Category Archives: Bankruptcy

  ORDINARY COURSE OF BUSINESS: WHEN IT PAYS TO BE ORDINARY Perhaps the most frequent claim litigated in bankruptcy court is the preference. In an earlier post, my partner James Angell discussed the basics of preference claims and their defenses.  This post delves deeper into the most popular (or unpopular depending on your perspective) of […]

Nicholas Brown @ howardstallings.com  Interesting article on the aging of bankruptcy filers (and a good pitch for financial planners!) ‘Too Little Too Late’: Bankruptcy Booms Among Older Americans  Lawrence Sedita, a 74-year-old former carpenter, said he lost his health insurance about two years ago after his union changed the eligibility requirements. He and his wife filed […]

By Nicholas Brown Experienced family lawyers are adept at helping their clients secure alimony, child support, property settlements and other financial relief. But what happens to these claims when the party obliged to make payments files bankruptcy? This article takes a look at how domestic support obligations are treated in a bankruptcy case.  The article […]

                                                                                          Defense of a Preference Claim                                                                 By James B. Angell There is no experience in a bankruptcy case more frustrating to our clients than a preference claim. A preference action typically presents itself as follows: A company owes money to our client for goods or services and is late in making payments. The […]

  By James B. Angell What is a critical vendor?  After a chapter 11 bankruptcy is filed, the debtor often needs goods or services from its vendors that are critical to the debtor’s ability to stay in business. Although the general rule is that claims that arose before the case was filed (often called “prepetition […]

Methods for Protecting Your Claims from Discharge:  Exceptions to Dischargeability By Nicholas C. Brown When an individual files a bankruptcy case, creditors without collateral will often throw up their hands in defeat.  To be sure, the bankruptcy discharge is a powerful tool that entitles debtors to a fresh financial start.  However, certain types of debt […]

A Trustee’s Point of View. By James B. Angell Christmas Spending. As we make our way through the holidays, we tend to spend money to get the right gift for the right person.  In 2015, the average spending per person during the holiday season was over $800.00, only the second year in history of spending […]

Obtaining bankruptcy-proof judgments:  Two birds with one stone. By James B. Angell A bankruptcy will discharge individuals of most judgments, but not all. Certain claims may be excepted from a debtor’s bankruptcy discharge based on how the claim arose. For example, claims “for fraud or defalcation while acting in a fiduciary capacity, embezzlement, or larceny”, […]