private rights

Third Circuit Ruling on Constitutional Authority of Bankruptcy Courts Can Provide Guidance for the Looming Wave of COVID-19 Cases

04/07/20

The economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic will leave in its wake a significant increase in commercial chapter 11 filings. Many of these cases will feature extensive litigation involving breach of contract claims, business interruption insurance disputes, and common law causes of action based on novel interpretations of long-standing legal doctrines such as force majeure.

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A Patent Law Dispute Before the Supreme Court This Term Could Have a Major Impact on U.S. Bankruptcy Courts

01/09/18

The Supreme Court recently heard arguments in a patent dispute case, Oil States Energy Services, LLC v. Greene’s Energy Group, LLC.  Although the case has nothing to do with bankruptcy law, its outcome could have a substantial impact on bankruptcy practice and litigation.

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Judge Silverstein’s Opinion in Millennium Lab Holdings Threatens to Bring Clarity and Common Sense to Debate Regarding Constitutional Power of Bankruptcy Courts

11/06/17

In December 2015, U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Laurie Silverstein of the District of Delaware confirmed a plan of reorganization in the Millennium Lab Holdings chapter 11 case that included the non-consensual release of certain claims against various non-debtor third parties.  Earlier this year, ruling on an appeal from that decision, U.S.

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Could Supreme Court Case on Debt Recharacterization Provide a Pathway Out of the Stern v. Marshall Maze?

07/20/17

The Supreme Court recently granted certiorari in PEM Entities LLC v. Levin, in which it will decide whether federal or a state law should apply when a debt claim held by a debtor’s insider is sought to be recharacterized in bankruptcy as a capital contribution and treated as equity.  The case raises important questions about the extent to which the commencement of a proceeding under the U.S.

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