$1.6 Million Fee Disgorgement Upheld for Failure to Disclose Fee-Sharing
The bankruptcy judge had authority to sanction a lawyer for all misconduct in the district, not just in the cases before that judge.
When Is an Emergency Really an Emergency? A Chamber’s Perspective on Urgent Relief
When Is an Emergency Really an Emergency? A Chamber’s Perspective on Urgent Relief By Hon. Selene D. Maddox and Jace Ferraez 1 In bankruptcy practice, “emergency” is a term of art, not a label of convenience. Practitioners frequently invoke it, sometimes reflexively, to
Two BAPs Now Uphold Sanctions Alongside Voluntary Dismissals Under Section 1307(b)
The Tenth Circuit BAP holds that dismissal is not automatic and immediate when a chapter 13 debtor moves to dismiss voluntarily under Section 1307(b).
Bifurcated Fee Arrangements Nixed on Appeal in Chicago
Parroting a local rule made the retention agreement more confusing, not less.
Congress Needs to Fix the Mess Created by the Supreme Court in Lamie
Unlike debtors in chapter 13, chapter 7 debtors cannot pay counsel with estate property. There may be no workaround allowing chapter 7 debtors to pay counsel before filing for services to be performed after filing.
Collecting a Sanction May Be Enforced by Contempt Rather than Writ of Execution
A district court in New York affirmed Bankruptcy Judge Paek by holding that collection of a sanction for a stay violation doesn’t require a writ of execution under Federal Rule 69(a).
Ninth Circuit BAP Wrote a Handbook for Vexatious Litigant and Prefiling Injunctions
The Ninth Circuit hasn’t decided whether bankruptcy courts are ‘courts of the U.S.’ authorized to exercise powers under the All Writs Act, 28 U.S.C. § 1651(a).
Public Rights Exception Permits Bankruptcy Court to Award Punitive Damages
Although a suit for punitive damages resembles a claim for which there would be a jury under common law, Pennsylvania’s Judge Mayer decided that the enactment of Section 362(k) gave rise to the public rights exception allowing bankruptcy courts to award damages without a jury.
Ninth Circuit Will Sit En Banc to Decide Whether Trustees Have Qualified Judicial Immunity
The Ninth Circuit will sit en banc, presenting the possibility of a circuit split that could end up stripping bankruptcy trustees of qualified judicial immunity.
Bad Faith Chapter 13 Debtor Permitted to Dismiss Is Tagged with a 2-Year Bar to Refiling
Bankruptcy Judge Meisel implores the Third Circuit to follow other circuits on dismissing bad faith debtors’ chapter 13 petitions but with bars to refiling.