ATexasBankruptcyLawyersBlog

Supreme Court Prepares for Stern v. Marshall Round 3

07/03/14
When the Supreme Court struck down the Bankruptcy Reform Act's grant of authority to bankruptcy judges in 1982, it took it took them 29 years to return to the issue.    This allowed bankruptcy law to develop and mature without constantly fretting about whether the whole system would collapse.   However, since Stern v. Marshall, 131 S.Ct.
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The Trustee's Artistic Metaphor

06/28/14
Recently I attended a CLE seminar in which the learned professor discoursed on the difference between a metaphor and a simile.   A metaphor is a statement which is not literally true but (for example, you never see a wolf actually wearing sheep's clothing) but conveys a truth through comparison.
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Lessons on Fees from the Fifth Circuit's ASARCO Decision

06/21/14
While the Fifth Circuit has yet to definitively address the quirky Pro-Snax opinion, a new decision provides some helpful guidance on recovering attorneys' fees in bankruptcy.    ASARCO, LLC v. Jordan Hyden Womble Culbreth & Holzer, P.C. (Matter of ASARCO, LLC), No. 12-40997 (5th Cir. 4/30/14).    You can read the opinion here

What Happened

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Supreme Court Denies Exemption for Inherited IRAs But Texas Debtors May Still Be Able to Keep Them

06/14/14
Most Americans don’t save enough money for retirement.   However, the Supreme Court recently dealt with the opposite situation—what happens when someone saves more than they need and their heirs receive the money (and then file bankruptcy).
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Fifth Circuit Finds No Clear and Convincing Evidence of Bad Faith and Undoes Bankruptcy Court Sanction Against Cadle Company

05/24/14
The Fifth Circuit has reversed a Bankruptcy Court's decision to impose death penalty sanctions against a creditor where the lower court found that "the very temple of justice has been defiled." The Bankruptcy Court had found that the actions of an attorney who was the Cadle Company's long-time lawyer and was representing the Trustee as special counsel could be imputed to Cadle.
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Remembering Judge Larry Kelly

05/06/14
Several hundred people, including many members of the bankruptcy bar, judges and former judges gathered to remember the life of Larry Kelly at First United Methodist Church on March 22, 2014.  I counted at least ten current or former bankruptcy judges in attendance as well as m
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Longtime Texas Bankruptcy Judge Larry Kelly Passes Away

03/20/14

 

Larry E. Kelly who served as U.S.

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