Fifth Circuit Muses on the Split over Pleading Standards for Fraudulent Schemes
Fifth Circuit generally holds that heightened pleading standards in Rule 9(b) do not apply to claims that don’t rely on fraudulent activity, even though the overall scheme may be fraudulent.
Supreme Court Rejects Strict Liability for Discharge Violations
‘No objectively reasonable basis’ is the high court standard to find civil contempt for violating the discharge injunction.
Supreme Court Agrees to Rule on What Is or Is Not a ‘Final, Appealable’ Order
For now, the high court ducks an important automatic stay question for chapter 13 debtors.
Did Segal Survive Butner in Defining Property of the Estate?
Judge Perkins in Illinois says the ‘sufficiently rooted’ test from Segal v. Rochelle did not survive Butner and the adoption of the Bankruptcy Code.
Disclosing an Asset in the Wrong Place Won’t Invoke Judicial Estoppel, Circuit Says
Second Circuit won’t give a defendant a windfall if the debtor scheduled the lawsuit in the wrong place but told the trustee and the court.
Equity Can’t Alter the Three Petitioning Creditors Requirement, First Circuit Rules
Even if a debtor has committed fraud, at least three creditors still must join an involuntary petition if the debtor has 12 or more creditors.
Mothers Owed Child Support Weren’t Entitled to Notice in Father’s Bankruptcy, Circuit Says
Fifth Circuit in substance says that state law overcomes the Bankruptcy Code’s broad definition of who’s a creditor entitled to notice.
Supreme Court Hears Argument on Good Faith as Defense to Discharge Violation
In Taggart v. Lorenzen, the justices sounded largely noncommittal, except for the Chief Justice, who seemed in the debtor’s camp favoring a stricter standard for contempt of the discharge injunction.
Final Orders Allowed in Preference Suits Against Defendants Who Didn’t File Claims
Following dicta in Bellingham, Judge Collins finds no power to enter a final order in a fraudulent transfer suit against a defendant who did not consent.