Bankruptcy Law

Prove GM fraud on court, if you can, bankruptcy judge tells lawyers in ignition-switch cases

Plaintiffs lawyers in dozens of cases filed against General Motors Co. over the diminished value of vehicles because of ignition-switch recalls have been arguing that a bankruptcy-court bar to such liability prior to 2009 should not apply. That’s because GM allegedly knew about the defect and didn’t disclose it to…

Jul 3, 2014 5:50 PM CDT

Defunct law firms aren’t entitled to claw back unfinished-business profits, New York high court says

New York’s top court has ruled that dissolved law firms in bankruptcy court aren’t entitled to claw back unfinished-business profits in hourly fee matters when lawyers take cases to new law firms. The New York Court of Appeals ruled (PDF) in response to a question by the New York-based 2nd…

Jul 2, 2014 12:08 PM CDT

Heller isn’t entitled to unfinished-business profits in hourly fee cases, federal judge rules

A federal judge in California has ruled that the bankruptcy estate of failed law firm Heller Ehrman isn’t entitled to recover profits from unfinished hourly fee cases taken to new law firms. U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer ruled Wednesday in a de novo review of a contrary ruling by a…

Jun 12, 2014 1:50 PM CDT

Limited power of bankruptcy judges to decide related issues is cured by de novo review, SCOTUS says

Though bankruptcy judges have no constitutional authority to decide matters outside their jurisdiction, they may make proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law in related claims that are reviewed de novo by a federal district court, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled. The unanimous opinion (PDF) by Justice Clarence…

Jun 9, 2014 4:05 PM CDT

Top NY court to hear arguments on unfinished-business claims concerning failed law firms

When a law firm fails, is its unfinished business property that can be distributed by a bankruptcy trustee? That is the question on which New York’s highest court will hear arguments Wednesday, at the request of a federal appeals court, the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.) reports. After two federal…

Jun 2, 2014 4:50 PM CDT

Bankuptcy trustee seeks $22M from 9 former Dewey partners in compensation clawback suits

Saying that Dewey & LeBoeuf was insolvent more than three years prior to its record-breaking bankruptcy in May of 2012, a trustee is seeking to claw back $22 million in compensation paid to nine former international partners of the now-shuttered megafirm. Lawsuits filed Tuesday in federal bankruptcy court in Manhattan…

May 15, 2014 7:50 PM CDT

In wake of $16.6M bill, judge asks Jones Day to explain disclosure of confidential Detroit docs

Updated: A federal bankruptcy judge asked Jones Day during a Monday court hearing to explain why some 120 confidential documents about closed-door mediation sessions were sent on computer disks to creditors of the mega-firm’s client, the city of Detroit, along with documents the creditors were supposed to receive. Partner Geoff…

May 12, 2014 4:30 PM CDT

Defunct law firm isn’t entitled to profits from hourly-fee cases taken to new firms, ABA brief says

The unfinished business rule doesn’t entitle a dissolved law firm to profits in hourly fee matters that are earned by new firms handling the cases, the ABA asserts in an amicus brief. The dissolved law firm’s interest in such cases should be limited to the work it has already performed,…

May 5, 2014 10:45 AM CDT

A risky move? GM heads to bankruptcy court today in effort to head off ignition class actions

Lawyers for General Motors go back to bankruptcy court today in a bid to ban class-action lawsuits over faulty ignition switches. General Motors said in a filing last week with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it is aware of 59 would-be class actions filed on behalf of car owners…

May 2, 2014 2:25 PM CDT

Bankruptcy firm to close its doors; at least 3 of 25 lawyers have found new jobs

Citing a decline in Chapter 11 filings, a 25-attorney Los Angeles-based bankruptcy firm has announced that it will close its doors May 1. Founded in 1948, Stutman Treister & Glatt also has offices in New York and Utah, Reuters reports. In a written statement provided to the Los Angeles Daily…

Apr 23, 2014 10:59 AM CDT

GM seeks bankruptcy court ban on class actions alleging lost value due to car ignition-switch issues

In a Monday filing, General Motors asked a federal bankruptcy court in New York to put the kibosh on nearly 50 class actions. They allege that owners of small cars manufactured by the automaker have seen their vehicles’ value diminish recently because of news about a massive recall over ignition-switch…

Apr 22, 2014 4:55 PM CDT

Wachtell Lipton co-founder Leonard Rosen dies at 83

Leonard Rosen, the co-founder of Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, has died at the age of 83. Rosen created Wachtell Lipton’s bankruptcy practice and was a partner at the firm from 1965 until 1997, when he took on an of counsel role, according to the law firm. He died on…

Apr 18, 2014 2:38 PM CDT

GM seeks court ruling it is protected from ignition-switch suits under bankruptcy law

Amidst a recall of at least 2.6 million vehicles over ignition-switch issues and a growing number of would-be class actions claiming that company officials knew of defects for years, General Motors is seeking a freeze on the litigation and a court ruling that it is protected from liability by bankruptcy…

Apr 16, 2014 6:15 PM CDT

Attorney accused of stealing nearly $30M before his suicide; law firm bankruptcy has recovered $85K

Before he apparently jumped to his death from the roof of his Long Island, N.Y., office in 2010, attorney Jay Korn stole nearly $30 million from clients and other would-be real estate investors in a Ponzi scheme, investigators say. So far, $85,000 has been collected on their behalf in the…

Apr 9, 2014 6:25 PM CDT

GM hires disaster master Ken Feinberg as auto recall grows; he will look at victim compensation

Amidst a recall of some 2.6 million compact vehicles to fix a faulty ignition switch and questions about why the recall didn’t happen earlier, the CEO of General Motors told a congressional panel Tuesday that the automaker has hired attorney Kenneth Feinberg to help evaluate possible options for compensating accident…

Apr 1, 2014 11:20 PM CDT