Automatic Stay/Discharge Order

In Manikan v. Peters & Freedman L.L.P., No. 19-55393, 2020 WL 6938318 (9th Cir. Nov. 25, 2020) the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals addressed whether a debtor was precluded from bringing a Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”) claim against his homeowner’s association when the claim at issue was based

The Wall Street Journal reports that U.S. consumer retail spending rose 1.9% in September 2020. September is the fifth straight month of retail sales growth according to the United States Department of Commerce. [WSJ; Oct. 16, 2020]

The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in City of Chicago, Illinois v. Robbin L. Fulton, et al.

Can state regulatory agencies move ahead with lawsuits against businesses who file for bankruptcy in order to enforce consumer protection and business laws, or does the automatic stay’s broad injunctive sweep capture those actions? The answer depends on whether the state is acting in its regulatory capacity or simply like another creditor – and the distinction is not always clear.
Continue Reading Regulator or Creditor: When is Enforcement of Consumer Protection Laws Exempt from the Automatic Stay, and Who Makes That Determination?

Brookfield Asset Management is aiming to invest approximately $5 billion in a retail revitalization investment fund to assist retailers impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, reports the Wall Street Journal. Brookfield will reportedly focus on obtaining noncontrolling interests in retail businesses with greater than $250 million in pre-pandemic revenue. [WSJ; May 7, 2020]

Bloomberg reports

Law360 reports that Purdue Pharma LP is seeking a 180-day extension of a preliminary injunction put in place earlier in the bankruptcy process that halted litigation relating to Purdue’s role in the national opioid crisis not only against the debtors themselves but also against the debtors’ current and former owners, officers, directors, employees, and associated

On June 19, Nicole Saharsky, co-leader of Mayer Brown’s Supreme Court & Appellate practice, discussed how free enterprise fared in the latest US Supreme Court term.  A webinar of the program is available here.

As discussed in our earlier post, during this term, Nicole and a Mayer Brown team which included partner (and

Yesterday, the Supreme Court held in a 9-0 decision that a creditor cannot be held in contempt of court for violating a bankruptcy discharge order if there is a “fair ground of doubt” as to whether the order barred the creditor’s conduct.

This is primarily an objective standard, which depends on whether the creditor had