As the application of the in pari delicto doctrine in bankruptcy cases becomes more expansive, controversy about the courts’ use of the doctrine continues to grow.  Among the critics are two of your TACR Board members.

 

For those who are familiar with the in pari delicto doctrine, it is a mechanism by which courts will decline to allow litigation between parties who are "at equal fault" (which is basically what the phrase ...
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Every bankruptcy practioner has heard these time honored maxims: The bankruptcy trustee stands in the shoes of the debtor and The trustee is subject to all defenses available against the debtor.  Without any doubt, these statements apply in the vast majority of situations.  But are they always true?

Certiorari Granted.  The Supreme Court will hear an appeal in a consumer bankruptcy dispute regarding the proper interpretation of the phrase "projected disposable income" for above-median, chapter 13 debtors.

The phrase used as the title of this article has been the punch line in a lot of bad jokes.  But it certainly isn’t a joke when the IRL files its claims in your bankruptcy case and you have to decide whether to do an in-deptth examination of that claim.  Surely, the trustee and the creditors can trust that the IRS has done all its homework, knows the proper amount and priority of its claim.   

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Creditor Granted Derivative Standing to Pursue $544(b) Action.  Creditor alleged in a pre-petition lawsuit that debtor’s majority owners, who also held majority interests in two other dealerships, schemed to transfer debtor’s property to dealership thayt had no obligation to creditor.  Later, creditor filed an involuntary chapter 7 petition against debtor.

This article addresses bankruptcy issues commonly arising in connection with intercreditor agreements, and is intended to provide a general examination of provisions that relate specifically to bankruptcy or other insolvency proceedings.  By reviewing variations of these provisions that have appeared in negotiated second lien fiancings, the discussion provides a checklist that will be useful at the front end of deals of this kind.

Effective September 30, 2008, changes to Ohio’s exemption and garnishment statutes took effect.  The law increases the exemptions the ddollar amount of certain exemptions, including the homestead, and expands a debtor’s use of the $400 wildcard exemption, which, prior to the ammendment, was available only in bankruptcy cases.  Beginning April 1, 2010, and every three years thereafter, exemption amounts will be automatically adjusted for inflation.  The timing of the...
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