Bankruptcy

Business Bankruptcy And Reorganization In Canada

Posted on March 07, 2008
See Bob Eisenbach's post entitled   North Of The Border: Reorganization Under Canada's Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act describing the the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act, known as the BIA, and the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act, known as the CCAA...

11th Circuit - Mere Failure To Comply With Court Order Insufficient For Denial Of Discharge

Posted on March 07, 2008
The Cradle Company v. Matos (In re Matos), 2008 WL 596744, No. 07-12628 (11th Cir. March 6, 2008).  The creditor sought an order denying the debtors' discharge for failure to comply with a Court Order.  The Bankruptcy Court found that the creditor did not establish the requirements of denial of discharge, and the District Court affirmed...

Assembly Line Foreclosures?

Posted on March 06, 2008
I previously posted about the US Trustee's action against Countrywide for alleged abuses in Chapter 13 cases.  From the Wall Street Journal Law Blog - Does flat-fee pricing foster assembly-line lawyering? That’s what U.S. bankruptcy judge Jeff Bohm suggested in a decision, entered yesterday, in a consumer bankruptcy case involving Countrywide and a Texas homeowner...

Several Related Shopping Centers File Chapter 11 In Northern District

Posted on March 05, 2008
Several related entities, owners of shopping centers, filed Chapter 11 petitions in the Northern District on March 3, 2008.  They include the following - 08-64027-crm 11 Airport North Business Center, LLC Filed: 03/03/2008 Entered: 03/03/2008 08-64031-mgd 11 Griffin Land Development, LLC Filed: 03/03/2008 Entered: 03/03/2008 08-64038-crm 11 Pointe South Shopping Center, LLC Filed: 03/03/2008 Entered: 03/03/2008 08-64053-crm 11 Red Oak Shopping Center, LLC Filed: 03/03/2008 Entered: 03/03/2008 08-64061-crm 11 Tri-County Station Shopping Center, LLC Filed: 03/03/2008 Entered: 03/03/2008 08-64068-crm 11 Virginia Station Shopping Center, LLC Filed: 03/03/2008 Entered: 03/03/2008

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Upon Requests From Clients, Ford & Harrison To Stop Billing For First Year Associates

Posted on March 03, 2008
According to this article in the recent edition of the Atlanta Business Chronicle, Ford & Harrison has decided to stop billing for first year associate work - C. Lash Harrison said his law firm received four letters last year from Fortune 500 companies, stating that they would no longer pay for first-year associates on their cases...

United States Trustee Sues Countrywide For Abusive Practices And Frivolous Pleadings

Posted on February 29, 2008
On February 28, 2008, in an unusual filing, the United States Trustee for the Region that includes Georgia filed a lawsuit against Countrywide for a multitude of alleged offenses in a Chapter 13 case pending in the Northern District. See Walton, United States Trustee v...

Deepening Insolvency Trends

Posted on February 29, 2008
I have written about the waning popularity of deepening insolvency  (and here) as a cause of action.  Bob Eisenbach refers to a new article by his colleagues in the Bankruptcy & Restructuring group at Cooley Godward Kronish LLP, Michael Klein and Ronald Sussman...

Employment Applications In Sharper Image Bankruptcy

Posted on February 29, 2008
Jonathan Hayes at the BankruptcyProf Blog discusses the employment applications in the Sharper Image Chapter 11 case filed recently in Delaware.   The Weil Gotshal firm disclosed that it received a $400,000 retainer of which about $376,000 was used up prepetition...

Pike Nursery Assets Sold At Auction, Subject To Court Approval.

Posted on February 27, 2008
The auction of Pike's assets was held, and based upon this pleading filed today, the results are the following (subject to Court approval) - (a) The Debtor accepted a bid for its "retail" assets by Armstrong Garden Centers, Inc. ("Armstrong") for a sale price of approximately $5,184,000 (the "Armstrong Sale ")...

Emory Bankruptcy Developments Journal Symposium On March 6, 2008

Posted on February 25, 2008
"Emerging Trends in Bankruptcy" is the topic.  Here is the flyer and the agenda - Panel topics will include: • The Rise of Non-Bankruptcy Consumer Actions and Emerging Trends in Consumer Bankrupcy Litigation; • Emerging Trends in Chapter 11 Litigation and Evidentiary Issues in Bankruptcy; and • The Use of Alternative Dispute Resolution in Bankruptcy...

Sharper Image Files Chapter 11 In Delaware

Posted on February 20, 2008
I have never been a Sharper Image shopper, but apparently not as many other people are these days.  The company filed a Chapter 11 petition in Delaware.  Litigation involving Sharper Image's Ionic Breeze air purifiers resulted in ``negative publicity'' and a decrease in total revenue, according to court papers...

District Court for Middle District Holds Surrender Of "910 Vehicle" Constitutes Full Satisfaction Of Claim

Posted on February 16, 2008
Jason Braswell of Morgan & Morgan in Athens, Georgia passed along is case of  In re Carter , Case No. 3:07-CV-50, Ch. 13 Case No. 06-30846 (M.D. Ga.) (click here for .pdf), wherein Judge Land affirmed the Bankruptcy Court's ruling that surrender of "910 vehicles" constitutes full satisfaction of the claim...

Directors Of Corporation Cannot Sue Derivatively If They Are Not Shareholders

Posted on February 14, 2008
In the corporate litigation field, the Delaware Supreme Court has held that directors of Delaware corporations, who are not shareholders of the corporation, cannot assert derivative claims against fellow directors.  While this issue may not arise often, it is important as many corporations are governed by Delaware law, and other states follow Delaware law...

Member/Manager of Georgia Limited Liability Company Not Necessarily A Fiduciary For § 523(a)(4) Purposes.

Posted on February 14, 2008
Tarpon Point, LLC v. Wheelus, Adv. No. 07-3022, 2008 WL 372470 (Bankr. M.D. Ga. Feb 11, 2008) (Walker).  Plaintiffs alleged that the debt owed by Debtors was nondischargeable pursuant to § 523(a)(4), defalcation while acting as a fiduciary.  The issue was whether the Debtors had a fiduciary duty sufficient to invoke this section merely because there were members and managers of a Georgia limited liability company...

Project Lifeline: President Bush And Lenders To Announce Foreclosure Aid Plan

Posted on February 12, 2008
From CNN.com - The plan, called Project Lifeline, will allow overdue homeowners to suspend foreclosures for 30 days while they try to work out more affordable terms with lenders. It's not clear how many homeowners will be covered under the plan, but the proposal is aimed at delinquent homeowners whose mortgages are 90 days or more past due...

Wheeler's, Inc. And 19 Related Building Products Suppliers, File Chapter 11 Petitions In Northern District

Posted on February 12, 2008
(Update: See the Rome News-Tribune reports here and here). In what may be another sign of the state of the building and construction industry, and housing industry as a whole, Twenty related building supply companies filed Chapter 11 petitions in the Rome Division of the Northern District on February 1, 2008...

Cornerstone Ministries Investments, Inc., Lender To Churches And Faith-Based Organizations, Files Chapter 11 Petition

Posted on February 12, 2008
Cornerstone Ministries Investments, Inc. (google finance) filed a Chapter 11 Petition in the Northern District of Georgia on February 10, 2008, Case No. 08-20355.  From the organization's website -- Cornerstone was founded in 1985 to finance church growth and building programs...

Creditors Committee's Counsel's Fees Cut For Failure To Disclose Ties With Client

Posted on February 07, 2008
From Law.com - Nearly $75,000 in legal fees have been blocked by a federal judge who complained that a Long Island, N.Y., law firm was "purposefully vague" in disclosing that its lead attorney in a bankruptcy case was the son-in-law of the executive of one of several unsecured creditors it was representing...

New Chapter 11 Filings Include Several Real Estate And Construction Related Companies

Posted on February 06, 2008
Since today is foreclosure day in Georgia, I took a look at the Bankruptcy Court dockets for new Chapter 11 cases.  An unusually high number have been filed in the Northern District in the last few days, including several that appear to be related to real estate and construction...

North Carolina Supreme Court Holds That Arbitration Clauses In Consumer Loan Agreements Are Unconscionable

Posted on February 05, 2008
The Womble Carlyle Construction Industry Blog reports a landmark decision in North Carolina, in which the N.C. Supreme Court held that arbitration clauses in consumer loan agreements are unconscionable and unenforceable.  The case is Tillman et al v...

Pike Nurseries Seeks Court Approval For Sale of Assets

Posted on February 02, 2008
Pike Nursery Holding, LLC, which filed a Chapter 11 petition in November 2007, fled a motion seeking Court approval to sell assets free and clear of liens, claims and encumbrances, and to establish procedures with respect to the sale. (click here for motion)...

Roark Capital, Owner Of Chapter 11 Debtor Pike Nurseries, Forms $1 Billion Equity Fund

Posted on February 01, 2008
From the Atlanta Business Chronicle, Roark Capital, which owns Chapter 11 Debtor Pike Nursery Holding, LLC., has formed a new equity fund -  Roark Capital Group said it has formed a private equity fund with $1 billion with which it will invest in consumer and business service companies...

Northern District Chief Judge Bihary Comments On Rising Bankruptcy And Foreclosure Rates

Posted on February 01, 2008
Last week's Atlanta Business Chronicle has an article by John Manasso about the rise in bankruptcy filings and foreclosures.  See Bankruptcy Filings Bullet Past Other States (subscription req'd).The Northern District of Georgia is second only to the Eastern District of Michigan (which includes impoverished Detroit)  in the number of Bankruptcy filings -- 31,435 in 2007...

11th Circuit - In Case of First Impression, Bankruptcy Court Order Removing Trustee Is Final Appealable Order

Posted on February 01, 2008
Walden v. Walker (In re Walker), 06-11743 (11th Cir. January 31, 2008) (click here for pdf).  The debtor filed a motion to remove the Chapter 7 Trustee.  The Bankruptcy Court, after hearing evidence, held that the Chapter 7 Trustee lied about her previous relationship with a creditor of the estate and removed her as Trustee in an oral order...

Summary Of Important Delaware Corporate Cases In 2007

Posted on January 30, 2008
Francis Pileggi has written a summary of the key Delaware Chancery Court and Supreme Court cases of 2007.  Obviously, these cases are important to corporate litigation lawyers in other states, including Georgia.  You can access the summary from the Delaware Corporate and Commercial Litigation Blog.

Judge Fuller On Brian Nichols - "Everybody In The World Knows He Did It"

Posted on January 30, 2008
Update Wednesday afternoon at 3:30 pm:  Judge Fuller has stepped down from the Brian Nichols case.This is a relatively rare stray from the topics of bankruptcy and financial matters, but a subject of interest to lawyers in Georgia.  Judge Hilton Fuller, the Judge in the Brian Nichols ("Courthouse Shooter") case, has essentially held up the case indefinitely and caused the state to allocate millions of dollars to his defense...

Georgia Second In Nation In Personal Bankruptcies

Posted on January 29, 2008
The Atlanta Journal has an article discussing the dramatic rise in personal bankruptcy cases in Georgia.  See Georgia No. 2 In Rate of Personal Bankruptcies Last Year, by Carrie Teegartin. Thousands of Georgians facing economic woes have given the state a dubious ranking: the second-highest personal bankruptcy rate in the nation...

Shaquille O'Neal's Means Test: How The Other Half Lives

Posted on January 24, 2008
Taking a short break from the reality of the means test, disposable income and other bankruptcy terms, let's see how the other half .. or Top .0001% .... lives.  Shaquille O'Neal's financial disclosures, made in his divorce proceeding, reflect the following monthly expenses - • $1,500 for cable TV...

Creditors File Involuntary Bankruptcy Petition Against Friedman's Jewelers

Posted on January 24, 2008
An involuntary petition was filed against Friedman's Jewelers on January 22, 2008. The retailer has several stores in Georgia.From TheLedger.com - A group of jewelry sellers owed $9.1 million from Friedman's Inc. are trying to force the company into Chapter 7 bankruptcy - the retailer's second trip to bankruptcy court in just more than three years...

11th Circuit: Income Taxes Nondischargeable Where Debtor Engaged In Affirmative Acts To Evade Or Avoid

Posted on January 22, 2008
 In re Zimmerman, No. 06-15151, 2008 WL 161423 (11th Cir. Jan. 18, 2008).  The background facts are summarized by the Court as follows: Zimmerman filed an adversary proceeding in his 2004 bankruptcy proceeding seeking a determination that his federal income tax liabilities for the years 1977 through 1979 would be dischargeable in the 2004 bankruptcy proceedings...

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