ATexasBankruptcyLawyersBlog

 Recently I wrote about a Fifth Circuit case where a creditor tried to escape the terms of a confirmed plan in a subsequent case. Now the Court has written an opinion about a debtor that tried to do the same thing. Fortunately the result was the same in both cases: res judicata applied. BVS Construction, Inc. v. Prosperity Bank (Matter of BVS Construction, Inc.), Case No. 21-50274 (5th Cir. 11/15/21). You can find the decision here. 

Summary judgment was intended to be a method of disposing of cases where there are not any disputed issues for the court to trial. Sometimes it seems that summary judgment is a way to get rid of cases that the court doesn't want to try. In a new opinion about insurance coverage, the Fifth Circuit has reminded lower courts that no genuine issue of material fact means exactly that. Guzman v. Allstate Assurance Company, Case No;.

Federal court practitioners, particularly those appearing in bankruptcy court, are familiar with the requirements of the lodestar method for proving up attorneys' fees. Under Johnson v. Georgia Highway Express, Inc., 488 F.2d 714 (5th Cir. 1974) and subsequent cases, attorneys were used to producing contemporaneous time sheets in sufficient detail to describe the work performed and the rate charged.

The National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges has put out a statement on Inclusive Language which recommends using the term  "firewall," "screen" or "ethics wall" instead of "Chinese wall" to describe "an information barrier within an organization intended to prevent exchange of information or communication that could lead to conflicts of interest." It stated that the term "Chinese wall" was considered offensive without further elaboration.

 One of the celebratory aspects of the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges is the recognition of judges, attorneys and others receiving awards from various groups. I went to as many programs I could. Congratulations to the following honorees!