Don\u27t Go and Do Something Rash about Cram Down Interest Rates

This Article considers the second and different question of how to value the proposed payments under the plan. While the question of how to value the proposed payments under the plan is different from the question of how to value the creditor\u27s security interest in property, there is a connection between the answers to the questions. The value of the payments must at least equal the value of the security interest

State Securities Regulation of Real Estate Investment Trusts

If one of John Saxe\u27s blind men of Indostan were to prate about a real estate investment trust (REIT) with knowledge only of state securities regulations thereof, his commentary would be no more accurate or revealing than his descriptions of the elephant. For almost a decade, state blue sky regulation has presented the primary legal obstacle to the organization of real estate investment trusts. This article will consider the nature and problems of such regulation

Chapters 11 and 13 of the Bankruptcy Code--Observations on Using Case Authority from One of the Chapters in Proceedings Under the Other

This Article will focus on the relationship between Chapter 11 and Chapter 13 of the Bankruptcy Code. A number of issues are similar or identical in Chapter 11 and Chapter 13. Furthermore, much of the language of Chapter 13 mirrors that of Chapter 11. This Article explores whether courts should apply case law and concepts of one chapter when similar issues arise in proceedings under the other chapter. Parts II and III of this Article address basic similarities and differences between Chapters 11 and 13. Parts IV, V, and VI examine three issues governed by statutory language common to both chapters. Part IV discusses the discount factor applied in determining present value of deferred cash payments in a Chapter 11 or Chapter 13 plan. Part V analyzes the grounds for relief from an automatic stay. Part VI addresses the classification, under either chapter, of substantially similar claims

Recoupment: Apples, Oranges and Fruit Basket Turnover

fiscal years and deducted the overpayment from its payments to H during that year. The fiscal year 2000 was also the year that H filed for Chapter 11. H filed an adversary proceeding against US contending that the deductions within four months before H\u27s bankruptcy filing were voidable preferential transfers and that US\u27s deductions after the bankruptcy filing were in violation of the automatic stay. The bankruptcy judge, the district court judge, and a unanimous appellate court panel looked to the law of recoupment to hold that US\u27s reduction of payments was neither a preferential transfer nor a violation of the automatic stay. A short article discussing, inter alia, the First Circuit\u27s opinion in In re Holyoke Nursing Home, Inc. concludes, [o]ld issues continue to arise and be misunderstood .... To understand these old issues, we need to (l) understand the non-bankruptcy law origins of the doctrine of recoupment and the non-bankruptcy law differences between recoupment and setoff, (2) remember the language of the Bankruptcy Act of 1898 and the 1978 Bankruptcy Code and the bankruptcy law differences between recoupment and setoff, (3) review the reported opinions that distinguish recoupment in bankruptcy from non-bankruptcy recoupment, and (4) consider the role of transfer of property of the estate in preference law, the role of equity in bankruptcy and the role of state law in applying recoupment in bankruptcy

Bankruptcy Lien Invalidation: Role of Recordation

Congress is currently considering new bankruptcy legislation. To date, its focus has been on two bills, one prepared by the National Commission on Bankruptcy Laws, the other by the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges. Both bills call for substantial changes in present bankruptcy practices. Affirmative action on some combination of the two now seems likely. It appears that Congress soon will, for the first time in 77 years, comprehensively revise bankruptcy law. Accordingly, this is an appropriate time to examine closely basic bankruptcy concepts and policies. This article will deal with one very specific topic: the effect of recordation on lien invalidation under present bankruptcy law and under the proposed acts

James Martin: Friend and Co-Author

A tribute to James A, Marti

Foreward

The decision by the Board of Editors of the Mississippi College Law Review to publish a bankruptcy symposium issue is a timely one. In the boardrooms of American businesses and the kitchens of American families, more and more people are talking about bankruptcy; more and more people are deciding to file bankruptcy petitions. This increase in bankruptcy filings is in part attributable to world, national, and local economic changes, in part attributable to changes in business and society and in business and societal values, in part attributable to changes in the bankruptcy law

Products Liability: Defenses Based on Plaintiff\u27s Conduct

The past decade has seen dramatic developments in the law of products liability. There has been liberalization of the exclusive control requirement of res ipsa Ioquitur, Iegislative and judicial relaxation of the privity requirement, and creation of a new theory of recovery - strict liability in tort. Consequently, many jurisdictions now offer three theories of recovery to persons injured through use of a defective product: negligence, breach of warranty, and strict liability in tort. Although the recent products liability developments have been extensively treated both by courts and by commentators, numerous problems remain. One of the most pressing problems is the availability of defenses based on the conduct of the plaintiff