Over Dissent, the Fourth Circuit Says No Arbitration for Automatic Stay Violations
A nationwide class action for a stay violation seems to be an open issue.
Law Changes in Georgia on Calculation of Fees for Standing Trustees
By excluding payments by the debtor directly to secured creditors from the calculation of the standing trustee’s fee, the recovery increased for unsecured creditors in chapter 12.
Legislative Highlights February 2026
Congress Passes “Bankruptcy Administration Improvement Act” The House of Representatives passed (voice vote) S. 3424, the “Bankruptcy Administration Improvement Act of 2025,” 1 to double the compensation payable to chapter 7 trustees in no-asset cases, extend the sunset
Fifth Circuit Rules on Judicial Estoppel, an Issue Before the Supreme Court This Term
Supreme Court will decide whether potential motive for nondisclosure invokes judicial estoppel, or whether there must be subjective intent by the debtor to conceal.
Ninth Circuit BAP Wrote a Handbook for Vexatious Litigant and Prefiling Injunctions
The Ninth Circuit hasn’t decided whether bankruptcy courts are ‘courts of the U.S.’ authorized to exercise powers under the All Writs Act, 28 U.S.C. § 1651(a).
No Removal Directly to the Bankruptcy Court in Another District
Although it makes sense and would require fewer judicial resources, the governing statute does not permit withdrawing a lawsuit directly to the bankruptcy court in another district or another state, as explained by Bankruptcy Judge Elisabetta G.M. Gasparini of Columbia, S.C.
The corporate debtor filed a voluntary chapter 7 petition in South Carolina. Two days later, someone (whom we shall refer to as the plaintiff) filed a lawsuit in federal district court in Georgia against several of the debtor’s insiders and a nondebtor corporate affiliate of the debtor. The debtor was not named as a defendant in the Georgia action.
The debtor and the nondebtor defendants in Georgia filed a notice of removal. As Judge Gasparini said in her December 16 opinion, they “purportedly remov[ed] the matter from the Georgia District Court to this Court [i.e., the bankruptcy court in the District of South Carolina].”
The corporate debtor filed a voluntary chapter 7 petition in South Carolina. Two days later, someone (whom we shall refer to as the plaintiff) filed a lawsuit in federal district court in Georgia against several of the debtor’s insiders and a nondebtor corporate affiliate of the debtor. The debtor was not named as a defendant in the Georgia action.
The debtor and the nondebtor defendants in Georgia filed a notice of removal. As Judge Gasparini said in her December 16 opinion, they “purportedly remov[ed] the matter from the Georgia District Court to this Court [i.e., the bankruptcy court in the District of South Carolina].”
No Pleading Around the ‘Due Diligence’ Requirement for a Preference Complaint
Delaware’s Bankruptcy Judge Horan gives examples of preference complaints that adequately plead performance of due diligence.
A Chapter 7 Debtor Keeps a Tort Claim Reincarnated After Filing
A tort claim time-barred at filing doesn’t become estate property when the legislature reopens the statute of limitations.
Inside ABI December 2025
Event Roundup ABI’s Annual Health Care Program Returns to DC ABI’s Health Care Program, a one-of-a-kind conference focusing on the future of health care and the latest on restructurings in this critical industry, returned to its roots in Washington, D.C., Oct. 22-23 at
Ninth Circuit Will Sit En Banc to Decide Whether Trustees Have Qualified Judicial Immunity
The Ninth Circuit will sit en banc, presenting the possibility of a circuit split that could end up stripping bankruptcy trustees of qualified judicial immunity.