Bankruptcy Litigation Committee

ABI Committee News

 

The 27th Annual Spring Meeting

The 27th Annual Spring Meeting:  Washington, DC like you have never seen it before!  Located a few minutes from Capitol Hill, on the historic Potomac River, the Gaylord National Resort & Spa offers the most deluxe meeting and event space in the area.  This year's conference will be held April 1-4 and will have a special focus on the tough policy choices facing the new administration and Congress. 

The Bankruptcy Litigation Committee will hold a joint session with the Finance and Banking Committee on Friday afternoon at 4:00 p.m. entitled "Lender Liability in the Current Financial Crisis: The Latest Thinking on Selected Issues."  Panelists will include Harold B. Murphy of Hanify & King, PC in Boston and Brian I. Swett of Winston & Strawn LLP in Chicago.  Mark M. Maloney of King & Spalding LLP in Atlanta will moderate. 

Two other sessions will also be of particular interest to the committee.  Panelists in the session "Sophisticated Planning or Playing a Shell Game - Asset Protection Planning," will discuss the inception of domestic asset protection trusts and the ability of creditors and bankruptcy trustees to reach trust income and assets under recent laws.  Ford Elsaesser of Elsaesser, Jarzabek, et al. in Sandpoint, Idaho will moderate the session.  Panelists will include Barry S. Engel of Engel Reiman & Lockwood PC in Denver, Robert C. Furr of Furr & Cohen, PA in Boca Raton, Fla. and Paul G. Swanson of Steinhilber, Swanson, et al. in Oshkosh, Wis.  Please click the link below to view a paper by Mr. Elsaesser from the session materials. The complete conference materials will be available online a week before the conference.

Bankruptcy Trustee Tools to Recover Debtor Assets Held in Asset Sheltering Trusts

In the session, "New Wave of Litigation - Fraudulent Transfers, Broken Commitments, Failure to Fund, Lack of Good Faith," panelists will discuss indirect benefits cases, transferee issues under 11 U.S.C. §550, recent creative allegations and claims against lenders in hopes of generating recovery and fraudulent transfer issues.  Jo Ann J. Brighton of K&L Gates LLP in Charlotte, N.C. will moderate.  The panel will include John M. Duck of Adams and Reese LLP in New Orleans, Hon. Steven W. Rhodes of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court (E.D. Mich.) in Detroit and Sheryl L. Toby of Dykema in Detroit.  Please click on the links below to view the session materials.

Indirect Benefits in Fraudulent Transfer Cases
Initial and Subsequent Transferee Issues Under 11 U.S.C. §550
New Wave of Litigation - Fraudulent Transfers, Broken Commitments, Failure to Fund and Lack of Good Faith
Fraudulent Transfer Issues

ABI's VALCON 09

VALCON 09 took place February 25-27 at the luxurious Four Seasons Hotel in Las Vegas.  This joint program with the Association of Insolvency and Restructuring Advisors and the University of Texas School of Law's Continuing Legal Education program was a great success. This year's theme was "Risk, Restructurings, Real Estate and Retails," and included premier speakers in distressed debt, restructuring and valuation.  One of the sessions was of particular interest to the committee. 

Panelists in the session "Valuation Case Law Update:  Legal and Financial Perspectives," discussed cases that have had an impact on valuation in the context of avoidance actions and fiduciary exception to privilege.  Andrew I. Silfen of Arent Fox LLP in New York moderated the session.  Panelists included Lisa G. Beckerman of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP in New York, William Q. Derrough of Moelis & Company in New York and ABI's Resident Scholar, Prof. Jack F. Williams of BDO Consulting in Atlanta.  Please click the link below to view the relevant materials.

Summary of Recent Cases on Valuation in the Context of Avoidance Actions and the Fiduciary Exception to Privilege

Publications of Interest at the ABI Bookstore

ABI’s Bankruptcy Litigation Manual: What Civil Litigators Need to Know, written by Deborah Williamson, Charles Beckham Jr. and R. Scott Williams, provides the basic framework of bankruptcy litigation and is of particular use to civil litigators and other attorneys who do not have extensive experience in bankruptcy litigation. It can also serve as a quick reference tool for the more experienced bankruptcy attorney. The Manual provides a broad overview of bankruptcy; discusses the establishment of a claim in a bankruptcy case; highlights the effects of the bankruptcy petition, including retention of counsel and the automatic stay; outlines the jurisdiction of the bankruptcy court; explores procedural considerations such as removal, remand and abstention; addresses discharge and dischargeability of debts; and highlights issues related to settlements. Recognizing the lack of uniformity in the courts and the concurrent jurisdiction that exists in many areas of the state and bankruptcy courts, this Manual is heavily annotated. Softbound, 100 pages. Order your copy ($25 each) at the ABI Bookstore by clicking here. Be sure to log into the Web site first to obtain the member price!

ABI's Quick Evidence Handbook is a practical and highly accessible primer on the mechanics of admitting (or excluding) evidence in bankruptcy cases. Written by Evan Slavitt (AVX Corp.), an experienced litigator and past lecturer at ABI's Litigation Skills Symposium, the new book is especially valuable for new and young practitioners because it spells out what counsel needs to say to get documents admitted, experts qualified and witness testimony into the record. The text covers an overview of the types of evidence (direct, cross-examination, documents, experts and motions in limine) with illustrations on how to get documents and testimony into the record. Also treated are the basics of the hearsay rules that most frequently occur in bankruptcy litigation. An appendix provides a wealth of other practical resources. Softbound, 118 pages. Order your copy ($25 each) at the ABI Bookstore by clicking here. Be sure to log into the Web site first to obtain the member price!