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California Supreme Court Holds That Lack of Jury Trial Right Is Insufficient to Reject Enforcement of Forum Selection Clause

USA July 24 2025 In EpicentRx, Inc. v. Superior Court, Case No. S282521, 2025 WL 2027272 (Cal. July 21, 2025), the California Supreme Court held that forum selection clauses may be enforced against California plaintiffs even when the selected forum — such as the oft-selected Delaware Court of Chancery — would not afford plaintiffs a […]

California Expands Scope of State’s Fair Debt Collection Practices Act to Certain Commercial Debts

Click here to listen to the audio On September 24, 2023, Governor Gavin Newsom signed SB-1286 which expands California’s Rosenthal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (California FDCPA) to apply to certain commercial financial products. Lenders, servicers, and those collecting on their behalf – including attorneys – should pay careful attention to the requirements of the […]

What Is an Assignment for the Benefit of Creditors and How Does It Differ From a Bankruptcy?

An assignment for the benefit of creditors (ABC) is a process by which a financially distressed company (referred to as the assignor) transfers its assets to a third-party fiduciary (referred to as the assignee). The assignee is responsible for liquidating those assets and distributing the proceeds to the assignor’s creditors, pursuant to the priorities established […]

U.S. Supreme Court Ends Chevron Deference

June 28 2024 On June 28, 2024, the Supreme Court of the United States jettisoned the Chevron doctrine, overruling a 40-year-old case that had long served as the foundation for American administrative law. In the consolidated opinion in Loper Bright Enterprises, Inc. v. Raimondo and Relentless, Inc. v. Department of Commerce, the Supreme Court declared […]

Supreme Court’s Purdue Decision Requires Nationwide Adoption of 5th Circuit Bankruptcy Practice on Third-Party Releases

June 28 2024 On June 27, 2024, the Supreme Court issued its opinion in Harrington v. Purdue Pharma L.P., 603 U.S. ____ (2024) holding that the Bankruptcy Code does not allow for the inclusion of non-consensual third-party releases in chapter 11 plans. This decision settles a long-standing circuit split on the propriety of such releases […]

Fifth Circuit: Recent U.S. Supreme Court Ruling Did Not Alter Mootness Requirements for Unstayed Bankruptcy Sale Orders

May 30 2024 Section 363(m) of the Bankruptcy Code offers powerful protection for good-faith purchasers in bankruptcy sales because it limits appellate review of an approved sale, irrespective of the legal merits of the appeal. Specifically, it provides that the reversal or modification of an order approving the sale of assets in bankruptcy does not […]

Should I Care That the Debtor Has Filed a Motion to Sell Its Assets?

May 30 2024 Sales pursuant to Section 363 of the Bankruptcy Code have become commonplace in bankruptcy cases as a mechanism to liquidate a debtor’s assets and maximize value for creditors. Selling the debtor’s assets to a third party provides a new go-forward business partner for the debtor’s vendors and customers, and likely provides continuity […]

Successor Liability and Bankruptcy Sales: Can I Look to the Purchaser of My Customer’s Business for Payment of My Claim?

November 9 2023 Troutman Pepper – David M. Fournier, Evelyn J. Meltzer, Kenneth A. Listwak and Tori Lynn Remington Successor liability is a catchall term for a group of legal theories that, in certain circumstances, allow a creditor to recover amounts owed by its obligor from a person or entity who succeeds to the assets or business of that obligor. Typically, […]