3rd Circuit

Creditors Have Standing but Not Authority to Pursue Estate Claims, Third Circuit Says

Third Circuit’s Judge Bibas says that courts use the wrong nomenclature when they say that creditors lack standing to pursue claims belonging to the estate. It’s a question of statutory authority, he said, not standing.
Court: 

Federal Income Taxes for a ‘Straddle Year’ Are Administrative Priority Claims

On an issue with no appellate authority, a Delaware district judge rules that federal income taxes are administrative claims if filing occurs before the year’s end.

Suit by Foreign Liquidators Was Remanded to State Court

Delaware district judge permits remand when the suit was subject to mandatory abstention.

Delaware District Court Upholds Discharge of Environmental Fines in Chapter 11

Environmental fines are discharged in chapter 11 because they do not result from pecuniary loss.

Third Circuit Endorses an Alternative to Section 524(g) Trusts for Asbestos Cases

Appeals court says that using a trust for future asbestos claims rather than a bar order would be cheaper and avoid unnecessary litigation.
Court: 

Bankruptcy Court Had ‘Core’ Jurisdiction over Third-Party Dispute, Third Circuit Says

The bankruptcy court had ‘core’ jurisdiction over a dispute between two nondebtor third parties because the litigation involved the interpretation of a financing order.
Court: 

Fraudulent Transfer Damages Limited to Creditors’ Total Claims

Delaware’s Judge Owens won’t allow perpetrators of a fraudulent transfer to benefit from avoiding the transfer.

Four-Year Statute of Limitations Can Stretch to at Least Seven Years, Judge Owens Says

The one-year discovery clause in UFTA allows a debtor or trustee to file an avoidance suit even if the ordinary four-year statute has elapsed.

Stays Are Automatic from Denial of a Motion to Dismiss for Sovereign Immunity

Courts are divided on whether the district court loses jurisdiction to stay proceedings in bankruptcy court after the filing of a notice of appeal.

Delaware Judge Upholds U.S. Trustee Fee Increase in Pending Cases

Parting with some other bankruptcy courts, Judge Walrath upholds the constitutionality of the major increase in U.S. Trustee fees that was imposed on pending cases in early 2018.

Pages