Venue/Jurisdiction

Major cases filed in New York may follow that state’s laws because of the location of the forum, contractual designation or some other reason. But New York law on debtors/creditors, fraudulent transfer, partnership and other areas may be out of date or may depart from the laws of other jurisdictions. Discussion of New York State law issues and recent cases certified to the New York State Court of Appeals, including rent-controlled leaseholds as property rights.

This panel will consider current issues of interest to judges and insolvency professionals.

This panel will review and discuss the Puerto Rico Public Corporation Debt Enforcement and Recovery Act, which was signed into law on June 28, 2014. The constitutionality of this Act has already been challenged by at least three separate lawsuits brought by different bondholder groups. A special courtroom has been designated in the San Juan Superior Courthouse, and two judges have been specially designated to deal with any filings brought pursuant to this new Act in the Commonwealth Courts. If Puerto Rico can restructure its debts under this state law, will this be an alternative for other states or jurisdictions? Is an alternative to this Act amending the Bankruptcy Code? Will this Act withstand constitutional challenges?

This is a chance for you to be a Supreme Court Justice. This panel will present the arguments on both sides of several important bankruptcy issues on which the circuits are split. Learn about the issues, and decide on which side of the divide you fall.

This panel will discuss “Stern problems” regarding bankruptcy court jurisdiction and the standing of various parties in light of the Supreme Court’s ruling in Executive Benefits Insurance Agency v. Arkison in order to identify simple solutions to these complex constitutional problems. The faculty will explain the key Supreme Court cases on constitutional jurisdiction and apply these cases to fact patterns involving preference claims, a Ponzi scheme case, a typical fraudulent conveyance claim, and a typical state law contract claim. The panel will also present the leading cases on standing and attempt to integrate a discussion of standing into the fact patterns.

This panel will feature a roundtable discussion with bankruptcy judges from the Ninth Circuit and across the country. The judges will share their thoughts and perspectives, as well as take questions from the audience, on topics of current interest in both business and consumer cases.

This session will be a fast-paced tour of advanced topics on a broad range of bankruptcy issues. While many U.S. Supreme Court decisions seek to address circuit splits and resolve issues of differing interpretation, the decisions often create additional diversity in interpretation and practice. This panel will address the last decade of Supreme Court decisions and their aftermath, and will take a look at pending and potential cases that may soon be decided.