Category: Supreme Court

Nunc Pro Tunc Anyone?
On February 24, 2020, the United States Supreme Court ruled in a case Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Juan v. Feliciano in connection with removal of a state court matter to Federal court, something that may have a significant effect on bankruptcy practice. The Court stated: "Federal courts may...

What 2017 May Bring for the Restructuring Community
We asked some of our financial advisor colleagues to give us brief readouts on what they felt 2017 has in store for us now that we have gotten beyond the inauguration and into the first weeks of the Trump administration. Their thoughts follow: We have been seeing a lot...

“Wellness” Has Made Us Better
On Thursday I published a blog article entitled Will “Wellness Make Us Better?, in which I posed the question of whether or not the U.S. Supreme Court would finally rule on whether or not bankruptcy courts can, in Stern type cases, enter a final judgment with the consent of the...

Will “Wellness” Make Us Better?
The United States Supreme Court will hand down its decision in the next few weeks in the case of Wellness Int’l Network, Ltd. v. Sharif (“Wellness”) , 727 F.3d 751 (7th Cir. 2013) regarding bankruptcy courts’ jurisdiction. The jurisdictional quagmire is a major and growing virus in the bankruptcy...

Local Bar Association Files Amicus Brief in Baker Botts v. ASARCO Case
Baker Botts L.L.P. et al. v. ASARCO L.L.C. , currently pending before the Supreme Court of the United States, is of particular interest to bankruptcy practitioners because this decision will have far-reaching effects regarding attorney’s fees in bankruptcy. Specifically, the Supreme Court will determine whether Section 330(a) of the...

Mind the Statutory Gap (aka A Jurisdictional Mess)
As we all know, on June 9 of this year, the Supreme Court issued its long-awaited decision in Executive Benefits Ins. Agency vs. Arkison , 134 S. Ct. 2165, 189 L. Ed. 2d 83 (2014), which we had hoped would resolve the open questions arising from Stern v. Marshall...

Report from the BHBA’s Review of the Three Bankruptcy-Related Supreme Court Decisions
The Beverly Hills Bar Association’s Bankruptcy Section recently held a program discussing the three recent bankruptcy-related Supreme Court decisions: Law v. Siege l , Executive Benefits Insurance Agency v. Arkison (In re Bellingham) (redux of Stern v. Marshall ), and Clark v. Rameker (regarding inherited IRAs and exemptions). The program was...

Supreme Court Issues Decision in Law v. Siegel, Eliminating Ability to Impose Surcharge on Exempt Property Unless Explicitly Authorized by Bankruptcy Code
On March 4, 2014, the Supreme Court issued a unanimous opinion in Law v. Seigel , Case No. 12-5196, 571 U.S. ___ (2014) holding that the bankruptcy court used its equitable powers in contravention of Bankruptcy Code section 522 by ordering the $75,000 protected by the debtor’s homestead exemption...