Legislation

ANALYSIS: FORECLOSURE WAVE AVERTED AS DOOMSAYERS DEFIED

The U.S. has not seen the surge of delinquent homes predicted by market researchers, academics and Wall Street analysts following the settlement of the government's investigation into faulty mortgage practices, Bloomberg News reported today. The flood failed to materialize, even after the five biggest U.S. mortgage servicers reached a $25 billion settlement with federal and state regulators in February. Instead, the number of properties for sale shrank to the fewest in a decade, prices appreciated at the fastest pace since 2005, and the gradual healing of the housing market helped boost consumer confidence and the economy. Banks have stepped up foreclosure alternatives to avoid legal challenges. They are forgiving debt, modifying payment plans and approving short sales that allow homeowners to sell for less than they owe. Read more.

U.S. MORTGAGE-BACKER ROLE GROWS AS FISCAL TALKS DELAY FIX

The federal government's role as the backer of most U.S. home loans is becoming entrenched as fiscal issues divert Congress and the White House from a housing-finance overhaul that would shift more risk to private capital, Bloomberg News reported today. At the core of such an overhaul is the future of Washington, D.C.-based Fannie Mae and McLean, Va.-based Freddie Mac, the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) that provide market liquidity by buying home loans and bundling them into securities. As they neared collapse in 2008, the companies were placed into federal conservatorship. "It is vital to the long-term health of our country’s housing and financial markets that our elected leaders seek to bring the conservatorships to a conclusion, and to define the government's role and requirements for housing finance in the future," said Federal Housing Finance Agency acting director Edward J. DeMarco. Housing-finance reform is only “number two or three” on the agenda for Congress, Jim Millstein, the former U.S. Treasury Department chief restructuring officer who now runs advisory firm Millstein & Co., said. "The reality is that a now-four-year-long conservatorship is no longer even threatening to become a nationalization of the mortgage market," said Millstein. "It is becoming the nationalization of the mortgage market." Read more.

DODD-FRANK SWAP-CLEARING RULE GETS CFTC FINAL APPROVAL

Wall Street's largest swap dealers, including Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co., will be required to guarantee trades at clearinghouses starting in March under a rule made final by the top U.S. derivatives regulator, Bloomberg News reported today. The five-member Commodity Futures Trading Commission voted unanimously in a private process yesterday to complete the final determinations, the agency said. The rule, which had been scheduled for a public vote, determines which credit and interest-rate swaps must be guaranteed at clearinghouses owned by LCH.Clearnet Group Ltd., CME Group Inc. and Intercontinental Exchange Inc. "Central clearing lowers the risk of the highly interconnected financial system," CFTC Chairman Gary Gensler said. "It also democratizes the market by eliminating the need for market participants to individually determine counterparty credit risk, as now clearinghouses stand between buyers and sellers." Read more.

FINAL VOLCKER RULE TO BE DELAYED UNTIL 2013

Due to the complexity of the Volcker rule, the challenges of agency coordination and the volume of feedback regulators received, government officials are now pointing to the first quarter of 2013 as a more likely deadline over the year-end goal shared previously by participants like Martin Gruenberg, acting chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., CNBC.com reported yesterday. "Our goal is to achieve a strong and consistent rule, although the process is not as easy or simple as any of us would like," said Treasury Undersecretary Mary Miller. Miller noted that regulators had received more than 18,000 comment letters on the proposed rule, but they were making "steady progress" toward its implementation. The rule, part of the Dodd-Frank Act, aims to restrict banks from making certain speculative investments for their own gain — also known as proprietary trading. Such practices came under harsh scrutiny during the financial crisis when banks made big bets based on the direction of the economy, while advising clients otherwise. Read more.

EXPERTS SAY BANKRUPTCY AN UNATTRACTIVE OPTION FOR DETROIT

While Detroit appears to be headed toward chapter 9 bankruptcy as political and legal battles continue to stall fiscal reforms required by the state for the release of millions in critical bond funding, financial and legal experts warn that the city should avoid bankruptcy, the Detroit News reported today. Experts say that Detroit, which would be the biggest city ever to file for bankruptcy protection in American history, should steel itself for a long, costly process involving a litany of unknowns if the state allows it to proceed with a chapter 9 filing. "The way the laws are now, it's a really messy option," said Kenneth Whipple, a retired businessman and member of the city's Financial Advisory Board created by Gov. Rick Snyder to help monitor Detroit's finances. "There aren't any cities as big as Detroit in as complicated a legal structure that have gone that way." The city and state have been at an impasse over the specific reforms Detroit must meet as part of a "milestone agreement" to claim $30 million in state bond funding that is currently being held in escrow. Detroit needs the funds to get through yet another short-term cash crunch, but the Snyder administration seems unwilling to budge. Read more.

LIVE WEBCASTS AVAILABLE TOMORROW FROM ABI'S WINTER LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE!

Not able to attend ABI’s Winter Leadership Conference starting today in Tucson, Ariz.? You will not want to miss two events tomorrow available via live webstream: ABI’s Chapter 11 Commission and a concert by ABI’s Indubitable Equivalents dedicated to Steven Golick.

• At 1:15 p.m. ET (11:15 a.m. MT), ABI's Commission to Study the Reform of Chapter 11 will hold its final public hearing of 2012. Members are encouraged to watch the hearing via a live webstream available at http://commission.abi.org. All materials are part of the Commission's record to be transmitted to Congress following the two-year investigation and report.

• At 11:30 p.m. ET (9:30 pm MT), ABI’s Indubitable Equivalents will perform a concert dedicated to ABI member, leader and band mate, Steven Golick, who has recently undergone successful surgery to remove a brain tumor. Steve will be watching from his home in Toronto. Watch the concert live at www.abiband.com.

RICHMOND BAR CALLING FOR NOMINATIONS TO FILL JUDICIAL VACANCY; SUBMISSIONS MUST BE RECEIVED BY DEC. 13

The Judiciary Committee of the Richmond (Va.) Bar Association invites ABI members to submit nominations to fill a judicial vacancy in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virginia in Richmond. The court is looking to fill the vacancy left by the retirement of Bankruptcy Judge Douglas O. Tice, Jr. Suggestions must be in writing and should be mailed to Virginia H. Grigg, Esq., c/o Richmond Bar Association, P.O. Box 1213, Richmond, Virginia 23218 or hand-delivered to her at the Bar office located at 707 E. Main Street, Suite 1620, Richmond, VA 23219. Nominations must be received by 4:00 p.m. ET on Thursday, December 13, 2012 in order to be considered.

ABI IN-DEPTH

LATEST CASE SUMMARY ON VOLO: KEYSER V. WASATCH TOWERS CONDOMINIUM OWNERS ASSOCIATION INC. (IN RE KEYSER; 10TH CIR.)

Summarized by Brendan Gage of St. John's University School of Law

Affirming the Bankruptcy Appellate Panel, the Tenth Circuit dismissed an appeal by debtor Steven Keyser for lack of jurisdiction because his notice of appeal was untimely under Fed. R. Bankr. P. 8002(a).

There are over 700 appellate opinions summarized on Volo, and summaries typically appear within 24 hours of the ruling. Click here regularly to view the latest case summaries on ABI’s Volo website.

NEW ON ABI’S BANKRUPTCY BLOG EXCHANGE: COURT DECISION SPELLS WIN FOR VITRO BONDHOLDERS

The Bankruptcy Blog Exchange is a free ABI service that tracks 35 bankruptcy-related blogs. A recent blog post examines a U.S. appellate court decision yesterday that upheld a bankruptcy court decision to reject Mexican glassmaker's Vitro SAB’s controversial bankruptcy plan. The decision represented a win for bondholders that have been sparring with the company for years over its debt restructuring plan.

Be sure to check the site several times each day; any time a contributing blog posts a new story, a link to the story will appear on the top. If you have a blog that deals with bankruptcy, or know of a good blog that should be part of the Bankruptcy Exchange, please contact the ABI Web team.

LATEST BLOOMBERG LAW VIDEO: BILL ON BANKRUPTCY- PATRIOT COAL CASE KICKED FROM MANHATTAN TO ST. LOUIS

The decision sending the Patriot Coal Corp. reorganization to St. Louis will focus debate on the near impossibility of convincing a judge in New York or Delaware to send a bankruptcy somewhere else, as Bloomberg Law's Lee Pacchia and Bloomberg News bankruptcy columnist Bill Rochelle discuss on their new video. Click here to watch.

ABI Quick Poll

Despite the "free and clear" language of Sect. 363(f), purchasers of assets in 363 sales may still be liable for injuries to unidentifiable future claimants. (In re Grumman Olson Indus, S.D.N.Y.).

Click here to vote on this week's Quick Poll. Click here to view the results of previous Quick Polls.

INSOL INTERNATIONAL

INSOL International is a worldwide federation of national associations for accountants and lawyers who specialize in turnaround and insolvency. There are currently 37 member associations worldwide with more than 9,000 professionals participating as members of INSOL International. As a member association of INSOL, ABI's members receive a discounted subscription rate. See ABI's enrollment page for details.

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December
- Forty-Hour Bankruptcy Mediation Training
     December 4-8, 2012 | New York, N.Y.

2013

January
- Western Consumer Bankruptcy Conference
     January 21, 2013 | Las Vegas, Nev.
- Rocky Mountain Bankruptcy Conference
     January 24-25, 2013 | Denver, Colo.

February
- Caribbean Insolvency Symposium
     February 7-9, 2013 | Miami, Fla.

- Kansas City Advanced Consumer Bankruptcy Practice Institute
     February 17-19, 2013 | Kansas City, Mo.
- VALCON 2013
     February 20-22, 2013 | Las Vegas, Nev.

March
- Bankruptcy Battleground West
     March 22, 2012 | Los Angeles, Calif.

CRITICS QUESTION WHY BIG BANKS, EXECS DO NOT FACE MONEY LAUNDERING CHARGES

A few former federal prosecutors are critical of the Justice Department's record $1.9 billion settlement against British bank HSBC last week, saying that it was only the latest case of the government stopping short of bringing criminal money laundering charges against a big bank or its executives, the Associated Press reported yesterday. While some prosecutors heralded the settlement as a powerful blow to a dysfunctional institution accused of laundering money for Iran, Libya and Mexico’s murderous drug cartels, others called the action “too big to jail.” Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) wrote a letter to U.S. Attorney Eric Holder after the HSBC settlement, saying that the government "appears to have firmly set the precedent that no bank, bank employee, or bank executive can be prosecuted even for serious criminal actions if that bank is a large, systemically important financial institution." Read more.

COMMENTARY: LAST-DITCH ATTEMPT TO DERAIL VOLCKER RULE

In an attempt to prevent implementation of the Volcker Rule, representatives of megabanks are asserting that the Volcker Rule violates the international trade obligations of the United States and would offend other member nations of the Group of 20, according to a commentary in today's New York Times DealBook blog. The Volcker Rule is almost finished winding its way through the regulatory process, and a version should be implemented soon. But in a last-ditch attempt to block it, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has sent a letter to the United States Trade Representative asserting that the Volcker Rule creates a discord in G20 and invites foreign governments to retaliate at a time when we need those same regulators in foreign countries to support initiatives to liberalize trade in financial services. According to the commentary, there is no violation because there is no provision in any trade agreement that says U.S. banking regulators cannot protect our financial system by engaging in prudent regulation. Read more.

FITCH: BELOW-AVERAGE U.S. HIGH YIELD DEFAULT RATE TO PERSIST INTO 2013

Fitch Ratings is projecting a U.S. high yield par default rate of 2 percent in 2013, in line with 2012 activity, Reuters reported today. However, a bankruptcy filing by Energy Future Holdings, given its large size ($16 billion), has the potential to drive up the rate an additional 1.5 percent. The leading support for another below-average default year is Fitch's expectation of modestly higher U.S. GDP growth of 2.3 percent in 2013 combined with relatively good corporate fundamentals and the Federal Reserve's commitment to loose monetary policy. While the default rate is projected to remain low in 2013, it is important to note that the positive high yield rating drift of 2010 and 2011 reversed direction over the course of 2012 and the 'CCC' or lower pool expanded for the first time since 2009 - now $228 billion in size versus $197 billion at the beginning of the year. Read more.

NEW YORK FED: PROGRESS BEING MADE IN IMPROVING TRI-PARTY REPO SECTOR

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York reported today that progress was being made in reducing the risk created by a key market where dealers go to finance trading positions, the Wall Street Journal reported today. The bank said that JPMorgan and the Bank of New York Mellon have both made key changes that will reduce the amount of intraday credit in the tri-party repo market, the New York Fed said. The tri-party repo market allows bond dealers to borrow and lend securities. The New York Fed has been pressuring market participants to reform their market sector as part of a bid to strengthen the overall state of the financial system. Read more.

UPDATED EDITION OF MUNICIPALITIES IN PERIL: THE ABI GUIDE TO CHAPTER 9 NOW AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER!

The second edition of Municipalities in Peril: The ABI Guide to Chapter 9 has been revised and updated to include coverage of the latest cases and offers insight into pending actions in such larger urban settings as Detroit. Including a convenient summary of all relevant state statutes, this Guide is a must-have for bankruptcy professionals entering this burgeoning practice area, as well as for municipal finance personnel and counsel seeking detailed information about the fundamental issues of governance, credit and debt adjustment that uniquely surround municipal debt cases. Member price is $35 (Please log in to obtain the member price.) Orders will ship in mid-January. Click here to pre-order.

ABI IN-DEPTH

LATEST CASE SUMMARY ON VOLO: STATE OF MONTANA V. BLIXSETH (IN RE BLIXSETH; 9TH CIR.)

Summarized by Joel Newell of Lane & Nach, P.C.

The majority opinion ruled that by using the "context-specific" analysis based on the Nevada Statutes the involuntary bankruptcy case is viewed in the same context as a creditor seeking a charging order pursuant to the Nevada Statutes. The majority further held that Blixseth’s interests in the Nevada entities were created and exist under the Nevada Statutes; therefore, his creditor’s remedies are limited by Nevada state law, that is sufficient reason to deem Blixseth’s interests to be located in Nevada.

There are more than 700 appellate opinions summarized on Volo, and summaries typically appear within 24 hours of the ruling. Click here regularly to view the latest case summaries on ABI’s Volo website.

NEW ON ABI’S BANKRUPTCY BLOG EXCHANGE: THE COMMUNITY REINVESTMENT ACT AND THE HOUSING BUBBLE

The Bankruptcy Blog Exchange is a free ABI service that tracks 35 bankruptcy-related blogs. A recent blog discusses a recently released research paper examining the role of the Community Reinvestment Act and the housing bubble.

Be sure to check the site several times each day; any time a contributing blog posts a new story, a link to the story will appear on the top. If you have a blog that deals with bankruptcy, or know of a good blog that should be part of the Bankruptcy Exchange, please contact the ABI Web team.

ABI Quick Poll

A licensee of a trademark has the right to retain the license even when a debtor rejects the underlying contract creating the license. (Sunbeam Products, 7th Cir.)

Click here to vote on this week's Quick Poll. Click here to view the results of previous Quick Polls.

INSOL INTERNATIONAL

INSOL International is a worldwide federation of national associations for accountants and lawyers who specialize in turnaround and insolvency. There are currently 37 member associations worldwide with more than 9,000 professionals participating as members of INSOL International. As a member association of INSOL, ABI's members receive a discounted subscription rate. See ABI's enrollment page for details.

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Join our networks to expand yours.

2013

January
- Western Consumer Bankruptcy Conference
     January 21, 2013 | Las Vegas, Nev.
- Rocky Mountain Bankruptcy Conference
     January 24-25, 2013 | Denver, Colo.

February
- Caribbean Insolvency Symposium
     February 7-9, 2013 | Miami, Fla.
- Kansas City Advanced Consumer Bankruptcy Practice Institute
     February 17-19, 2013 | Kansas City, Mo.

- VALCON 2013
     February 20-22, 2013 | Las Vegas, Nev.

March
- 37th Annual Alexander L. Paskay Seminar on Bankruptcy Law and Practice
     March 7-9, 2013 | St. Petersburg, Fla.
- Bankruptcy Battleground West
     March 22, 2013 | Los Angeles, Calif.

April
- Annual Spring Meeting
     April 18-21, 2013 | National Harbor, Md.

ANALYSIS: HOW CHAPTER 11 SAVED THE U.S. ECONOMY

Harvard Business School Prof. Stuart C. Gilson’s recent study of the 2008 financial crisis says that restructuring and chapter 11 played a heroic role in helping the country rebound. In his article in the 2012 Journal of Applied Corporate Finance, Gilson writes that the "amount of debt that needed to be restructured posed a seemingly insurmountable challenge." At one point, "$3.5 trillion of corporate debt was distressed or in default. [Between] 2008 and 2009, $1.8 trillion worth of public company assets entered chapter 11 bankruptcy protection—almost 20 times more than during the prior two years," according to Gilson. A significant portion of the private-equity industry, he says, was "widely believed to be on the verge of extinction." Instead, in a relatively short time, much of the corporate debt that defaulted during the financial crisis has been managed down, mass liquidations have been averted, and corporate profits, balance sheets and values have rebounded with remarkable speed, according to Gilson's analysis. Read more.

REPORT: U.S. STUDENT LOAN WRITE-OFFS HIT $3 BILLION IN FIRST TWO MONTHS OF 2013

An Equifax study showed that U.S. banks wrote off $3 billion of student loan debt in the first two months of 2013, up more than 36 percent from the same period a year ago, Reuters reported yesterday. The credit reporting agency also said that student lending has grown from last year because more people are going back to school and the cost of higher education has risen. "Continued weakness in labor markets is limiting work options once people graduate or quit their programs, leading to a steady rise in delinquencies and loan write-offs," Equifax Chief Economist Amy Crews Cutts said in a statement. U.S. student loan debt reform has become a more pressing issue since the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) reported in March 2012 that the total surpassed $1 trillion by the end of 2011 and as interest rates on subsidized Stafford loan rates are set to double in July. The cost of earning a 4-year undergraduate degree has gone up by 5.2 percent per year in the last decade, according to the CFPB, forcing more students to take out loans. Read more.

For more information, be sure to register for ABI's "Student Loans: Bankruptcy May Not Have the Answers – But Does Congress?" webinar presented by ABI's Consumer Bankruptcy Committee on April 10 from noon-1:15 ET. Click here for more information.

U.S. CRACKS DOWN ON "FORCED" INSURANCE

A U.S. housing regulator is cracking down on a little-known practice that has hit millions of struggling borrowers with high-price homeowners' insurance policies arranged by banks that benefit from the costly coverage, the Wall Street Journal reported today. The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), which regulates mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, plans to file a notice today to ban lucrative fees and commissions paid by insurers to banks on so-called force-placed insurance. Such "forced" policies are imposed on homeowners whose standard property coverage lapses, typically because the borrower stops making payments. Critics say that the fee system has given banks a financial incentive to arrange more expensive homeowners' policies than are necessary. FHFA's move would apply nationwide to all mortgages guaranteed or owned by Fannie and Freddie—about half of the housing market. Read more. (Subscription required.)

COMMENTARY: IS IT ALREADY TIME TO WEAKEN DODD-FRANK?

A key effort in the Dodd-Frank financial reform act has been to bring transparency and reforms to the complex market of derivatives, but Republicans and Democrats on the House Agriculture Committee on Wednesday approved seven bills that would roll back parts of the Dodd-Frank financial regulations, according to a commentary in Sunday's Washington Post. However, Dodd-Frank's regulation of derivatives is crucially important to alleviate future financial crises and set a proper course for reform, according to the commentary. The bills now headed to the House floor for a vote weaken Title VII of Dodd-Frank, which is the part that regulates derivatives. "Derivatives are financial weapons of mass destruction, carrying dangers that, while now latent, are potentially lethal," financier Warren Buffett said. Bill Clinton said that he was wrong to avoid regulating derivatives when he had the chance. These financial instruments played a central role in the financial crisis, culminating in the collapse and bailout of AIG. Since Dodd-Frank, there has been extensive debate about the new rules for derivatives, which range from collateral to price transparency. But there has also been a counter-debate about who has to follow the new rules. Those who fall under "end-user exemptions" are largely able to forgo following the Dodd-Frank rules, and the easiest way to understand the bills passed out of the Agriculture Committee is to note that they seek to expand the scope of those exemptions. One bill would weaken cross-border regulations, allowing U.S. firms that run their derivatives in other countries to avoid following the new derivative rules. In the age of electronic trading and overlapping jurisdictions, this limits the ability of regulators to make sure that prudential standards are set in this country. Read more.

LAWSUIT SHEDS LIGHT ON ALLEGED INFLATION OF LEGAL BILL

The thorny issue of law firm billing is at the heart of a lawsuit involving a fee dispute between a law firm and Adam H. Victor, an energy industry executive, the New York Times DealBook blog reported yesterday. After DLA Piper sued Victor for $675,000 in unpaid legal bills, Victor filed a counterclaim, accusing the law firm of a "sweeping practice of overbilling." Victor's feud with DLA Piper began after he retained the firm in April 2010 to prepare a bankruptcy filing for one of his companies. The lawsuit has brought to light e-mails from DLA Piper’s lawyers about how the bill was running way over budget. Another described a colleague’s approach to the assignment as "churn that bill, baby!" Legal ethics scholars said that it is highly unusual to find documentary evidence of possible churning — the creation of unnecessary work to drive up a client's bill. Read more.

HOTEL BLOCK FOR ABI'S ANNUAL SPRING MEETING ALMOST SOLD OUT! REGISTER TODAY!

The hotel block at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor, Md., is almost sold out for ABI’s 2013 Annual Spring Meeting! Held April 18-21, 2013, ASM features a roster of the best national speakers, while the depth and scope of topics offer something for everyone. Specifically, four concurrent workshops will cover various “tracks,” including programs for attorneys in commercial cases, a track for restructuring professionals, a track of professional development programming and a track dealing solely with consumer issues. More than 16 hours of CLE/CPE is offered in some states, along with ethics credit totaling 3 hours, making the cost only about $50 per credit. In addition, committee sessions will drill down on other topics to provide you with the most practical and varied CLE/CPE experience ever. Sessions include:

• 17th Annual Great Debates
• Mediation: An Irrational Approach to a Rational Result
• Creditors’ Committees and the Role of Indenture Trustees and Related Issues
• Current Issues for Financial Advisors in Bankruptcy Cases
• The Individual Conundrum: Chapter 7, 11 or 13?
• The Power to Veto Bankruptcy Sales
• Real Estate Issues in Health Care Restructurings
• How to Be a Successful Expert
• The Ethical Compass: Multiple Ethical Schemes Applicable to Financial Advisors
• Chapter 9s, Nonprofits and Other Nontraditional Restructuring Processes
• And much more!

The Spring Meeting will also feature a field hearing of the ABI Commission to Study the Reform of Chapter 11, a report from the ABI Ethics Task Force, a luncheon panel discussion moderated by Bill Rochelle of Bloomberg News, and a Final Night Gala Dinner featuring a concert by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts!

Make sure to register today!

ABI IN-DEPTH

TEE OFF ON THE NEW ABI GOLF TOUR!

Starting with the Annual Spring Meeting, ABI will offer conference registrants the option to participate in the ABI Golf Tour. The Tour will take place concurrently with all conference golf tournaments. The Tour is designed to enhance the golfing experience for serious golfers, while still offering a fun networking opportunity for players of any ability. As opposed to the format used at ABI’s regular conference events, Tour participants will "play their own ball." They will be grouped on the golf course separately from other conference golf participants and will typically play ahead of the other participants, expediting Tour play. Tour participants will be randomly grouped in foursomes, unless otherwise requested of the Commissioner in advance of each tournament. Prizes will be awarded for each individual Tour event, which are sponsored by Great American Group. The grand prize is the "Great American Cup," also sponsored by Great American Group, which will be awarded to the top player at the end of the Tour season. Registration is free. Click here for more information and a list of 2013 ABI Golf Tour event venues.

NEW BANKRUPTCY PROFESSIONALS: DON'T MISS THE NUTS AND BOLTS PROGRAM AT ABI'S ANNUAL SPRING MEETING! SPECIAL PRICING IF YOU ARE AN ASM REGISTRANT!

An outstanding faculty of judges and practitioners explains the fundamentals of bankruptcy in a one-day Nuts and Bolts program on April 18 being held in conjunction with ABI's Annual Spring Meeting. Ideal training for junior professionals or those new to this practice area!

The morning session covers concepts all bankruptcy practitioners need to know, and the afternoon session splits into concurrent tracks, focusing on consumer and business issues. The session will include written materials, practice tip sessions with bankruptcy judges, continental breakfast and a reception after the program. Click here to register!

LATEST CASE SUMMARY ON VOLO: NORTH AMERICAN BANKING CO. V. LEONARD (IN RE WEB2B PAYMENT SOLUTIONS INC.; 8TH CIR.)

Summarized by Brendan Gage, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Eastern & Western Districts of Arkansas

Affirming the bankruptcy court, the Bankruptcy Appellate Panel for the Eighth Circuit held that a creditor loses its possessory lien in deposit accounts when it turns over the account funds to the trustee without requesting a court to adequately protect its lien in the funds.

There are more than 800 appellate opinions summarized on Volo, and summaries typically appear within 24 hours of the ruling. Click here regularly to view the latest case summaries on ABI’s Volo website.

NEW ON ABI’S BANKRUPTCY BLOG EXCHANGE: WHAT IS NEXT FOR CREDITORS OF DETROIT?

The Bankruptcy Blog Exchange is a free ABI service that tracks 35 bankruptcy-related blogs. A recent blog post examines the potential next steps for creditors of financially distressed Detroit.

Be sure to check the site several times each day; any time a contributing blog posts a new story, a link to the story will appear on the top. If you have a blog that deals with bankruptcy, or know of a good blog that should be part of the Bankruptcy Exchange, please contact the ABI Web team.

ABI Quick Poll

Who will win the NCAA basketball tournament?

Click here to vote on this week's Quick Poll. Click here to view the results of previous Quick Polls.

INSOL INTERNATIONAL

INSOL International is a worldwide federation of national associations for accountants and lawyers who specialize in turnaround and insolvency. There are currently 37 member associations worldwide with more than 9,000 professionals participating as members of INSOL International. As a member association of INSOL, ABI's members receive a discounted subscription rate. See ABI's enrollment page for details.

Have a Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn Account?

Join our networks to expand yours.

2013

April
- ABI Live Webinar: "Legacy Liabilities : Dealing with Environmental, Pension, Union and Similar Types of Claims"
     April 5, 2013
- ABI Live Webinar: "Student Loans: Bankruptcy May Not Have the Answers - But Does Congress?"
     April 10, 2013
- "Nuts and Bolts" Program at ASM
     April 18, 2013 | National Harbor, Md.
- Annual Spring Meeting
     April 18-21, 2013 | National Harbor, Md.

May
- "Nuts and Bolts" Program at NYCBC
     May 15, 2013 | New York, N.Y.
- ABI Endowment Cocktail Reception
     May 15, 2013 | New York, N.Y.
- New York City Bankruptcy Conference
     May 16, 2013 | New York, N.Y.
- Litigation Skills Symposium
     May 21-24, 2013 | Dallas, Texas

June
- Memphis Consumer Bankruptcy Conference
     June 7, 2013 | Memphis, Tenn.
- Central States Bankruptcy Workshop
     June 13-16, 2013 | Grand Traverse, Mich.

July
- Northeast Bankruptcy Conference and Northeast Consumer Forum
     July 11-14, 2013 | Newport, R.I.
- Southeast Bankruptcy Workshop
     July 18-21, 2013 | Amelia Island, Fla.