ATexasBankruptcyLawyersBlog

Judge Jernigan Debuts Her Second Novel

06/08/22

Judge Stacey C.G. Jernigan is best known for the writing she publishes from her office at 1100 Commerce Street. I was able to locate 270 of her opinions on LEXIS. Some of my favorites are In re Tinsley, 2010 Bankr. LEXIS 4156 (Bankr. N.D. Tex. 20100 about a cowboy trying to keep the ranch he inherited from his father and In re Pearson, 2020 Bankr. LEXIS 972 (Bankr. N.D. Tex. 2020) in which Judge Jernigan cited an article that I wrote. Lee v. Weatherford (In re Weatherford), 2022 Bankr. LEXIS 144 (Bankr. N.D. Tex.

[more]

Fiffth Circuit Restricts Rooker-Feldman Doctrine Allowing Race to the Courthouse

06/05/22

The Fifth Circuit has issued a new decision restricting application of the Rooker-Feldman doctrine and repudiating a prior precedent.  Miller v. Dunn, Case No. 20-11054 (5th Cir. 6/2/22), which can be found here. Under the new rule, which brings the Fifth Circuit in line with other courts, Rooker-Feldman does not apply to a state court decision which is the subject of a pending appeal.

[more]

Judge Michael Parker Addresses the Dead Debtor Problem

06/02/22

 While it is not pleasant to contemplate, sometimes a debtor passes away before his case is completed. This raises the question of whether the case can go to completion and how to complete the financial management class. Judge Michael Parker addressed this issue in one of his first published opinions as a judge. (This is actually his third opinion, but the first one that I had the time to write about).  In re Ibarra, Case No. 19-52413 (Bankr. W.D. Tex.

[more]

Opinion Illustrates Distinction Between Good Practices and Sec. 727 Violation

05/26/22

 No attorney wants to see his name mentioned prominently in an opinion. However, if it has to happen, it's better if its something like this:  "Chance McGhee is an experienced and competent attorney that has practiced consumer bankruptcy law for many years." Adv. No. 21-5036; Wilson v. Silva (In re Silva) (Bankr. W.D. Tex. 5/19/2022).  The opinion can be found here. As the opinion lays out, Mr.

[more]

Alex Jones: The Bankruptcy Prequel

04/23/22

 While Alex Jones has created a lot of controversy through his decision to play three of his entities into voluntary bankruptcy, this was not his first brush with bankruptcy. In 2020, his ex-wife, Kelly R. Jones, initiated an involuntary bankruptcy petition against him. In re Jones, Case No. 20-10118 (Bankr. W. D. Texas). Ms. Jones filed the petition pro se, meaning that she did not have a lawyer. The case was dismissed after the bankruptcy court determined that Ms. Jones was not an unsecured creditor.

[more]

Next Phase of Alex Jones Bankruptcy Gamit Unfolds

04/21/22

When Alex Jones filed bankruptcy for three of his entities holding intellectual property and contract rights, it wasn't immediately clear how these filings would help him resolve his larger legal problems. Now it has unfolded that Mr. Jones is using the bankruptcy filings as a vehicle for removing state court actions against him to federal court.  On April 18, 2022, attorneys for the Debtors removed eight state court lawsuits to U.S. Bankruptcy Court: five in Texas and three in Connecticut. 

[more]

The Alex Jones Bankruptcy Gambit

04/19/22

 In a widely misunderstood move, Alex Jones and his legal team have put three of his entities that own intellectual property assets into SubChapter V of Chapter 11. The move, if successful, will protect the domain name, infowars.com, and will delay entry of judgments against Jones personally. The move involves apparent forum shopping and clever use of SubChapter V. The cases are jointly administered under Case. No. 22-60020 in the Southern District of Texas, Victoria Division.

[more]

Southern District of Texas Conducts Spring Cleaning of Noticing

03/21/22

Every day bankruptcy clerks sent out millions of required notifications to creditors and parties in interest. Creditors can bypass the paper notification by designating an email address for service pursuant to Fed.R.Bankr.P. 9036.

[more]

Fifth Circuit Opinion Illustrates Risks of Class Proofs of Claim

03/14/22
A new opinion from the Fifth Circuit highlights the perils of class proofs of claim, something I recently wrote about here. In West Wilmington Oilfield Claimants v. Nabors Corporate Services, Inc. (Matter of CJ Holding Company), Case No. 21-20394 (5th Cir. 3/10/22), the Fifth Circuit upheld a bankruptcy court decision which denied creditors covered by a putative class claim permission to file late claims.
[more]

Trustee Who Sought Turnover of Contract Receivable Bound by Arbitration Clause

03/10/22

A trustee who sought "turnover" of amounts owed under a construction contract had an arbitration clause in that contract enforced against him. The Bankruptcy Court found that the bankruptcy exception to enforcement of an arbitration clause was narrow and did not apply to a construction dispute. Satija v.  Kella (In re Davila General Contractors, LLC), Adv. No. 21-1047 (Bankr. W.D. Tex. 3/9/22). The order can be found on CM/ECF at Docket #23.

What Happened

[more]