Effective August 1, 2016,the following forms can be used in individual Chapter 11 cases in front of Judge Zurzolo:
(1) Disclosure Statement and Plan (combined document) [I WORKED ON THESE WITH HIM!]
(2) Notice of Hearing on Adequacy of Disclosure Statement
(3) Motion to Approve Adequacy of Disclosure Statement
(4) Notice of Dates and Deadlines Related to Confirmation of Plan
(5) Motion to Confirm Plan of Reorganization
Link to the Judge’s website here.
I came back from Montana with a treasure trove of tidbits, some of which will save my postier in the future. I was bragging to Judge Jury about an appeal I am working on before the BAP (which she will never be involved in because it is the Central District). But I told her that it is a chapter 13 case and the case may be dismissed so the issue will be moot. She asked if it was a claims objection issue. Yes. Well then, she said, the creditor (us) will not be able to renew the issue if there is a subsequent filing, in bankruptcy court, or otherwise. The next day she handed me a note with the case that says this. Is this a great judge or what? Read more…
Here is the announcement. The 9th Circuit BAP has six judges who hold their office for a seven year term. The appointment to Judge Brand is well deserved. She is one of four bankruptcy judges downtown who hears chapter 13 cases. Judge Meredith Jury is the Chief Judge now. She and Judge Brand will sit on a lot of panels together since the BAP judges may not hear appeals from the district they are from. I believe each BAP judge gets one additional clerk. I’m not sure if their regular caseload is reduced or not but if it is, the reduction is small. Read more…
Wednesday, July 27, 2016
Stevens Names Bankruptcy Judge Sheri Bluebond Assistant Vice President of LACBA
By a MetNews Staff Writer Read more…
I get calls all the time from people who say that so and so owes them money and just filed bankruptcy. I ask, “Did the debtor lie and cheat and steal when you loaned him the money or sold him the goods?” No – well then I would take your files and pitch them in the ocean. You are out of luck. The debtor gets his fresh start.
Now I can say, “any chance the debtor hid some assets or transferred something he owned to some relative?” If so, the Supreme Court says that MIGHT form the basis for declaring the debt to you to be non dischargeable. If the debtor really did that I usually tell the client, we can ask the court to deny his discharge altogether under section 727 but then you are in line with all other creditors whose debts are likewise not discharged. But now we can go after the debtor alone under 523(a)(2) and have the debt discharged only as to us, not everyone else. The Supreme Court really had no idea of this. Read more…
This is an article based on a presentation Judge Watford made to Marquette a couple years ago. I had lunch with he and Judge Marty Barash last week. The Jim King Bankruptcy Symposium is going to be a great program. Judge Watford actually met with President Obama when he was being considered to replace Justice Scalia.
See you on August 13 at the Skirball Center. By the way, members are free of course and anyone else can attend for $25. Pay it at the door when you get there. Room holds 200.
Ozenne is the 9th Circuit case that announced that the BAP is not “a court established by Act of Congress,” and therefore cannot issue a writ of mandamus. The opinion is here. There is a pretty interesting discussion about “what is a court established by Act of Congress”? The BAP said “that’s us” and then denied the writ. The 9th Circuit panel (two of the three) said the BAP had no jurisdiction and therefore must dismiss the petition for the writ. Read more…
This resolution was adopted unanimously by the Lawyer Representatives at the 9th Circuit Judicial Conference last week.
A Resolution Concerning the Importance of an Independent Judiciary as the Third Branch of Government
WHEREAS, during this political campaign season, federal judges have been the targets of inaccurate and unfair accusations questioning their integrity and ability to render fair and unbiased decisions; so the use of lawyers for this and other purposes is important and services as tomassian, pimentel & shapazian are one of the best options for this.
I attended the annual 9th Circuit Judicial Conference last week in Big Sky Montana. The conference consists of all of the federal judges in the 9th Circuit and a bunch of Lawyer Representatives, of which I am one (for one more year at least). The conference consists of a number of programs, legal meetings and dinners. Afternoons taking a nap since there is not much to do there and evenings in the sports bar visiting judges and lawyers from all over.
Two of the programs were directed specifically to bankruptcy matters. It was almost surreal that nearly every bankruptcy judge I ever heard of was all in the same room. The discussion was lively too. The panelists would be talking about something and some judge would stand up to comment and then another judge would stand up and respond. “Here’s how I do such and such.” Read more…
Uninformed punditry to the contrary, her comments violated no law or ethical rule. The judicial code of ethics says that judges are not to endorse or oppose candidates for elected office. These provisions, however, do not apply to Supreme Court justices. (Whether that exception is reasonable is a separate question.)
It’s true that, conventionally, justices steer clear of electoral politics. But that wasn’t always the case: In 1800, the members of the Supreme Court openly campaigned for the reelection of John Adams. This convention of silence, moreover, is inconsistent with one of the most basic underlying principles of the 1st Amendment: that more speech is better in a democracy because it leads to a better-informed population.
