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, […]
October 26 2023 In Breanne Martin v. Leslie Gladstone, the Second District Court of Appeal recently decided a case that could reverberate throughout the receivership and bankruptcy industries. This case comes at a propitious moment as bankruptcy proceedings and receiverships – particularly for distressed commercial real estate entities – trend upward in California. Receivers and […]
USA June 28 2023 Hidden amidst the more high profile end of term decisions from the Supreme Court is a seemingly boring procedural decision that could have significant impact on businesses and expose them to litigation in a multiplicity of states where they never expected to be sued. Nine years ago, in Daimler AG v. […]
USA June 6 2023 On May 30, 2023, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (the “Second Circuit” or the “Court”) rendered a much anticipated opinion (the “Opinion”),1 reversing the order of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (the “District Court”) that the Bankruptcy Code does […]
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2023 While we often recite that bankruptcy is for the honest but unfortunate debtor, a new case from the Supreme Court shows that getting into bed or business with the wrong person can lead to a non-dischargeable debt for an innocent spouse. The case is No. 21-908, Bartenwerfer v. Buckley, which you […]
December 26 2022 The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit recently affirmed a bankruptcy court’s judgment in favor of a debtor who sought to avoid a judgment lien under California’s homestead exemption law. In so ruling, the Ninth Circuit held that, when a judgment lien impairs a debtor’s state-law homestead exemption, the Bankruptcy […]
On June 9, 2022, California approved new commercial financing disclosure regulations proposed by the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI). Those regulations go into effect on December 9, 2022. The commercial financing disclosure regulations extend consumer style disclosure protections to California small businesses seeking commercial financing. The result is that providers of certain […]
October 31 2022 The California Court of Appeal for the First Appellate District recently reversed a trial court’s decision to affirm an arbitration award that upheld the validity of a late payment fee assessed to borrowers in the event of a borrower’s default. In so ruling, the Court held that: (1) Arbitration awards regarding liquidated […]
You have likely heard the term “piercing the veil.” This legal doctrine permits a court to ignore corporate formalities and hold an individual owner liable for a company’s debt. But you may be less familiar with the doctrine of reverse veil piercing, which permits a court to hold a company liable for the debt of an […]
On August 29, 2022, in the PG&E bankruptcy matter, the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit became the first circuit-level court to address the question of what is the correct rate of interest to be applied to unimpaired unsecured claims against a fully solvent debtor.[2] In its decision, the Ninth Circuit reversed the bankruptcy court’s and district […]