Utah

Bankruptcy Didn’t Block Contempt Proceedings in District Court Against a Debtor

In a case headed for the Tenth Circuit, upholding the dignity of the court overcame the automatic stay.
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Water Rights Are a Property Interest that Can’t Be Sold Free and Clear of Disputes

Disputes over water rights aren’t the sort of property interest that can attach to proceeds in a sale ‘free and clear’ under Section 363(f).
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Split Heading to the Tenth Circuit on Sovereign Immunity for Section 544(b) Claims

The Tenth Circuit will likely take sides on a split between the Ninth and Seventh Circuits on Section 544(b) state-law claims brought by a trustee in the shoes of an actual creditor.
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Utah Judge Engrafts Flexibility onto the Countryman Definition of Executory Contracts

Rooker-Feldman and other principles can bar rejection of a contract even if it’s ‘executory.’
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Corporations Are More Likely Eligible for the SBRA than Owners of Defunct Businesses

Utah’s Judge Thurman says that a corporation liquidating its remaining assets is engaged in business ‘activities’ and is therefore eligible for Subchapter V.
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Ponzi-Schemer’s Assistant Liable Under UFTA Even Without Knowledge of Fraud

Providing a necessary service for a Ponzi-schemer was enough to make an employee liable to return compensation as a fraudulent transfer.
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The Circuits Are Split: Are Referral Fees Paid by a Ponzi Scheme Avoidable?

Utah district judge decides that referral fees paid by a Ponzi scheme aren’t avoidable unless the recipient had reason to suspect there was fraud.
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Deceased Chapter 13 Debtor Excused from Taking Financial Management Course

Courts are split on whether the estate of a deceased chapter 13 debtor can receive a discharge if the debtor had not completed a financial management course.
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District Judge Rejects the Majority’s ‘Gotcha’ Approach to Automatic Abandonment

Sufficiently listing an asset anywhere in the schedules and SOFA will result in abandonment if the asset was not administered by the trustee, Utah district judge holds.
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Lack of Familiarity with PACER Is No Excuse for a Late Filing

Filing with PACER should be left to the experts, by which we mean paralegals.
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