1st Circuit

Circuits More Deeply Split on Waiver of Sovereign Immunity for Native American Tribes

Over a vigorous dissent, the First Circuit Joins the Ninth Circuit by holding that Section 106(a) waives tribes’ sovereign immunity.
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First Circuit Upholds Confirmation of Puerto Rico’s Debt Adjustment Plan

Federal preemption allowed rejection of the defined benefit pension plan for Puerto Rico’s teachers.
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First Circuit Dismisses as Moot Even Though the Appeal Dealt with Payment of Money

Dismissal of a chapter 13 case moots an appeal regarding an allegedly erroneous order directing payment of money.
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A Trustee Can’t Always Avoid and Preserve an Unrecorded Mortgage for the Estate

Here’s an example of how state law prevents bankruptcy law from being uniform throughout the U.S.
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Puerto Rico Case and the Efficacy of Prof. Westbrook’s Definition of ‘Executoriness’

The bankruptcy community needs a better definition of what’s an executory contract, and Prof. Jay Westbrook has it.

In ‘Related To’ Jurisdiction, District Court Applies the Bankruptcy Rules, Circuit Says

If the district court is adjudicating a suit with “related to” jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1334(b), the district court applies the Bankruptcy Rules, not the Federal Rules, the First Circuit says.
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Avoiding a Lien Doesn’t Bar Collecting the Underlying, Nondischargeable Debt

First Circuit BAP explains what lien avoidance does and doesn’t do.
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Judge Elizabeth Katz Gives Some Relief for a Debtor Ineligible to Discharge Student Loans

Massachusetts bankruptcy judge requires flexibility from both the government and the debtor who is saddled with huge student loans.

Persistent Misbehavior Allows the Court to ‘Bend’ Strict Statutory Language, Circuit Says

First Circuit won’t allow a debtor to dismiss and avoid the consequences of abusive conduct.
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First Circuit Liberally Interprets the Police and Regulatory Stay Exception

The appeals court reviews the ‘totality of the circumstances’ when government action has elements of both regulatory enforcement and furtherance of the state’s pecuniary interest.
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