BankruptcyProf Blog

Minn. firm takes control of 2 NW Indiana casinos

"A Minnesota-based investment firm has taken over two northwestern Indiana casinos owned by a company going through bankruptcy reorganization.

The Indiana Gaming Commission on Thursday approved the transfer of licenses for the Majestic Star Casinos in Gary to Wayzata Investment Partners, which is the largest creditor from Majestic Star's 2009 bankruptcy."

Read more here.

Kenneth Klee speaking to the press re Jefferson County Chp. 9 filing

Watch the video here.

Holiday Party at The Mark for Events

Los Angeles Bankruptcy Forum
Financial Lawyers Conference
Federal Bar Association
LACBA Commercial Law and Bankruptcy Section
Central District Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys Association
Beverly Hills Bar Association Bankruptcy Committee

invite you to a Holiday Party at The Mark for Events

Support the efforts of Public Counsel, Bet Tzedek, Neighborhood Legal Services, The Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles and others who contribute to those in need of bankruptcy-related services in our community.

December 5, 2011
6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

The Mark for Events
9320 West Pico Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90035

$100 for Members
$125 for Non-Members
$35 Government
Registration at Door - Additional $25

Network with your professional colleagues and bankruptcy judges. All net proceeds from the event will be donated to participating pro-bono organizations.

Los Angeles Bankruptcy Forum | P O BOX 7740 | BURBANK | CA | 91502

Analysis of National Filings Prepared by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts

From the Hon. Scott Clarkson:

These are the local comparisons to the national filings. This is public information.

Please see the analysis below prepared by the Clerk's Office of the Central District of California reflecting a comparison of CACB to the national filings for the period ending 9/30/11, released by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts yesterday.

***************

The following is the analysis of the national bankruptcy filings for the 12-month and 3-month period ending 9/30/11.

A. National Filing Statistics for the 12 and 3-Month Period Ending September 30, 2011

1. CA, C continues to lead the nation in total filings with 139,882 during the 12-month period, 129% greater than the next highest district, IL, N, with 60,976.

2. CA, C experienced a 0.9% increase in filings over the same period in 2010 (138,585), while nationally, bankruptcy filings fell 8.1%. While filings are up slightly, the rate of increase continues to fall from a high of 96.3% in 2008 to 0.9% this period.

3. CA, C had the third highest percentage increase in filings, just below LA, M with 1.3%. Utah had the highest percentage increase with 6.5%.

LARGEST Percentage Increase
UT 6.5%
LA, M 1.3%
CA, C 0.9%
WA, W -1.1%
TX, S -1.2%

4. CA, C is the only district among the mega courts to experience an increase from 2010 to 2011. IL, N holds the number two spot with 60,976 filings down 6.8% from 65,443 filings in 2010, while number three ranked FL, M fell 14.8% (66,881 in 2010 to 56,972 in 2011).

Mega Courts Filings with Percentage Increase/Decrease
District Filings % Change
CA, C 139,882 0.9%
IL, N 60,976 -6.8%
FL, M 56,972 -14.8%
GA, N 53,825 -2.0%
CA, E 51,481 -5.3%

5. CA, C led the nation in total business filings (4,641), 86.1% greater than second place, FL, M, with 2,494 total business filings.

6. The following are the top 5 district rankings for total filings, chapter 11 filings, and chapter 13 filings for both the 12 and 3-month periods ending 9/30/11.

TOTAL Filings for Period Ending 9/30/11
12-month Period 3-month Period
CA, C 139,882 CA, C 32,931
IL, N 60,976 IL, N 14,171
FL, M 56,972 FL, M 13,345
GA, N 53,825 GA, N 13,064
CA, E 51,481 CA, E 11,963

CH 11 Filings for Period Ending 9/30/11
12-month Period 3-month Period
CA, C 1,172 CA, C 284
NY, S 768 FL. M 144
FL, M 627 NV 117
NV 482 NY, S 111
AZ 474 CA, N 101

CH 13 Filings for Period Ending 9/30/11
12-month Period 3-month Period
CA, C 35,024 CA, C 8,483
GA, N 22,555 GA, N 5,764
IL, N 14,668 IL, N 3,935
FL, M 13,635 TN, W 3,526
CA, N 12,690 FL, M 3,235

Lawsuit against Madoff family grows to $226.4 mln

"The trustee seeking money for Bernard Madoff's victims has increased the size of his lawsuit against family members of the imprisoned Ponzi schemer to $226.4 million.

Irving Picard, the trustee, in an amended complaint, said the Madoffs were 'completely derelict' in overseeing operations at Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC, which collapsed when Madoff was arrested on Dec. 11, 2008."

Read more here.

Dodgers Judge Approves Six Days of Legal Fees, Overruling U.S. Trustee

"The Los Angeles Dodgers won initial court approval to pay the team’s bankruptcy lawyers fees for six days of work that had been challenged by the U.S. Trustee.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Kevin Gross said today the work was necessary for the team to win approval of a loan to continue operating while in bankruptcy. Gross overruled an objection filed by Mark Kenney, a trial attorney with the U.S. Trustee’s office in Wilmington, Delaware."

Read more here.

Insolvency Law Committee Constituency List -- Bankruptcy e-Bulletin

Bankruptcy e-Bulletin
 
November 7, 2011

Dear Insolvency Law Committee Constituency List members:

The purpose of this eBulletin is to provide information about the Office of the United States Trustee – Central District of California – Region 16’s recent implementation of new forms and requirement of electronic filing for debtor-in- possession compliance.

Effective September 1, 2011 in Los Angeles, with the San Fernando and Northern Divisions following on January 1, 2012, and the other divisions later this year and early next year, with their own revised procedures, the Office of the United States Trustee ("UST") has implemented procedures requiring the electronic submission of 7-Day Compliance Packages and Monthly Operating Reports.  In addition, the UST has created a new set of forms.

The following summarizes the major changes with regard to the 7-Day Compliance Package for the Los Angeles Division Only:

            1.         The 7-Day Package Cover Sheet (USTLA-2) has been replaced by two forms: USTLA 3 and 4.
                                    *           USTLA-3 – Declaration of Debtor Re Compliance-- includes the Real Property Questionnaire ("RPQ"), information about pre-petition and debtor- in- possession bank accounts, and most of the information previously requested on USTLA-2.  USTLA-3 requires attachments such as property-specific RPQ and insurance declaration pages.
                                    *           USTLA-4 -- Attorney's 7-Day Package Checklist--must now be signed by the debtor and debtor's counsel.  Attachments to USTLA 4 include the 90-day Projected Cash Flow Statement and the Statement of Major Issues and Timetable Report.  Most of the information listed on USTLA-4 will be set forth in USTLA-3 or the Declaration of Debtor Re Compliance.
            2.         The RPQ has changed; there are new forms for a residence and an Excel spreadsheet is required for cases with multiple properties.
            3.         In addition, the UST has revised the format for Monthly Operating Reports (MOR).
            4.         All 7-Day Packages and Monthly Operating Reports must be submitted to the OUST at the following e-mail address:  ustp.region16@usdoj.gov.  The Instructions specifically state that the information should not be sent to any individual staff person or attorney's mailbox.  The Instructions also require that signatures be imaged and electronically filed in PDF format. 

The author is advised that the procedures for the San Fernando Valley Division together with the Northern Division, the Orange County Division, and the Riverside Division will ultimately differ from each other, as well as from those for the Los Angeles Division, once all divisions implement their procedures.
 
The Guidelines and Requirements for Chapter 11 Debtors-in-Possession (for Los Angles Division cases Only) and each of the forms can be downloaded at the UST website at http://www.justice.gov/ust/r16/reg_info.htm.
 
These materials were prepared by Elissa D. Miller, a member at SulmeyerKupetz, a professional corporation, in Los Angeles, California, and Co-Chair of the Insolvency Law Committee.  

Thank you for your continued support of the Committee.

Best regards,

Insolvency Law Committee

The Insolvency Law Committee of the Business Law Section of the California State Bar provides a forum for interested bankruptcy practitioners to act for the benefit of all lawyers in the areas of legislation, education and promoting efficiency of practice. For more information about the Business Law Standing Committees, please see the standing committees web page. 

Program: Woodland Hills Bankruptcy Judge’s Published Opinions

Dear Jon:

Could you inform your readers that the San Fernando Valley Bar Association is presenting its annual program on the Woodland Hills Bankruptcy Judge’s published opinions, memorandum and tentative opinions?  With two new judges at the Woodland Hills Courthouse, the program is vital for practitioners.  The speakers’ panel has culled through a year of writings from the judges and picked selections which give insight into each of the judges.  As always, the program will be lively given the high caliber of the speakers and attending attorneys.  The attending attorneys always make many valuable contributions to the program.  This is the one bankruptcy program of the year where the bankruptcy judges are specifically not invited to attend so that the discussion can be frank.

The program information is as follows:

            Date:               Wednesday, November 9, 2011, at 12:00 p.m. (noon local time)
            Place:             San Fernando Valley Bar Association, 21250 Califa Street, Suite 113, Woodland Hills, CA 91367
Tel: 818-227-0490      Fax: 818-227-0499.  Ask for Linda Temkin to make a reservation
            Event Cost:    Member $30.00 
                                 Member at Door $40.00 
                                 Non-Members $40.00
Non-Member at Door $50.00
           
Credit Hours: General 1 hrs

This is the Bar Association’s 5th year presenting this program.  Year after year, it has been one of the most popular and well attended programs this section has offered.

Thank you.

Sincerely,
Steven R. Fox

Bankruptcy Filings Down in Fiscal Year 2011

Thank you to the Hon. Scott Clarkson for giving us the lead on the following informative article from the U.S. Courts website:

"Bankruptcy cases filed in federal courts for fiscal year 2011, the 12-month period ending September 30, 2011, totaled 1,467,221, down 8 percent over the FY 2010 bankruptcy filings of 1,596,355, according to statistics released today by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts."

Read more here.

.

United States Bankruptcy Court - Central District of California
Santa Ana, CA

8TH ANNUAL BANKRUPTCY ETHICS SYMPOSIUM

THE BANKRUPTCY SECTION OF THE FEDERAL BAR ASSOCIATION & THE LOS ANGELES CHAPTER OF THE FEDERAL BAR ASSOCIATION Present the 8TH ANNUAL BANKRUPTCY ETHICS SYMPOSIUM

Speakers:
Hon. Catherine E. Bauer, United States Bankruptcy Judge
Hon. Scott C. Clarkson, United States Bankruptcy Judge
Professor Michael Josephson, President, Josephson Institute
Michael L. Tuchin, Esq., Klee, Tuchin, Bogdanoff & Stern, LLP
David A. Tilem, Esq., Law Offices of David A. Tilem
Christie Cronenweth, Esq., Law Offices of Christie Cronenweth
M. Erik Clark, Esq., Borowitz & Clark, LLP
Dennis E. McGoldrick, Esq., Law Offices of Dennis E. McGoldrick

TOPICS:
Attorney Ethics in the Courtroom: A Judicial Perspective Sum of the Parts - Little Things that Matter to Your License "THE CDCBAA ETHICS LECTURE"
An Ethics Conversation with Professor Michael Josephson

DATE: Friday, December 9, 2011

Registration: 8:30 a.m.
Program: 9:00 a.m. - 12:45 p.m.

PLACE: United States Trustee 341(a) Meeting Room
725 South Figueroa St., Los Angeles

PARKING: No-host parking is available at the 7th & Fig parking structure.

Registration Fee: $25 (FBA members); $30 (CDCBAA and LABF members); $40 (non-members).
Register by November 30, 2011.

As there is limited seating, please register early. Registration preference will be given to FBA members. At Door registration will be $50.

MCLE: This program offers up to 3.5 Hr. of MCLE credit in legal ethics.

This activity has been approved for Minimum Continuing Legal Education (MCLE) credit by the State Bar of California. The FBA certifies that this activity conforms to the standards of approved education activities prescribed by the rules and regulations of the State Bar of California governing minimum continuing legal education.

Federal Bar Association, 210 N. Glenoaks Blvd. Ste C., Burbank, CA 91502
Phone (818) 843-1020 Fax (818) 843-7423 e-mail: fbala@emaoffice.com

Program questions or for information about applying your registration fee to FBA membership contact: Ron Maroko, Chair (213) 894-4520

Inland Empire Bankruptcy Forum

IEBF Presents:
Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Basics
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
6:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.

Please join our distinguished panel including United States Bankruptcy Judges Deborah Saltzman and Scott Clarkson, bankruptcy practitioner Robert Goe, and Everett Green, trial attorney with The Office of the United States Trustee, as they discuss practice tips for handling Chapter 11 bankruptcy cases.
 
Subjects include first day motions, motions for use of cash collateral and issues presented by individual Chapter 11 cases.
 
When:
Thursday, November 15, 2011
No Host Cocktails 6 p.m. ~ Dinner 6:30 p.m. ~ Program 7 p.m.

Where:
The Mission Inn
3649 Mission Inn Avenue, Riverside, CA

Cost with Payment by November 10:
Member $65 ~ NonMember $75 ~ Government Employee $30
(Membership Dues Only $70)

The above activity has been approved for minimum continuing legal education by the State Bar of California in the amount of 1.5 hours. The Inland Empire Bankruptcy  Forum certifies that this activity conforms to the standards for the approved education activities prescribed by the rules and regulations of the State Bar of California governing minimum continuing legal education.

The Inland Empire Bankruptcy Forum
6789 Quail Hill Parkway, #204, Irvine, California 92603
Questions may be directed to info@iebf.org or Phone/Fax (951) 479-3585