Bankruptcy Litigation Committee

ABI Committee News

Materials From The Mid-Atlantic Bankruptcy Workshop

More than 250 members attended the 4th Annual Mid-Atlantic Bankruptcy Workshop which was held on the eastern shore of Maryland at the Hyatt Regency, Chesapeake Bay Golf Resort, Spa & Marina.  Members convened for three days of blue crabs, networking and outstanding educational programs. Topics included ethics issues, non-bankruptcy alternatives, real estate issues, new claims rules, mediation and ADR, and more!  Below are links to the materials from two sessions of particular interest to Bankruptcy Litigation Committee members. 

In the session, "Leveling The Playing Field: Avoidance Issues Update," Hon. Mary D. France, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Middle District of Pennsylvania, moderated a panel that discussed a number of avoidance issues including the interplay between code sections, the "springing" avoidance action, the statute of limitations and the results of an avoidance action case law survey.  The panel included Brett D. Fallon of Morris James LLP in Wilmington, Anne Marie P. Kelley of Dilworth Paxson LLP in Cherry Hill, N.J., Gregory J. Mascitti of Nixon Peabody LLP in Rochester, N.Y. and Kathleen M. Miller of Smith, Katzenstein & Furlow, LLP in Wilmington.  Follow the link below to review the full materials from the session.

Leveling The Playing Field: Avoidance Issues Update (pdf)

The session "After The Storm: Post-confirmation Issues," included in its materials an interesting paper by David R. Hurst, Laurie A. Krepto and Simon E. Fraser of Montgomery, McCracken, Walker & Rhoads, LLP in Wilmington, entitled The Scope of Post-Confirmation Bankruptcy Court Jurisdiction.  Mr. Hurst also served on the panel which included Leon R. Barson of Pepper Hamilton LLP in Philadelphia, Geraldine E. Ponto of Gibbons PC in Newark, N.J. and Dean C. Waldt of Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll, LLP in Voorhees, N.J.  Hon. Kevin R. Huennekens, U.S. Bankruptcy Court (E.D. Va.) moderated.

The Scope of Post-Confirmation Bankruptcy Court Jurisdiction (pdf) - David R. Hurst, Laurie A. Krepto and Simon E. Fraser

 

ABI Law Review – Squaring Bankruptcy Valuation Practice with Daubert Demands

The American Bankruptcy Institute Law Review, published twice a year by Thomson West, is among the most respected scholarly publications in the bankruptcy community. Free to ABI members, the ABI Law Review has the largest circulation of any bankruptcy law review. The Law Review is edited by top students at St. John's University School of Law under the direction of Prof. G. Ray Warner, an ABI director, former member of the ABI Executive Committee and the director of the LL.M. program at St. John's.  The Spring 2008 issue contains seven articles and one LL.M. thesis on topics such as substantive consolidation in large public company bankruptcies, due process and nationwide service, trends in distressed debt investing, wage priorities in bankruptcy, Delaware's "irrelevance," consumers' post-discharge finances and non-assignable contracts in bankruptcy.

Of particular interest to the committee is the article entitled Squaring Bankruptcy Valuation Practice with Daubert Demands, written by Stan Bernstein, Susan H. Seabury and Jack F. Williams.  Mr. Bernstein is a professor at the John Marshall School of Law in Atlanta and a former U.S. bankruptcy judge for the Eastern District of New York.  Ms. Seabury is a director of and special counsel to BDO Seidman LLP.  Mr. Williams is the current ABI Robert M. Zinman Scholar in Residence, a professor at Georgia State University College of Law, and a director of BDO Seidman LLP.  In Part I of the article, they discuss the new role envisioned by the Supreme Court for federal courts, addressing the introduction of expert valuation testimony.  In Part II, they present several valuation tools employed by valuation experts in bankruptcy cases and a methodology designed to address the relevance and reliability concerns embodied in Daubert.    In Part III, they use valuation cases as a narrative to build a better story of how valuation testimony should square with Daubert requirements.  Please click below to read the full article.

Squaring Bankruptcy Valuation Practice with Daubert Demands (pdf)

 

Committee Session At The ABI Winter Leadership Conference

The Winter Leadership Conference will be held Dec. 4-6 in Tucson, AZ, at the Westin La Paloma.  This year's conference will feature another great group of sessions and speakers, as well as some top-notch entertainment!  The Bankruptcy Litigation Committee will hold a joint session with the New & Young Members Committee entitled "Electronic Discovery, Wall Street to Main Street: Management of Electronic Discovery Issues in Bankruptcy Litigation."  The speakers will include George Mesires of Barack, Ferrazzano, Kirschbaum and Nagelberg, LLP in Chicago, William Meyers of Goldberg Kohn in Chicago and Andrea Schwartz of Fulbright and Jaworski in New York. The session will take place on Friday, at 3:45 p.m.  Register for the conference online.