Nationally, 1 in every 666 housing units received a foreclosure filing last month. In California, it was 1 in 288. Click here for the top ten states.
All posts in Community
GMAC-RESCAP Order Granting Relief from Stay
So the LENDER filed bankruptcy! The automatic stay goes into effect as to it. Limitations on doing business “outside of the ordinary course of business” without court orders now exist. No one can “commence or continue any act” AGAINST GMAC without permission from GMAC’s bankruptcy court. So does that affect all the motions for relief brought by the lender accross the country that are opposed by debtors, RESPA claims made to the lender, loan modification negotiations, demands relating to unkept promises by the lender etc etc. How does that affect pending loss mitigation programs, settlements already reached with GMAC, pending foreclosures and evictions, pending litigation against GMAC etc etc.
On July 13, 2012, the GMAC bankruptcy court entered a 19 page Order Granting Relief designed to cover these and lots more issues. NACBA got involved negotiating the order on behalf of the consumer bankruptcy lawyers throughout the country – good job. The order is here. GMAC Order 7.24.12
First Time for Everything: My First Webinar
On August 7, 2012 at 10:00 a.m., Peter Lively and I will teach a webinar entitled “Chapter 11: Handling the Individual Chapter 11 Case.” Should be good. Peter and I met yesterday to review the program and were arguing about something and pulling out our respective codes within minutes. We are preparing a powerpoint slide which can be followed while we talk. The program will be geared to the fairly sophisticated chapter 11 practitioner.
Woolly Wipes Out; Town of Mammoth Lakes follows Stockton into Chapter 9
On July 3, 2012 the Town of Mammoth Lakes filed its anticipated Chapter 9 petition. Unlike other municipal bankruptcies triggered by employee related liabilities, Mammoth’s problem is a $43 million judgment held by Mammoth Lakes Land Acquisition arising from a breached development agreement for land near the Mammoth airport. Debtor’s papers also cite the dry 2011/2012 winter as an additional financial pressure leading to the need for Chapter 9 relief. CALPERS, the largest U.S. pension fund, is the second largest unsecured creditor owed $4.2 million. Debtor filed a chapter 9 disclosure statement and plan concurrently with its petition and seeks to create a trust funded with Contributed Real Estate that will be liquidated and treat the MLLA claim as a general unsecured claim projected to receive 5% to 12% on its Allowed Claim. The petition, disclosure statement and plan are available here: http://db.tt/PJ5muS2F.
Debtor’s counsel is Kenneth Klee and Michael Tuchin of Klee, Tuchin, Bodganoff and Stern, LLP and Zack Clement of Fulbright & Jaworski, LLP. MLLA is represented by Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP. The case was assigned by Ninth Circuit Chief Judge Kozinski to Bankruptcy Judge Thomas C. Holman of the US Bankruptcy Court, Eastern District of California and is pending as case number 12-32463.
Beverly Hills Bar Assn Bankruptcy Meeting
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Taxation within Bankruptcy: How Tax Law Affects Bankruptcy
Noon – BHBA Conference Center
Sponsored by Hochman Salkin Rettig Toscher & Perez
First Hearing on Stockton Bankruptcy
| City of Stockton – Bankruptcy |
| Hearing set for July 6, 2012, at 10:00 AM in the Sacramento Federal Courthouse, Courtroom 28, regarding Debtor’s: |
- Motion/Application for an Order Directing and Approving Form of Notice; and to Set Deadlines for Filing Objections to Petition [OHS-2]
- Motion/Application to Limit Notice; and to Permit Debtor to Establish and Maintain a Publicy-Available Internet-Accessed Website in Lieu of Notice to Certain Parties [OHS-3]
- Motion/Application for Leave to Introduce Evidence Relating to Neutral Evaluation Process Under Government Code Section 53760.3(q) [OHS-4]
Update on Bankruptcy Specialization Class
Thank you for your interest in the Bankruptcy Specialization Class. The next (second) class is scheduled for 12pm on Friday, July 20, at noon. in the basement of Roquemore Pringle & Moore, 6055 E. Washington Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90040.
The books that are recommended are as follows:
(1) Blum, Brian A. – Bankruptcy and Debtor/Creditor Examples and Explanations 5th Edition (ISBN 978-0-7355-8851-
(2) EZ Rules for the Bankruptcy Code (ISBN 978-0-7355-7197-
(3) Martin, Nathalie – The Glannon Guide to Bankruptcy (ISBN 978-0-7355-0728-
(4) AWHFY, L.P. – Annotated Mini Code Mini Rules Western Edition (ISSN 1553-264X) [9th Circuit Caselaw]; and
(5) Markell, Bruce A. – Questions & Answers: Bankruptcy (ISBN 978-0-8205-5673-
Dennis McGoldrick and Wes Avery
City of Stockton Files Chapter 9 Bankruptcy Petition
U.S. Bankruptcy Court
Eastern District of California (Sacramento)
Bankruptcy Petition #: 12-32118
| Assigned to: Chapter 9 Voluntary Asset |
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| Debtor City of Stockton, California City Hall 425 North El Dorado Street Stockton, CA 95202 SAN JOAQUIN-CA Tax ID / EIN: 94-6000436 |
represented by |
Marc A. Levinson 400 Capitol Mall #3000 Sacramento, CA 95814-4407 (916) 447-9200 |
| U.S. Trustee Office of the U.S. Trustee Robert T Matsui United States Courthouse 501 I Street, Room 7-500 Sacramento, CA 95814 |
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Weil, Gotshal Top Bankruptcy Firm per Vault
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
VAULT.COM UNVEILS LAW PRACTICE AREA RANKINGS
WEIL, GOTSHAL NAMED NO. 1 BANKRUPTCY LAW FIRM FOR 4TH STRAIGHT YEAR
New York, NY, (June 27, 2012) Today, Vault.com, the source of ratings, rankings and insight for law students and lawyers, released its Practice Area Rankings for 2013. This year, as has been the case for the previous three years, Weil, Gotshal & Manges was the firm rated strongest in bankruptcy law by associates.
The firm once again beat out Kirkland & Ellis to claim its fourth straight title. According to survey respondents, Weil is “one of the big guys” and a “powerhouse,” whose attorneys are “bankruptcy masters.” Weil; Kirkland & Ellis; and Skadden Arps remained in the same positions as last year – No. 1, No. 2, and No. 3, respectively – but the rest of the Top 10 saw some significant movement this year.
Among the changes, Jones Day jumped one spot to No. 4, pushing Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld down one spot to No. 5. White & Case also moved up one notch to No. 9, while Latham & Watkins returned to the Top 10—after a two-year hiatus—at No. 8 in a tie with Wachtell Lipton. Pachulski Stang Ziehl & Jones debuted on the list at No. 7, making it the only bankruptcy boutique voted onto the Top 10.
In order to determine the Vault Practice Area Rankings, nearly 17,000 associates were asked to vote for up to three firms they consider strongest in their own practice area, but were not permitted to vote for their own firm. Vault’s rankings indicate the top firms in each area, as well the total percentage of votes, offering law students and associates a tool to aid in their career search.
The Top 10 Bankruptcy Law Firms Are:
Prof. Katie Porter Program at cdcbaa
Prof. Katie Porter put on a great program, entitled, Ten Bankruptcy Myths, this morning at Southwestern Law School. She started by telling us that we in the Central District are kind of weird, or strange, or odd, I forget the term she used. “You are outliers,” she said. The results of the statistical studies she works on often skew to the central district because we are such a large portion of the total. The talk focused on who files bankruptcy, why, and the effects of things like BAPCPA, filing without a lawyer, race, and the stigma of filing. For example, she easily convinced us that the stigma of filing a bankruptcy petition is as huge as ever. Most people treat filing bankruptcy as equal to a death in the family. And the people who file are more likely to be older than younger, etc. etc. I highly recommend the program if you get a chance to go see her.
You may know, “In March 2012, Prof. Porter was appointed by California Attorney General Kamala Harris to be the state’s independent monitor of banks in a nationwide $25 billion mortgage settlement.” If you have a question about that, she can be reached at CAMonitor@doj.ca.gov.
M. Jonathan Hayes Books
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