William J. Lafferty III

Judge Court Northern District of California
9th Circuit Dec 31, 2025

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).
9th Circuit Oct 29, 2024

Fully Secured, Nonrecourse Creditors Can Be Involuntary Petitioners, BAP Says

An involuntary petitioner whose claim was paid after filing is still counted as an involuntary petitioner, the Ninth Circuit BAP says.
9th Circuit Jul 3, 2024

BAP Pushes Back Against Kelly on the Dischargeability of Disciplinary Costs

The Ninth Circuit BAP rebelled against the Supreme Court’s departure from the statute in Kelly v. Robinson on dischargeability under Section 523(a)(7).
9th Circuit May 3, 2024

Collecting a Student Loan Can (Sometimes) Violate the Discharge Injunction, BAP Says

The Ninth Circuit BAP holds that nondischargeability of student loans in Section 523(a)(8) isn’t ‘self-executing.’
9th Circuit Apr 5, 2022

BAP Describes When a Nonbankruptcy Court’s Order Does or Does Not Violate the Stay

If a proceeding is sub judice when the defendant files bankruptcy, the plaintiff should figure out whether a decision after bankruptcy would violate the automatic stay.
9th Circuit Oct 29, 2021

State Probate Law Determines What Is or Isn’t Estate Property

Unlike other states, creditors can attach 25% of a judgment debtor’s interest in a spendthrift trust in California.
9th Circuit Jul 20, 2021

Chapter 13 Trustees Are Paid Even if Dismissal Comes Before Confirmation, BAP Says

The Ninth Circuit BAP joins the minority on an issue that’s headed for the court of appeals.
9th Circuit Mar 1, 2021

Ninth Circuit Joins the Fifth by Endorsing the ‘Snapshot Rule’ for Exemptions

By adopting a BAP opinion, the Ninth Circuit backed away from disallowing exemptions when a debtor disposes of exempt property after the filing date.
9th Circuit Jul 13, 2020

Lower Courts Now Disagree on Modifying the Stay Retroactively After Acevedo

Did the Supreme Court’s Acevedo opinion preclude annulling the stay? The Ninth Circuit BAP says ‘no.’
9th Circuit Feb 7, 2020

Silence in the Face of a Duty to Disclose Is Not a ‘Statement,’ 9th Cir. BAP Holds

The Ninth Circuit BAP closed a loophole that would have allowed a recipient of public assistance benefits to discharge a debt for overpayment.