ATexasBankruptcyLawyersBlog

Supreme Court Says Structured Dismissals Must Follow Priority Scheme

03/22/17
In a blow to creative lawyering, the Supreme Court ruled today that a structured dismissal which allocates value contrary to the priority scheme of the Bankruptcy Code may not be approved.   Czyzewski v. Jevic Holding Corp., No. 15-649 (U.S. 3/22/17).   You can find the opinion here.

What Happened

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District Court Rules that Proceeds of a Texas Homestead Sold Post-Petition Lose Their Protection After Six Months in a Chapter 7 Case

03/17/17
Overruling a bankruptcy court decision, a District Judge in the Western District of Texas has ruled that proceeds from sale of a homestead can be recovered if not timely reinvested in a Chapter 7 case.   The Court ruled that the Frost decision applied equally in both a Chapter 13 and a Chapter 7 setting.   Lowe v. DeBerry, No. 5:15-cv-1135-RCL (W.D. Tex.
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Non-Filing Spouse Suffers Another Texas Homestead Loss

03/12/17
The Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 ("BAPCPA") capped the amount of a homestead exemption which could be claimed by a debtor that acquired a homestead within 1,215 days prior to bankruptcy.    Currently, the amount of the cap, as set by 11 U.S.C. Sec.
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Litigators Beware! Judge Gorsuch is a Stickler on Procedural Matters (Except When He Isn't)

02/02/17
This continues a series on the bankruptcy opinions of Neil Gorsuch, President Trump's nominee for the Supreme Court seat vacated by the death of Antonin Scalia.   One point which is clear is that Judge Gorsuch strongly believes that rules should be followed and is not sympathetic to arguments that procedural failures may be excused.
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Did Gorsuch Expand Bankruptcy Court Referral Power?

02/01/17
Newly minted Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch sat on the Tenth Circuit for ten years.  During that time, he signed on to eleven opinions regarding bankruptcy, which means that he wrote about bankruptcy around once a year.    None of his opinions are particularly well-known.  (In contrast, fellow finalist Thomas Hardiman authored the opinion in Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors vs. CIT Group/Business Credit, Inc. (In re Jevic Holding Corp.), 787 F.3d 173 (3rd Cir.
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Minnesota Judge Shows Disclosure Statement Wisdom

01/21/17
The case for The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, No. 15-30125 (Bankr. D. Minn.) has been an extremely contentious one.   The Debtor and the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors have different ideas on how to compensate sexual abuse claims and have submitted competing plans.
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Dismissal Ruling Full of Disney Allusions

12/27/16
Judge H. Christopher Mott of the Western District of Texas is known to fill his opinions with references to movies and pop songs.   His latest opinion in Xtreme Power Plan Trust v. Schindler, et al (In re Xtreme Power, Inc.), No. 16-1004 (Bankr. W.D. Tex.
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