Sixth Circuit Rejects Claim that Disgorgement of Profits Is Appropriate...
On March 5, 2015, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, sitting en banc in the matter of Rochow v. Life Insurance Company of North America, 2015 WL 925794 (6th Cir. Mar. 5, 2015), reversed...
View ArticleMortgage Claims: Sometimes the Debtor Wins, and Sometimes the Lender Wins
Brandywine Townhouses, Inc. v. Fed. Nat’l Mortgage Ass’n (In re Brandywine Townhouses, Inc.), 518 B.R. 671 (Bankr. N.D. Ga. 2014) – The debtor objected to a secured creditor’s claim on a number of...
View ArticleTronox: The Weed that Choked a Flower – Lessons for Buyers on Remedies
As we noted in Parts 1 and 2 of this series, any buyer of assets from a company in any degree of financial stress should be concerned about the transaction being attacked as a fraudulent transfer....
View ArticleChapter 7 Debtors Cannot Strip Off Junior Liens on Underwater Home Loans,...
Yesterday, the United States Supreme Court ruled that debtors in Chapter 7 bankruptcy cases cannot “strip off,” or completely void, junior mortgages that—based on the value of the property and the...
View ArticleSEC Explains How to Form a Pre-Existing Relationship Using the Internet; New...
The SEC granted no-action relief to Citizen VC, Inc. which appears to state, although subject to facts and circumstances, a pre-existing relation can be formed with a person that first contacts a...
View ArticleNew Case Poses Threat to Mortgage Servicers in Bankruptcies
A new decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit poses a serious threat to mortgage companies that service mortgages of chapter 13 debtors. Mortgage servicers should be aware of the...
View ArticleAntidumping Developments: Adverse Facts Available Update
In our September 2015 edition of the Trade Advisor, we discussed the effect that recent amendments to the antidumping laws would have on the U.S. Department of Commerce’s (“the Department”) ability to...
View ArticleHouse Committee on Financial Services Reports Favorably on the HALOS Act
United States Representative Steve Chabot of Ohio first introduced the Helping Angels Lead Our Startups Act (the “HALOS Act”) on February 9, 2016. Less than a month later, on March 2, 2016 the House...
View ArticleCourt Enforces Forum Selection Clause in ERISA Plan
A federal district court in New York enforced an ERISA retirement plan’s forum selection clause and transferred the case to the District of New Jersey. The plaintiff argued that the forum selection...
View ArticleOne Bite at the Apple: Section 502(e)(1)(B) and the Disallowance of...
Section 502(e)(1)(B) of the Bankruptcy Code allows debtors to seek disallowance of certain types of contingent claims to avoid being twice liable on a single obligation. It has the added benefits of...
View ArticleSpokeo—New Hope for Defending Against ERISA Claims?
Last month, the Supreme Court of the United States issued its decision in Spokeo, Inc. v. Robins, No. 13–1339 (May 16, 2016). Spokeo involved a lawsuit brought under the Fair Credit Reporting Act of...
View ArticleFor ERISA Section 502(c) Penalties — Must Plaintiff Prove “Actual Injury”? A...
These Section 502(c) penalty claims seem to be added to most every ERISA lawsuit... Does a claimant have to prove “actual injury” to win ERISA Section 502(c) penalty claims? MAYBE. Here’s why......By:...
View ArticleRefusal to Pay Claims to Gain Negotiating Leverage Is Abuse of Discretion...
A federal district court found that Cigna Healthcare abused its discretion, and thus was liable under section 502(a)(1)(B) of ERISA, when its primary motivation for refusing to pay a hospital’s claims...
View ArticleFDA Issues Draft Guidance Addressing Communications with Payors
On January 18, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA or the Agency) issued a draft guidance, Drug and Device Manufacturer Communications with Payors, Formulary Committees, and Similar Entities –...
View ArticleIn Brief: Second Circuit Reaffirms Broad Scope of Bankruptcy Code’s...
Section 510(b) of the Bankruptcy Code provides a mechanism designed to preserve the creditor/shareholder risk allocation paradigm by categorically subordinating most types of claims asserted against a...
View ArticleLehman Ruling Sets Stage For Future Subordination Contests
In the case In re Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., 855 F.3d 459 (2d Cir. 2017), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed a district court order subordinating the claims of former Lehman...
View ArticleBest in Law: Which Interest Rate Applies in Bankruptcy? With Low Federal...
While the question of what interest rate applies to a claim in bankruptcy might seem, at first glance, to be straightforward — it is not. Depending on the circumstances, a creditor might be entitled to...
View ArticleERISA § 502(c)(1) Claim for Statutory Penalties is Barred by One-Year Statute...
Deciding an issue of first impression, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit recently held that a plaintiff’s claim under ERISA § 502(c)(1) was barred by Connecticut’s one-year statute of...
View ArticleSixth Circuit Rejects Claim that Disgorgement of Profits Is Appropriate...
On March 5, 2015, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, sitting en banc in the matter of Rochow v. Life Insurance Company of North America, 2015 WL 925794 (6th Cir. Mar. 5, 2015), reversed...
View ArticleMortgage Claims: Sometimes the Debtor Wins, and Sometimes the Lender Wins
Brandywine Townhouses, Inc. v. Fed. Nat’l Mortgage Ass’n (In re Brandywine Townhouses, Inc.), 518 B.R. 671 (Bankr. N.D. Ga. 2014) – The debtor objected to a secured creditor’s claim on a number of...
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