Michael L Cook

September 25, 2024 | Law.com

Appellate courts are split on whether to review a bankruptcy court's denial of a motion to dismiss an entire case. Two district judges within the past few months, hearing appeals from the bankruptcy court, have reached contrary results that underline the split among the nation's courts of appeals.

By Michael L. Cook

11 minute read

July 22, 2024 | Law.com

Recent appellate decisions reflect a distaste for appeals from bankruptcy court sanction orders. A split Fourth Circuit even refused to hear such an appeal. Other courts tend to limit sanctions or, alternatively, accept a bankruptcy judge's findings under a stringent "abuse of discretion" standard.

By Michael L. Cook

12 minute read

March 25, 2024 | Law.com

When courts have made important exceptions in the past year, they have either added a gloss on the Judicial Code, corrected lawyers' errors, filled in statutory gaps, or clarified the relevant statutory language.

By Michael L. Cook

11 minute read

October 31, 2023 | Law.com

The Eighth Circuit's decision in Simply Essentials has practical significance for Chapter 11 debtor in possession (DIP) lenders. U.S. Trustees and unsecured creditors regularly object to the granting of liens on avoidance actions, but this and other appellate rulings should now eliminate the purported legal obstacle.

By Michael L. Cook

9 minute read

April 24, 2023 | Law.com

The decision by the Supreme Court has practical significance for corporate officers and others in an agency or partnership relationship, and also may have serious consequences for corporate Chapter 11 debtors whenever a "domestic governmental unit" is a creditor.

By Michael L. Cook

8 minute read

December 28, 2021 | Law.com

Recent cases show that appellate courts continue to wrestle with standing, jurisdiction, mootness, excusable neglect and finality, among other things. The following overview, in a series of installments, shows what the courts have been addressing during just the past three years. This first installment will cover appellate standing.

By Michael L. Cook

13 minute read

October 25, 2021 | Law.com

The Second Circuit applied federal bankruptcy law when holding that good faith is an affirmative defense.

By Michael L. Cook

14 minute read

June 28, 2021 | Law.com

A review of recent cases shows that poor billing judgment and unreasonable billing have been with us for decades.

By Michael L. Cook

9 minute read

February 22, 2021 | Law.com

A secured lender's "mere retention of property [after a pre-bankruptcy–repossession] does not violate" the automatic stay provision of the Bankruptcy Code, held a unanimous U.S. Supreme Court in City of Chicago v. Fulton.

By Michael L. Cook

8 minute read