News Topic: ATexasBankruptcyLawyersBlog

The Southern District of Texas has proposed several local rules for public comment. One of the interesting proposals is a model plan to be used by individual chapter 11 debtors. You can find the announcement with links to related documents here . ... Read full article

One of the legacies of the Works Progress Administration was the construction of majestic federal courthouses and courtrooms. When you walk into the en banc courtroom of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans or Judge Leif Clark's ... Read full article

Call me crazy, but I believe that trial should be about each side presenting their case within the limits of the Rules of Evidence. I tend to be very skeptical about what I call trial by exclusion, the use of procedural rules to prevent the other guy from ... Read full article

While the paparazzi followed every move of Anna Nicole Smith during her tragically shortened life, those of us of the legal paparazzi now stalk every new development in the case which bears her legal name, Stern v. Marshall . Some commentators have asked ... Read full article

Dealing with mortgage servicers can be frustrating. Sometimes it is difficult or impossible to get a clean chain of title or a good accounting. In a new opinion by Judge Stacey Jernigan, the Court was faced with a request for fees incurred by a chapter 13 ... Read full article

The Fifth Circuit has ruled that, under the facts of the specific case, that bidders could recover their costs without a showing of direct benefit to the estate. Matter of ASARCO LLC , No. 10-40930 (5th Cir. 8/16/11). The specific holding was that ... Read full article

The Fifth Circuit has upheld a Texas bankruptcy court's order recharacterizing the ostensible debt of a non-insider as equity. Matter of Lothian Oil Incorporated , No. 10-50683 (5th Cir. 8/9/11). Unlike other circuits to consider the issue, the Fifth ... Read full article

Attorneys are entrusted with a lot of sensitive information. The attorney-client privilege exists to allow clients to speak candidly with their attorneys. However, when the same attorney represents multiple parties, the privilege may not be so absolute. ... Read full article

In an important ruling, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals sitting en banc ruled that a debtor's nondisclosure would not bar a trustee from pursuing a large judgment for the benefit of creditors. Reed v. City of Arlington , No. 08-11098 (5th Cir. ... Read full article

A decision reviewing attorney's fees in a complex Title VII class action may have repercussions for attorney's fees in bankruptcy cases as well. McClain v. Lufkin Industries, Inc. , No. 10-40036 (5th Cir. 8/8/11). You can find the opinion here. ... Read full article

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In an interesting ruling that has more to do with trust law than bankruptcy, the Fifth Circuit has ruled that a bankruptcy court incorrectly held that a trust was not property of the estate. Roberts v. McConnell , No. 10-50462 (5th Cir. 6/15/11). You can ... Read full article

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Congressman Ruben Hinojosa was one of many representatives who voted for the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005. As a chapter 11 debtor, he will now be tested to see whether must follow the same rules he voted for, as well as ... Read full article

Despite clear cut abuse by a mortgage lender, the Fifth Circuit has found that a bankruptcy court lacked authority to enter a broad remedial injunction requiring Wells Fargo to conduct an extensive audit of claims filed in the Eastern District of ... Read full article

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In law school, students cope with concepts of subject matter jurisdiction, personal jurisdiction and stating a cause of action in civil procedure class. When they move on to bankruptcy class, they must try to make sense of the constitutionality of ... Read full article