Payments by Check as Voidable Preferences: The Impact of Barnhill v. Johnson

Under the Bankruptcy Reform Act of 1978 (the Code), the trustee in bankruptcy has the duty to seek to avoid “preferential” transfers of the debtor\u27s property made ninety days or less before the date of the filing of the bankruptcy case. Because of the delay that may occur between the time a check in payment of a debt is delivered by the debtor and when it is honored by the drawee bank, determining when the transfer was made to the payee-creditor has been a difficult issue for courts to resolve. The Supreme Court recently addressed this problem when it ruled, in Barnhill v. Johnson, that the date of honor of the check is the transfer date for purposes of preference law. The Court\u27s decision, however, has the potential to create significant practical problems because it frustrates general bankruptcy policy, it creates a conflict with existing preference exceptions law, and it is inconsistent with general commercial practice. In explaining these conclusions, this Article first considers the policies and goals of bankruptcy preference law. It then explores the language of the preference statute and analyzes the application of the statute to transfers by check. Next, this Article examines the recent Supreme Court opinion deciding the issue of the transfer date for payments by check and the dissenting opinion of Justice Stevens, with whom Justice Blackmun joined. This Article then discusses the potential problems that the Court\u27s decision creates. Finally, this article recommends that Congress revise the Bankruptcy Code to adopt the “date of delivery” rule for the effective date of check transfers in view of the problems that the “date of honor” rule will create

Special Masters in Bankruptcy: The Case against Bankruptcy Rule 9031

In this Article, the Author attempts to demonstrate that bankruptcy courts regularly hear cases in which the court and the parties could benefit from the services of a special master and that bankruptcy courts are hampered in their ability to handle cases in the most just and efficient manner possible because of their inability to appoint special master. Part II of this Article examines the role of the special master in the federal courts generally. It examines the scope of tasks traditionally performed by special masters, as well as the expanded role that special masters have played in recent years as the courts increasingly have relied on special masters in case management. Part III examines the nature of complex bankruptcy cases and the role that special masters could play in these cases Part IV provides background on the history and rationale for Rule 9031. Part V explores the roles of the examiner and trustee in bankruptcy, and compares those roles with the role of the special master. Part VI discusses the concept of the federal courts’ inherent authority to appoint persons to assist the court in performing specific, well-delineated judicial tasks in furtherance of the efficient administration of cases

Changes in undergraduate student alcohol consumption as they progress through university

BACKGROUND: Unhealthy alcohol use amongst university students is a major public health concern. Although previous studies suggest a raised level of consumption amongst the UK student population there is little consistent information available about the pattern of alcohol consumption as they progress through university. The aim of the current research was to describe drinking patterns of UK full-time undergraduate students as they progress through their degree course. METHOD: Data were collected over three years from 5895 undergraduate students who began their studies in either 2000 or 2001. Longitudinal data (i.e. Years 1–3) were available from 225 students. The remaining 5670 students all responded to at least one of the three surveys (Year 1 n = 2843; Year 2 n = 2219; Year 3 n = 1805). Results: Students reported consuming significantly more units of alcohol per week at Year 1 than at Years 2 or 3 of their degree. Male students reported a higher consumption of units of alcohol than their female peers. When alcohol intake was classified using the Royal College of Physicians guidelines [1] there was no difference between male and females students in terms of the percentage exceeding recommended limits. Compared to those who were low level consumers students who reported drinking above low levels at Year 1 had at least 10 times the odds of continuing to consume above low levels at year 3. Students who reported higher levels of drinking were more likely to report that alcohol had a negative impact on their studies, finances and physical health. Consistent with the reduction in units over time students reported lower levels of negative impact during Year 3 when compared to Year 1. CONCLUSION: The current findings suggest that student alcohol consumption declines over their undergraduate studies; however weekly levels of consumption at Year 3 remain high for a substantial number of students. The persistence of high levels of consumption in a large population of students suggests the need for effective preventative and treatment interventions for all year groups

An exploratory cluster randomised trial of a university halls of residence based social norms marketing campaign to reduce alcohol consumption among 1st year students

<p>Aims: This exploratory trial examines the feasibility of implementing a social norms marketing campaign to reduce student drinking in universities in Wales, and evaluating it using cluster randomised trial methodology.</p> <p>Methods: Fifty residence halls in 4 universities in Wales were randomly assigned to intervention or control arms. Web and paper surveys were distributed to students within these halls (n = 3800), assessing exposure/contamination, recall of and evaluative responses to intervention messages, perceived drinking norms and personal drinking behaviour. Measures included the Drinking Norms Rating Form, the Daily Drinking Questionnaire and AUDIT-C.</p> <p>Results: A response rate of 15% (n = 554) was achieved, varying substantially between sites. Intervention posters were seen by 80% and 43% of students in intervention and control halls respectively, with most remaining materials seen by a minority in both groups. Intervention messages were rated as credible and relevant by little more than half of students, though fewer felt they would influence their behaviour, with lighter drinkers more likely to perceive messages as credible. No differences in perceived norms were observed between intervention and control groups. Students reporting having seen intervention materials reported lower descriptive and injunctive norms than those who did not.</p> <p>Conclusions: Attention is needed to enhancing exposure, credibility and perceived relevance of intervention messages, particularly among heavier drinkers, before definitive evaluation can be recommended. A definitive evaluation would need to consider how it would achieve sufficient response rates, whilst hall-level cluster randomisation appears subject to a significant degree of contamination.</p&gt

A scoping review of smoking cessation pharmacogenetic studies to advance future research across racial, ethnic, and ancestral populations

Abstinence rates among smokers attempting to quit remain low despite the wide availability and accessibility of pharmacological smoking cessation treatments. In addition, the prevalence of cessation attempts and abstinence differs by individual-level social factors such as race and ethnicity. Clinical treatment of nicotine dependence also continues to be challenged by individual-level variability in effectiveness to promote abstinence. The use of tailored smoking cessation strategies that incorporate information on individual-level social and genetic factors hold promise, although additional pharmacogenomic knowledge is still needed. In particular, genetic variants associated with pharmacological responses to smoking cessation treatment have generally been conducted in populations with participants that self-identify as White race or who are determined to be of European genetic ancestry. These results may not adequately capture the variability across all smokers as a result of understudied differences in allele frequencies across genetic ancestry populations. This suggests that much of the current pharmacogenetic study results for smoking cessation may not apply to all populations. Therefore, clinical application of pharmacogenetic results may exacerbate health inequities by racial and ethnic groups. This scoping review examines the extent to which racial, ethnic, and ancestral groups that experience differences in smoking rates and smoking cessation are represented in the existing body of published pharmacogenetic studies of smoking cessation. We will summarize results by race, ethnicity, and ancestry across pharmacological treatments and study designs. We will also explore current opportunities and challenges in conducting pharmacogenomic research on smoking cessation that encourages greater participant diversity, including practical barriers to clinical utilization of pharmacological smoking cessation treatment and clinical implementation of pharmacogenetic knowledge

The effect of a curriculum-based physical activity intervention on accelerometer-assessed physical activity in schoolchildren: a non-randomised mixed methods controlled before-and-after study

Classroom-based physical activity (PA) interventions offer the opportunity to increase PA without disrupting the curriculum. We aimed to explore the feasibility and potential effectiveness of a classroom-based intervention on moderate to vigorous PA (MVPA) and total PA. The secondary aim was to assess the acceptability and sustainability of the intervention. In a mixed-methods, non-randomised, exploratory controlled before-and-after study, 152 children (10 ± 0.7 years) were recruited from five schools; two intervention (n = 72) and three control (n = 80) schools. School teachers delivered an 8-week classroom-based intervention, comprising of 10 minutes daily MVPA integrated into the curriculum. The control schools maintained their usual school routine. Mean daily MVPA (min), total PA (mean cpm), physical fitness, and health-related quality of life measurements were taken at baseline, end of intervention, and 4-weeks post-intervention (follow-up). Data were analysed using a constrained baseline longitudinal analysis model accounting for the hierarchical data structure. For the primary outcomes (MVPA and total PA) the posterior mean difference and 95% compatibility interval were derived using a semi-Bayesian approach with an explicit prior. The acceptability and sustainability of the intervention was explored via thematic content analysis of focus group discussions with teachers (n = 5) and children (n = 50). The difference in mean daily MVPA (intervention-control) was 2.8 (-12.5 to 18.0) min/day at 8 weeks and 7.0 (-8.8 to 22.8) min/day at follow-up. For total PA, the differences were -2 (-127 to 124) cpm at 8-weeks and 11 (-121 to 143) cpm at follow-up. The interval estimates indicate that meaningful mean effects (both positive and negative) as well as trivial effects are reasonably compatible with the data and design. The intervention was received positively with continuation reported by the teachers and children. Classroom-based PA could hold promise for increasing average daily MVPA, but a large cluster randomised controlled trial is required

Payments by Check as Voidable Preferences: The Impact of Barnhill v. Johnson

Under the Bankruptcy Reform Act of 1978 (the Code), the trustee in bankruptcy has the duty to seek to avoid “preferential” transfers of the debtor\u27s property made ninety days or less before the date of the filing of the bankruptcy case. Because of the delay that may occur between the time a check in payment of a debt is delivered by the debtor and when it is honored by the drawee bank, determining when the transfer was made to the payee-creditor has been a difficult issue for courts to resolve. The Supreme Court recently addressed this problem when it ruled, in Barnhill v. Johnson, that the date of honor of the check is the transfer date for purposes of preference law. The Court\u27s decision, however, has the potential to create significant practical problems because it frustrates general bankruptcy policy, it creates a conflict with existing preference exceptions law, and it is inconsistent with general commercial practice. In explaining these conclusions, this Article first considers the policies and goals of bankruptcy preference law. It then explores the language of the preference statute and analyzes the application of the statute to transfers by check. Next, this Article examines the recent Supreme Court opinion deciding the issue of the transfer date for payments by check and the dissenting opinion of Justice Stevens, with whom Justice Blackmun joined. This Article then discusses the potential problems that the Court\u27s decision creates. Finally, this article recommends that Congress revise the Bankruptcy Code to adopt the “date of delivery” rule for the effective date of check transfers in view of the problems that the “date of honor” rule will create