18th Annual Great Debates

Past Presidents’ Debate: Michael P. Richman Hunton & Williams LLP; New York Deborah D. Williamson Cox Smith Matthews Incorporated; San Antonio Resolved: Secured creditors should be required to fund the payment of all administrative claims and make a distribution to general unsecured creditors as a condition of cleansing substantially all of the debtors’ assets through a § 363 sale process. Judicial Debate: Hon. Kevin J. Carey U.S. Bankruptcy Court (D. Del.); Wilmington Hon. Frank J. Santoro U.S. Bankruptcy Court (E.D. Va.); Norfolk Resolved: A claim is not impaired for purposes of § 1129(a)(10) if the alteration of the rights in question arises solely from the debtor’s exercise of discretion, because § 1129(a)(10) recognizes impairment only to the extent that it is driven by economic need. Consumer Debate: John Rao National Consumer Law Center; Boston Brett Weiss Chung & Press, PC; Greenbelt, Md. Resolved: The Bankruptcy Rules and Forms should require that a national chapter 13 official plan form be used in all cases.