BankruptcyProf Blog

In re Baud - SCOTUS is Looking Carefully at the Committment Period

from Aki Koyama,

My Colleagues: It looks like I misinterpreted an email from the staff attorney for the Appellee (the Chapter 13 Trustee) in the In re: Baud matter. The Debtor and Appellant in Baud has filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorari and SCOTUS has requested a response to the Petition from the Appellee which is due in the 2nd half of November. The Writ has not been granted as of now. Sorry for the misinformation and thanks to Prof. M. Jonathan Hayes for the clarification.

New Data from the Central District of California

• Pro per filings for the Jan through Sept, 2011 period were 28.3% of the total.  The national average is 7.9%. 
• The central district clerk's office processes one bankruptcy petition every 3 minutes, 44 seconds. 
• The next highest number of filings after the central district is the middle district of Florida.  The C.D. Cal has 146% more filing than M.D. Fl. 
• The central district expects 141,000 filings this year, up from 109,000 in 2009, and 66,000 in 2008. 

Doc Holliday’s Dentist Chair Up for Sale in Bankrupt Harrisburg

"Harrisburg, Pennsylvania’s capital, plans to auction off more than 8,000 relics ranging from 1900s- era rifles to wooden wagons that were meant to be part of a Wild West museum in the bankrupt city in the Northeast.

Representatives of 10 auction houses examined the artifacts yesterday, Robert Philbin, a spokesman for Mayor Linda Thompson, said. He declined to name them, though he said 25 firms, including Christie’s Inc. and Sotheby’s, were invited to submit proposals."

Read more here.

LACBA Commercial Law & Bankruptcy Section

The Mortgage Morass: MERS, Securitization, Servicers and Robots

Thursday, November 3, 2011

Los Angeles County Bar Association
1055 West 7th Street, 27th Floor
Los Angeles, CA 90017

1.0 hr CLE

Analysis and Practice Tips on Recent Foreclosure Cases:
- Who Does What?
- Who Holds What?
- Who Can Foreclose?
- Who Can Obtain Relief From Stay?
- What is MERS?
- How Do You Prove or Disprove These Issues?

Speakers:
Hon. Scott C. Clarkson, U.S. Bankruptcy Court
Richard W. Esterkin, Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP
David B. Lally, Law Offices of David B. Lally
Jason D. Wallach, Gladstone Michel Weisberg Willner & Sloane ALC

Registration:
11:30 AM

Meal/Reception:
11:30 PM - 12:30 PM

Program:
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM

Pricing & Event Code:
CLE+ Members (meal not included)
FREE
CLE+ Plus Members with meal
$15.00
Law Students with meal
$25.00
Commercial Law and Bankruptcy Section Members with meal
$55.00
LABF, FLC and CDCBAA Members with Meal
$55.00
LACBA Members with meal
$65.00
All Others with meal
$75.00

Registration Code: 011506

Call our Member Services Department, 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m., at (213) 896-6560.

THE UNITED STATES TRUSTEE BROWN BAG SERIES

Mandatory Requirements for Debtors in Chapter 11:
New procedures for electronic submission of 7-Day Package and Monthly Operating Reports
to the Woodland Hills Office of the United States Trustee

Presented by the
Woodland Hills Field Office, Region 16

Date: Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Time: 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Where: Woodland Hills Meeting Room
21051 Warner Center Lane #105
Woodland Hills, CA 91367

Subject: New, mandatory procedures effective January 1, 2012 for electronic submission of 7-day package documents and Monthly Operating Reports to the Woodland Hills Office of the U.S. Trustee

This program has been approved for 1 hour of MCLE credit.

This program is designed for attorneys with a valid State Bar number.

This U.S. Trustee program is co-sponsored by the San Fernando Valley Bar Association. This activity will count for one hour of MCLE credit with the State Bar of California. The San Fernando Valley Bar Association certifies that this activity conforms to the standard for approved education activities prescribed by the rules and regulations of the State Bar of California.

A Discussion of CURRENT BANKRUPTCY ISSUES in Chapter 7 and Chapter 11 Cases

Proudly Presented by the Armenian Bar Association, CLE Committee

Thursday, October 27, 2011
7:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.

Loyola Law School
The Fritz B. Burns Academic Center
Student Lounge
919 Albany Street
Los Angeles, CA 90015

Panelists:
Mark Horoupian -- SulmeyerKupetz, APC
Aram Ordubegian -- Arent Fox, LLP
Varand Gourjian -- Gourjian Law Group
Moderator: Tamar Kouyoumjian -- Assistant United States Attorney

Registration Fees (includes appetizers and drinks):
Members of Armenian Bar Association: $35
Government Employees: $35
Others: $45
Students: Free

Crystal Cathedral to be used as college campus in bankruptcy deal

"The Crystal Cathedral has endorsed selling its sprawling campus to a university as part of a bankruptcy reorganization plan, church officials said Wednesday.

The church's board of directors has backed Chapman University's offer to buy the property if the church is unable to raise enough money to avoid a sale, the church said in a written statement.

Under the plan, the church would be able to continue to use a number of buildings on the Garden Grove campus and possibly repurchase them at a later date."

Read more here.

"Dodgers owner Frank McCourt looted nearly $190 million from the Los Angeles team, using the money for non-baseball use in violation of Major League Baseball rules, according to Delaware bankruptcy court documents filed on Monday....

It's the first time the league has specified an amount, the Los Angeles Times said....

The league claimed McCourt funneled $73 million in parking revenue through Blue Land Co., a non-team related entity, and he used $61 million in team revenue to pay off personal debts. The court documents also said McCourt took $55 million from team revenue for personal use...

A flurry of bankruptcy documents filed Monday also said San Francisco Giants fan Bryan Stow, who was severely beaten in the Dodger Stadium parking lot on opening day, could be a central figure in next week's critical bankruptcy court hearing in Dover, Del. Stow lawyer Thomas Girardi has said his client's medical bills could exceed $50 million.

Stow's representatives sit on the official committee of creditors.

An earlier court document said there were 197 sworn police officers were on duty the day Stow was attacked, and it noted McCourt was the Dodgers owner to hire uniformed Los Angeles police officers. 'McCourt, however, omits the fact that he removed uniformed officers before the 2011 season, including the opening game when Stow was so seriously injured,' the league responded in its filing on Monday."

Read more here.

Vucurevich In U.S. Bankruptcy Court

"The former owner of the Sioux Falls Storm and the now closed Ground Round restaurant appeared in Federal Bankruptcy Court this afternoon. Creditors have filed a petition for involuntary Chapter 7 bankruptcy against Kent Vucurevich."

Read more here.

Madoff trustee, firm awarded another $45.3 mln

"Irving Picard, the trustee seeking money for victims of Bernard Madoff's fraud, and his law firm were awarded another $45.3 million of fees by the judge overseeing the liquidation of the imprisoned Ponzi schemer's investment advisory firm.

In an order made public on Friday, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Burton Lifland in Manhattan awarded Baker & Hostetler $44.7 million and Picard $599,301 for their work in the four months ended May 31, a court filing shows."

* Madoff trustee, law firm paid $202.6 mln so far

* More litigation foreseen

* Trustee has recovered $8.7 bln, much tied up in lawsuits

Read more here.

Southern Montana Electric G&T Cooperative Files Bankruptcy

"Southern Montana Electric Generation & Transmission Cooperative Inc., a provider of electrical power to utility cooperatives in Montana, filed for bankruptcy protection.

The company listed assets and debt in the range of $100 million to $500 million each in Chapter 11 papers filed Oct. 21 in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Butte, Montana."

Read more here.