ATexasBankruptcyLawyersBlog

Mortgage Wars Part 1--Debtor Wins Rare (But Limited) Victory Under TDCA

08/17/13
The life of an appellate court judge is largely occupied by consideration of criminal appeals and prisoner petitions.    In FY2012, these cases made up 64% of the Fifth Circuit's docket.   (By contrast, bankruptcy appeals made up only 1.7% of cases docketed).    While they are statistically insignificant, the Fifth Circuit is having to devote an increasing amount of its time to cases involving persons unhappy about the foreclosure of their residence.   By my count, the Fifth Circuit has issued two published opi
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Mortgage Wars Part 1--Debtor Wins Rare (But Limited) Victory Under TDCA

08/17/13
The life of an appellate court judge is largely occupied by consideration of criminal appeals and prisoner petitions.    In FY2012, these cases made up 64% of the Fifth Circuit's docket.   (By contrast, bankruptcy appeals made up only 1.7% of cases docketed).    While they are statistically insignificant, the Fifth Circuit is having to devote an increasing amount of its time to cases involving persons unhappy about the foreclosure of their residence.   By my count, the Fifth Circuit has issued three published o
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Secured Claims and the Non-Participating Creditor

08/06/13

It is a much misunderstood truism that  a "secured creditor ‘with a loan secured by a lien on the assets of a debtor who becomes bankrupt before the loan is repaid may ignore the bankruptcy proceeding and look to the lien for satisfaction of the debt.'"     In re Howard, 972 F.2d 639, 641 (5th Cir. 1992).   Of course, the Bankruptcy Code does not say this.    In the case of a chapter 11 proceeding, what the Code does say is that 

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Secured Claims and the Non-Participating Creditor

08/06/13

It is a much misunderstood truism that  a "secured creditor ‘with a loan secured by a lien on the assets of a debtor who becomes bankrupt before the loan is repaid may ignore the bankruptcy proceeding and look to the lien for satisfaction of the debt.'"     In re Howard, 972 F.2d 639, 641 (5th Cir. 1992).   Of course, the Bankruptcy Code does not say this.    In the case of a chapter 11 proceeding, what the Code does say is that 

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On Abstention, Multi-Part Tests and Being Mistaken for David Bowie (Updated)

08/05/13
Who would have thought that abstention could be so interesting? Judge Leif Clark has written an opinion on abstention which jabs at some of the boilerplate language found in motions to abstain and contains a footnote destined to become a Clark-classic. The Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors of Schlotzsky's, Inc. v. Grant Thornton, LLP, Adv. No. 05-5109, 2006 Bankr. LEXIS 2435 (Bankr. W.D. Tex.
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On Abstention, Multi-Part Tests and Being Mistaken for David Bowie (Updated)

08/05/13
Who would have thought that abstention could be so interesting? Judge Leif Clark has written an opinion on abstention which jabs at some of the boilerplate language found in motions to abstain and contains a footnote destined to become a Clark-classic. The Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors of Schlotzsky's, Inc. v. Grant Thornton, LLP, Adv. No. 05-5109, 2006 Bankr. LEXIS 2435 (Bankr. W.D. Tex.
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Meet Judge Davis (Expanded Version)

07/11/13
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).   On April 1, 2013, the Austin bar welcomed its third new judge in six years as Judge Craig Gargotta moved to San Antonio and Judge Tony Davis assumed the bench.   Here is an introduction to the newest jurist to overs
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Meet Judge Davis (Expanded Version)

07/11/13
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).   On April 1, 2013, the Austin bar welcomed its third new judge in six years as Judge Craig Gargotta moved to San Antonio and Judge Tony Davis assumed the bench.   Here is an introduction to the newest jurist to overs
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Supreme Court to Consider Whether Stern Allows Waiver or Consent

07/08/13

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Fifth Circuit Finds That Absolute Priority Rule Applies in Individual Chapter 11 Cases

06/30/13
Joining the Fourth and Tenth Circuits, the Fifth Circuit has ruled that BAPCPA did not implicitly repeal the absolute priority rule in individual chapter 11 cases.    Matter of Lively, No. 12-20277 (5th Cir. 5/29/13), which can be found here.
What Happened
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