In Todeschi v. Juarez (In re Juarez), BAP No. AZ-19-1028-FLB, published on August 21, 2019, the Ninth Circuit Bankruptcy Appellate Panel ("BAP") decided a split in the lower courts concerning whether a debtor must pay for its exempt property in order to comply with...
In U.S. Dep't of Educ. v. Carrion (In re Carrion), BAP No. SC-18-1234-FBKu (May 31, 2019), the Ninth Circuit Bankruptcy Appellate Panel ("BAP") held that a debtor remained personally liable for the entire amount of a student loan debt despite a marital settlement...
In Harms v. Bank of New York Mellon (In re Harms), BAP No. NC-18-1284-STaB (July 9, 2019), the Ninth Circuit Bankruptcy Appellate Panel ("BAP") held that an assignee of a beneficial interest under a deed of trust had established its standing to seek relief from the...
In Potter v. Alliance United Ins. Co., 2019 Cal. App. LEXIS 666, the California Court of Appeal considered whether a "Release and Settlement Agreement" releasing an insurance company from any claims for negligence, delay, bad faith, etc. and an agreement to forego any...
In Taggart v. Lorenzen, 587 U.S. ___ (2019), the Supreme Court has clarified the standard under which a creditor may be held in civil contempt for violating a bankruptcy discharge order. Taggart was a former co-owner of a company with two other owners. The company and...
On May 6, 2019, the Supreme Court of California published an opinion drastically altering the way strategic lawsuits against public participation ("SLAPP") statutes are interpreted. The anti-SLAPP statute allows for a "special motion to strike meritless claims early...
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) resolved a circuit split when it recently held in Mission Product Holdings, Inc. v. Tempnology, LLC, No. 17-1657 (May 20, 2019) that the debtor's rejection of Mission's license agreement did not terminate Mission's...
In In re Hamilton, BAP Nos. SC-17-1126 and SC-17-1123, the Ninth Circuit Bankruptcy Appellate Panel ("BAP") considered the intent requirement for non-dischargeability of a debt under Section 523(a)(6). The debtor argued that the Supreme Court case of Kawaauhau v....
In In re Altadena Lincoln Crossing LLC, Case No. 2:17-bk-14276-BB, the Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California disallowed default interest on a large commercial loan after conducting an exhaustive review of California law concerning the enforceability...
I have recently encountered many issues stemming from whether assets are held by one person in trust for another. Below is a discussion of the various trusts recognized in California.First, there are two basic categories of trusts: express trusts and implied trusts....