It’s the Wild West of “firsts” in these opening days of the Small Business Reorganization Act of 2019 (SBRA), which went live on February 19, 2020. We blogged about the first ever small business Subchapter V case here and provided some opening filing stats here. On Friday, Stone & Baxter even filed the first Sub V case in Georgia. More importantly, it appears that Judge Scott C. Clarkson, a bankruptcy judge in Central District of California, is the first judge to issue a substantive opinion about Sub V, and about one of its most talked-about issues no less:
The First Subchapter V Small Business Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Case (Updated)
I blogged late yesterday evening about what appeared, at first glance, to have been a slow debut for the Small Business Reorganization Act of 2019 (SBRA). Although the Turney case still gets the trophy for the first ever Subchapter V small business Chapter 11 case, there were still a few other Sub V filings on Wednesday. At 11 p.m. EST, the Turney case was the only Sub V case being reported. As of 8:30 a.m. EST this morning, PACER caught-up, with some rough, updated filing statistics as follows:
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The First Subchapter V Small Business Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Case
Effective today, the Small Business Reorganization Act of 2019 (SBRA) is live and taking cases. Thus, we figured that PACER would have much to report about such a potentially big day for small business debtors. In fact, we assumed that dozens of debtors, if not more, have been holding their breath since August 2019, hoping that they can bridge the gap to February 19, 2020. However, as of 11 p.m. EST, it appears to have been a big day for just one debtor: Michael and Gwatholyn Turney, the husband and wife owners of Papa Turney’s Old Fashioned BBQ in the Nashville, Tennessee area.
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Happy New Year: The Best of 2015-2019
We figured we’d wrap-up a slow blogging year with a look back, just in time for the New Year and a New Decade. Believe it or not, Plan Proponent, which debuted on February 12, 2015, has occupied nearly half of the 2010s. And now, here we are, 26,786 clicks, 80 posts, and 94 email followers later.
The Houston Astros in October: Bankruptcy Edition
With an exciting but somewhat controversial finish in last night’s game, the Washington Nationals tied the series 3-3 with the Houston Astros, setting-up for a potentially exciting Game 7 conclusion to the World Series. Unlike the Cubs in 2016 and the Dodgers in 2017 and 2018, neither of this year’s teams is a former Chapter 11 debtor. However, the Astros are still very much tied-up in Houston Regional Sports Network, L.P.’s Texas Chapter 11 from 2013. Hence, our hook for our third bankruptcy-related World Series post.
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Supreme Court Adopts Objective Standard for Bankruptcy Discharge Violations
What better way to wake Plan Proponent from a seven (!) month slumber than a minor Supreme Court opinion? Monday’s Taggart v. Lorenzen decision is not a confirmation opinion, but we’ve always tried to cover the Court’s bankruptcy decisions. In Taggart, with Justice Breyer writing for his unanimous colleagues, the Court held that, under § 524 of the Bankruptcy Code, a court can impose civil contempt sanctions for violations of a debtor’s discharge order when there is no “objectively reasonable” basis for viewing the creditor’s conduct as lawful under that order.
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Bankruptcy Attorney Rule 9011 Sanctions – Halloween Edition
I realized this morning that we’ve entertained you over the last three years with Fourth of July, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years posts, but never a Halloween post. What better way, then, to return from a two month blog hiatus than searching Westlaw for Halloween-themed bankruptcy cases. Except for a Kentucky judge’s cringe-worthy analogy to
Supreme Court Nominee Judge Kavanaugh is a Wellness Guy (Sort of)
On Monday, President Trump nominated Judge Brett Kavanaugh from the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals to fill Justice Anthony Kennedy’s soon to be vacant seat on the U.S. Supreme Court. Like Judge Merrick Garland, former President Obama’s last nominee, and unlike now-Justice Neil Gorsuch, President Trump’s first nominee, Judge Kavanaugh rarely encounters
Eleventh Circuit Addresses Impact of Dismissal on a Confirmed Individual Chapter 11 Plan
We’ve had a slow start in 2018 and figured that we’d get back to basics with First National Bank of Oneida v. Brandt, an Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals Chapter 11 confirmation decision from last month. Ultimately, the Court remanded to the district court on one issue: what’s the impact on a confirmed individual
Supreme Court Hears Argument in Appling Case on § 523(a)(2) Dischargeability Issues
The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral argument yesterday in Lamar, Archer & Cofrin, LLP v. Appling, a case from the 11th Circuit regarding the bankruptcy dischargeability exceptions in 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(2). Locally, Appling is important because it originated across the street–literally–in Chief Bankruptcy Judge James P. Smith’s courtroom here in the Middle