Scott A. Wolfson Law Blog

On February 14, 2012, Auburn Hills, Michigan based Energy Conversion Devices, Inc., filed Chapter 11 Bankruptcy in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.  The case has been assigned to Hon. Thomas J. Tucker, Case No. 12-43166.
 
According to the Declaration of William C. Andrews filed with the Bankruptcy Court, Energy Conversion Devices is a publicly traded holding company listed on the NASDAQ Global Select Market that deals in the... Read More

On January 19, 2012, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals – in a direct appeal – affirmed the Bankruptcy Court’s denial of plan confirmation in a single asset real estate case where the debtor proposed substituting the lender’s lien on the building with 30-year Treasury bonds.  The lender was owed $38.3 million on a building valued by the debtor at $13.5 million.

The Court noted that section 1129(b)(2)(A) of the Bankruptcy Code permits a debtor to cram... Read More

On September 29, 2011, the Bankruptcy Appellate Panel (“BAP”) for the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed an order of the Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky holding that Debtor's motion to assume a lease, filed before the deadline for assuming or rejecting leases under 11 U.S.C. Section 365(d)(4), complied with the deadline. The BAP relied upon pre- and post-BAPCPA decisions holding that the filing of a motion to assume satisfied the deadline, and that... Read More

The United States Supreme Court's recent decision in Stern v. Marshall could have a significant impact on bankruptcy litigation.  The Court ruled, in a 5-4 decision, that the statutory grant of jurisdiction to Bankruptcy Courts to enter final judgments on a debtor’s state-law counterclaim against a non-debtor is unconstitutional.

The case is widely known as the bankruptcy case of Anna Nicole Smith, whose real name was Vickie Lynn Marshall.  The Court held... Read More

The Third Circuit Court of Appeals recently held that insurance companies met standing requirements under Article III of the U.S. Constitution and the Bankruptcy Code, allowing them to challenge the channeling of silica-related claims against the debtors into a settlement trust in the context of debtors’ reorganization.  The case is In re Global Industrial Technologies, 2011 U.S. App. Lexis 9109 (3d Cir.... Read More

The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit recently held that a senior secured creditor’s gift of a portion of its collateral to a debtor’s shareholder violated the absolute priority rule of section 1129(b)(2)(B) of the Bankruptcy Code. Dish Network Corp. v. DBSD N. Am., Inc. (In re DBSD N. Am. Inc.), 210 U.S. App. LEXIS 27007 (Feb. 7, 2011).  The absolute priority rule requires... Read More

The Michigan Court of Appeals has held that the attachment of a moldbuilder’s lien under the Molder’s Lien Act, MCL 445.611 et seq., requires some form of permanently recorded information on the mold, die or tool identifying the name of the moldbuilder, its street address, city and state.  C.G. Automation & Fixture v. Autoform, Michigan Court of Appeals Case... Read More

Wolfson Bolton PLLC has been retained by Gene R. Kohut, Trustee of the bankruptcy estates of MuniVest Financial Group and Dante DeMiro.  MuniVest and its principal DeMiro were involuntarily petitioned into bankruptcy by Mona Shores Public Schools, a creditor who alleges it is owed $3.7 million.  MuniVest and DeMiro are alleged to have taken millions from school districts, counties, churches, and financial institutions.  The funds were... Read More

George L. Miller, the Chapter 7 Trustee of Meridian Automotive Systems, Inc. et al., has begun sending demand letters to creditors alleged to have received preferential transfers within 90 days of Meridian’s August 7, 2009 bankruptcy filing. Meridian’s bankruptcy is pending in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, Case No. 09-12806.

Scott A. Wolfson is a founding member of Wolfson Bolton PLLC, located in metropolitan Detroit -- www.wolfsonbolton.com

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Tenants often plan their bankruptcy filings to minimize the amount of rent they must pay in the month they file their bankruptcy petition. Courts have disagreed over what type of claim a landlord has for “stub rent,” which is the rent due to a landlord for the period of occupancy between the bankruptcy filing date and the due date of the first post-bankruptcy rent payment. For example, if a tenant’s lease payment is due on the first of the month and the tenant files... Read More