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The Bankruptcy Court has the inherent power to impose civil contempt as a sanction for a violation of the discharge injunction. 11 U.S.C. §105. Even though these inherent powers derive from civil contempt, courts have fashioned their own standards for violators of the discharge injunction. The majority of circuits applied an objective standard akin to strict liability to discharge injunction violations. But the Ninth Circuit concluded that a “creditor’s good faith belief” that the discharge order “does not apply to the creditor’s claim precludes a finding of contempt, even if the creditor’s belief is unreasonable.” This circuit split resulted in the Supreme Court’s recent opinion in Taggart v. Lorenzen, 139 S. Ct. 1795, 1799 (2019), which rejected both bankruptcy court approaches. Instead, the Supreme Court decided that “[a] court may hold a creditor in civil contempt for violating a discharge order if there is no fair ground of doubt as to whether the order barred the creditor’s conduct.” Id. at 1799. Although this standard appears to be new, it is more than a century old and “brings the old soil” from civil contempt with it.
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Can a Debtor That Has No Ongoing Business Operations Reorganize Under Chapter 11 In Good Faith?
By Lawrence J. Kotler and Roxanne J. Indelicato
In a recent decision, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas (the court) addressed whether a debtor that has no independent assets or ongoing business operations can reorganize under Chapter 11 in good faith.
J&J Gets Stay In Talc Chapter 11 Dismissal
By Amanda Bronstad
Johnson & Johnson’s talc bankruptcy may be on its last legs, but it’s still standing — at least for a while. On February 13, Johnson & Johnson subsidiary LTL Management petitioned the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit to rehear its Jan. 30 decision dismissing its Chapter 11 case
Fifth Circuit Adds Color to Abstention Issue
By Francis J. Lawall and Brenden Dahrouge
Rules Bankruptcy Court Lacked Jurisdiction to Decide State-Governed Question
Jurisdictional boundaries within the federal system as between bankruptcy and district courts as well as various federal agencies can be a maze that is at times nearly impossible to navigate. Further complicating matters are those cases involving state-regulated issues that add abstention to the mix.
Rights of Tenant to Security Deposit When Landlord Files for Bankruptcy
By Andrew C. Kassner and Joseph N. Argentina Jr.
As we debate whether there will be a “soft” or “hard” landing of the economy and the resulting effect of different landings on the volume of bankruptcy filings, it is helpful to review how a bankruptcy filing affects not only rights between a creditor and the debtor, but also the respective rights of creditors against property held by the debtor.
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