the full parade of humanity. His opinions reveal a deep understanding of the human face of financial loss as well as the intricacies of the law...

The Leif and Times of Judge Clark (Pt. One)

Posted on January 07, 2013
Twenty-five years ago, the Fifth Circuit appointed a former Lutheran minister who had been licensed a scant seven years to the bankruptcy bench in San Antonio. With the retirement of Judge Leif M. Clark on October 20, 2012, another long-serving Western District judge has moved on to a new stage of life...

Thinking Outside of the Box on Venue

Posted on November 12, 2012
One benefit of attending conferences is that sometimes you get something unexpected. That happened at the Commercial Law League?s New York meeting when the discussion turned to venue. The CLLA has staked out a position in favor of venue reform...

NCBJ 2012: Important Cases, Chapter 15, A Constitutional Tour De Force and the CFPB

Posted on October 29, 2012
I made it to three panels each on Friday and Saturday. I will combine them here for ease of posting. If you read nothing else, read the Supreme Court discussion, including late-breaking news on Stern v. Marshall.The Most Significant Business Bankruptcy Decisions and Developments of 2011-2012This panel discussed four recent cases...

NCBJ: From Stern's Fallout to Arguing Before the Supreme Court

Posted on October 27, 2012
The National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges consistently delivers some of the best continuing legal education in the country for bankruptcy lawyers. Here are some highlights from this year?s conference.I started my day Thursday with the Bernstein-Burkley firm?s Wake Up and Run...

Two Supreme Court Decisions Turn on Statutory Language

Posted on October 25, 2012
In two bankruptcy appeals decided this summer, the Supreme Court faithfully followed congressional intent in one case, while finding that the language used by Congress did not quite do the job in the other. In RadLAX Gateway Hotel, LLC v...

Texas Court Limits Alter Ego Doctrine for Member of Limited Liability Company

Posted on October 23, 2012
Legislatures encourage entrepreneurial risk taking by allowing individuals to form artificial entities to limit their personal exposure for corporate debts. Plaintiffs? lawyers attempt to tear down those walls by piercing the corporate veil...

Fifth Circuit Affirms Stanford Receiver's Fraudulent Transfer Judgment Against Democratic and Republican Committees

Posted on October 23, 2012
In a display of pre-election bipartisanship, the Fifth Circuit affirmed a fraudulent transfer judgment in favor of Stanford International Bank Receiver Ralph Janvey against five Democratic and Republican campaign committees totaling approximately $1.6 million...

Fifth Circuit Declines to Apply Judicial Estoppel to Inconsistent Creditor Claims in Subsequent Case

Posted on October 22, 2012
The Fifth Circuit has added a new decision to its judicial estoppel jurisprudence, holding that a creditor that submitted claims in different amounts in successive cases was not estopped. While it may seem that the court is applying the estoppel doctrine in an uneven manner, penalizing debtors but not creditors, the decision faithfully follows the elements laid out by the court...

Pilgrim's Pride Opinion Allows Enhancements in Bankruptcy, Offers Comprehensive Overview of Bankruptcy Fees

Posted on September 26, 2012
The Fifth Circuit has affirmed a $1 million fee enhancement to a chief restructuring officer who achieved results described as ?rare and exceptional.? Matter of Pilgrim?s Pride Corp., No. 11-10774 (5th Cir. 8/10/12). The opinion can be found here...

Early Termination Provision Does Not Apply to Estate Property

Posted on July 25, 2012
In another twist on the evolving interpretation of BAPCPA, a court in Texas has ruled that failure to extend the automatic stay in a subsequent filing does not affect property of the estate that is not claimed by the debtor as exempt. In re Scott-Hood, No...

Bankruptcy Court Denies Recognition to Non-Debtor Releases Contained in Mexican "Concurso"

Posted on June 29, 2012
In a major decision interpreting chapter 15 of the Bankruptcy Code, Judge Harlin Hale has denied recognition of the provisions of the ?Concurso? order obtained by Vitro, SAB in Mexico which would have released the liability of its non-bankrupt U.S. subsidiaries...

Stern v. Marshall: The Texas Cases

Posted on May 20, 2012
This is a paper that I did for the Austin Bar Association summarizing the Texas cases applying Stern v. Marshall to date. Please note that where the holding is indented, I am directly quoting the opinion. I also used the following key for highlighting certain decisions:*--If you only read a few cases, read these ones...

New Opinion Makes Sense of "Identifiable, Tangible and Material Benefit" Language From Pro-Snax

Posted on May 06, 2012
In Matter of Pro-Snax Distributors, Inc., 157 F.3d 414 (5th Cir. 1998), a panel of the Fifth Circuit made the uncontroversial ruling that a chapter 11 debtor?s attorney could not recover attorney?s fees from the bankruptcy estate after appointment of a trustee...

Death Penalty Sanctions Applied in Case of Double-Dealing Attorneys

Posted on April 24, 2012
In a disturbing 52-page opinion, Judge Stacey Jernigan has administered ?death penalty? sanctions against The Cadle Company based on double-dealing and non-disclosures by Cadle?s long-time attorneys who also represented the trustee. The Cadle Company, LLC v...

Fifth Circuit Tackles Judicial Estoppel Yet Again Resulting in a Split Decision

Posted on April 05, 2012
Failure to schedule causes of action appears to be an endemic problem as shown by the fact that the Fifth Circuit has been asked to apply judicial estoppel to a bankruptcy case once again. However, the latest decision, Love v. Tyson Foods, Inc., No...

Florida Case Provides Textbook Example of How to Handle a Discharge Violation

Posted on April 02, 2012
A case involving an elderly woman and egregious violations of the discharge has generated a bit of buzz in the blogosphere. I first noticed it here on the Huffington Post. I decided to write about this case because I was frustrated with trying to verify the posts and because I think ithe case offers a good example of how to efficiently deal with a discharge violation...

Fifth Circuit Finds Inherited IRAs Exempt

Posted on March 13, 2012
In a case of first impression for the Fifth Circuit or any other court of appeals, the Fifth Circuit has ruled that inherited IRA accounts may be claimed as exempt under 11 U.S.C. Sec. 522(d)(12). Matter of Chilton, No. 11-40377 (5th Cir. 3/12/12), which can be found here...

Circuits Split Over Impact of Stern on Counterclaims

Posted on March 12, 2012
Following last year?s Stern v. Marshall bombshell, cases are slowly trickling up to the Court of Appeals level. After I wrote about a recent Fifth Circuit opinion which held that the jurisdiction of U.S. Magistrate Judges was not invalidated, a commenter pointed out a recent Seventh Circuit decision...

Fifth Circuit Rules That Stern v. Marshall Does Not Invalidate Action By Magistrates

Posted on March 05, 2012
In a ruling that could shed some light (but not very much) on the authority of bankruptcy judges, the Fifth Circuit has ruled that a magistrate's ruling in an insurance coverage dispute did not run afoul of the Supreme Court ruling in Stern v. Marshall, ___ U...

Texas State Court Gets Judicial Estoppel Right

Posted on March 01, 2012
The Dallas Court of Appeals has published a new decision correctly applying the doctrines of judicial estoppel and standing relating to a cause of action omitted from a bankruptcy filing. Norris v. Brookshire Grocery Company, ___. S.W.3d ___ (Tex. App...

Inherited IRA Protected Under Section 522(d)(12)

Posted on February 29, 2012
Joining the majority position, U.S. District Judge Walter Smith has ruled that inherited IRA accounts may be exempted as "retirement funds" under 11 U.S.C. Sec. 522(d)(12). Hill v. Studensky, No. W-11-CA-00214 (W.D. Tex. 2/22/12), which can be found here...

Related Law Bulletins

Texas Governor Takes Surprising Stand In Favor Of Immigrants
Texas Governor Rick Perry, normally an ultra-conservative, surpris...

District Judge Upholds Texas' Moment of Silence Law
In 2003, the Texas legislature amended a "moment of silence" law s...

Irving, Texas Losing Students Due To Immigration Crackdown?
The Dallas Morning News had an interesting story Sunday about the ...

Two New USCIS Training Centers To Open In North Texas
The Dallas Morning News reports today that two regional training c...

Comprehensive Explanation of Irving, Texas Immigration Situation
The Dallas Morning News has a very good series of articles today a...