All posts in Judges Corner

Nice Bio of Judge Thomas Donovan

By | October 12, 2016 | Judges Corner | No comments
Image result for judge thomas donovan    Below is a great bio of Judge Thomas Donovan written by Corey Weber, Uzzi O. Raanan, Leib Lerner, and Asa S. Hami.  From the State Bar of California, Business Law Section, Insolvency E Bulletin
October 12, 2016 

The following is a profile of the Honorable Thomas B. Donovan – the sixth in a series of profiles of Ninth Circuit bankruptcy judges.  Judge Donovan and members of the Insolvency Law Committee met in his chambers and discussed his personal and professional background, observations from the bench, and issues of interest.

Judge Donovan was appointed to the bench in March 1994, and reappointed in 2008.  Although his current term expires in 2022, he plans to retire as of March 24, 2017.  Read more…

9th Circuit Review at the State Bar Meeting

By | October 4, 2016 | Judges Corner, Programs | No comments

Adler Novack State BarI had a pretty fun time doing the 9th Circuit Review with San Diego Judge Louise Adler and Oakland Judge Charles Novack last weekend.  It’s the 5th time doing the program with Judge Novack.  And I definitely learned a few things.  I believe you can get the program, at least in audio form, from the state bar.

Judge Alan Haber RIP

By | September 23, 2016 | Judges Corner | No comments

Image result for Judge Alan HaberHon. Alan Haber was a Judge in the Los Angeles Superior Court for more than 20 years.  I appeared in front of him a few times.  He was refreshing to me because he had a good knowledge of bankruptcy law.  Judge Haber passed away on September 10, 2016.  You can access the LA Times Obituary here.

Judge Scott Clarkson Refers Matter to Office of the Inspector General and Executive Office of the US Trustee

By | September 15, 2016 | Chapter 7, Judges Corner | No comments

Judge Scott Clarkson has entered an Order entitled (in part)  ORDER (1) REFERRING MATTER TO (a) THE OFFICE OF THE INSPECTOR GENERAL FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE AND (b) THE EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRUSTEE in the matter of In re Cherrett, Case No. 6:13-bk-24792-SC.  The Order states (in part) as follows:

“In the end, the process of administration of this estate, and the delay of consideration of closing of this estate by the Court, may have been improperly inhibited.  It was not the role of the U.S. Trustee, which is not a party to the appeal, to provide a de facto stay pending appeal.  By its affirmative actions, the U.S. Trustee may have intentionally favored one party to the possible detriment of another party, which if true, this Court finds unjustified and offensive.

Based upon the record as a whole and for the reasons set forth on the record,

IT IS ORDERED AS FOLLOWS:

1. The Court hereby refers this matter to the Office of the Inspector General for the Department of Justice (“OIG”) for the purpose of investigating any and all matters discussed at length during the September 13, 2016 hearing and as set forth in the Court’s Order. This referral includes a request that the OIG investigate and determine whether the U.S. Trustee behaved improperly or engaged in any impropriety with respect to the U.S. Trustee’s influence with the Chapter 7 Trustee resulting in the withdrawal of the Trustee’s Final Report. The Court refers this matter to the OIG for any appropriate actions, as deemed appropriate by the OIG after a full review. The Court further refers this matter to the Executive Office of the United States Trustee for whatever internal actions it may desire to take.
2. The bankruptcy court shall request and pay for a hearing transcript of the September 13, 2016 hearing, which is to be prepared on a non-expedited basis.

Download Clarkson’s Cherrett Order

Reassignment of Judge Neiter Cases

By | August 30, 2016 | Courts, Judges Corner | No comments

Reassignment Of Judge Neiter’s Caseload Effective September 8, 2016

News Category:
Public Notice

Effective September 8, 2016, Judge Richard M. Neiter’s pending bankruptcy cases and related adversary proceedings will be reassigned to Los Angeles Division judges, with the exception of cases listed in Exhibit A and any previously reassigned cases, as follows: Read more…

Nice Explanation from Judge Alan Jaroslovsky of the Need for Accuracy in the Schedules

By | August 27, 2016 | Judges Corner | No comments

From my friend, Wayne Silver, bankruptcy attorney extraordinaire in San Jose.

OPEN LETTER TO DEBTORS AND THEIR COUNSEL I have noticed a disturbing trend among debtors and their counsel to treat the schedules and statement of affairs as “working papers” which can be freely amended as circumstances warrant and need not contain the exact, whole truth. Notwithstanding execution under penalty of perjury, debtors and their counsel seem to think that they are free to argue facts and values not contained in the schedules or even directly contrary to the schedules. Some debtors have felt justified signing a statement that they have only a few, or even a single creditor , in order to file an emergency petition, knowing full well that the statement is false.  Whatever your attitude is toward the schedules, you should know that as far as I am concerned they are the sacred text of any bankruptcy filing.  There is no excuse for them not being 100% accurate and complete. Disclosure must be made to a fault.  The filing of false schedules is a federal felony, and I do not hesitate to recommend prosecution of anyone who knowingly files a false schedule.  I have no idea where anyone got the idea that amendments can cure false schedules. The debtor has an obligation to correct schedules he or she knows are false, but amendment in no way cures a false filing. Any court may properly disregard subsequent sworn statement at odds with previous sworn statements. I give no weight at all to amendments filed after an issue has been raised. As a practical matter, where false statements or omissions have come to light due to investigation by a creditor or trustee , it is virtually impossible for the debtor to demonstrate good faith in a Chapter 13 case or entitlement to a discharge in a Chapter 7 case. I strongly recommend that any of you harboring a cavalier attitude toward the schedules replace it with a good healthy dose of paranoia.
Dated: September 10, 1997 
Alan Jaroslovsky U.S. Bankruptcy Judge

Judge Sam Bufford to Teach in Romania

By | August 19, 2016 | Judges Corner | No comments

Congratulations to Judge Bufford.

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Hon. Samuel L. Bufford, Distinguished Scholar in Residence at Penn State Law, has been awarded a Fulbright grant to spend the fall 2016 semester at the University of Bucharest in Romania.

The announcement is here.

Kozinski “fed up with verbose lawyers and their bloated briefs”

By | August 9, 2016 | Appeals, Judges Corner | No comments

Nice article about Judge Alex Kozinski.  9th Circuit Appellate opening briefs are limited to 14,000 words.  I can’t imagine preparing a brief that is longer than that, and filing it the day it’s due along with a motion for permission to exceed the limits.  Apparently it happens a lot.  This is a nice little article in the LA Times today.  Kozinski says he won’t read the additional 14 pages.

Judge Sheri Bluebond Moving Her Chambers Effective August 22

By | August 5, 2016 | Judges Corner | No comments

Note from David Lally:

Dear Colleagues:

Effective August 22, 2016, Chief Judge Sheri Bluebond will move from her current chambers and courtroom on the 14th floor to courtroom 1539 and chambers 1534 on the 15th floor of the Roybal Building.  Therefore, effective August 22, all of her matters which have been scheduled or noticed for hearing in courtroom 1475 will be heard in courtroom 1539.

Please note that Chief Judge Bluebond’s reaffirmation agreement hearings, scheduled on August 18, will continue to be held in courtroom 1475.  Please let me know if you have any questions.

David

Edict From Judge Maureen Tighe

By | August 4, 2016 | Chapter 11, Judges Corner | No comments

Judge Maureen Tighe announced in court today that she is going to start sanctioning attorneys and chapter 11 debtors when the debtor does not appear personally at the Status Conference – per her status conference order.

← Older Entries
Newer Entries →