Tag Archives: Chapter 7
Supreme Court Hears Oral Argument on “Lien-Stripping” in Chapter 7 Cases
In 1992, the United States Supreme Court came down with a decision in Dewsnup v. Timm that has caused a stir in the Chapter 7 bankruptcy world ever since. The Court held that, under section 506(d) of the Bankruptcy Code, a Chapter 7 debtor could not “strip down” a lien to the current value of the collateral, thereby getting rid of a junior mortgage lien, when the senior debt owed exceeds the value of the collateral. In part, the Supreme Court went against lien-stripping because the Bankruptcy Act (the predecessor to the Code) provided that liens pass through bankruptcy unaffected […]
IRVING PICARD, MADOFF TRUSTEE, IS AT IT AGAIN
Did you miss him? Irving Picard, the Trustee liquidating Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC, was back in the news recently. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Burton Lifland of the Southern District of New York concluded that “time-based” damages to victims of the massive Ponzi scheme should not be awarded. The ruling means that Madoff victims who still stand to recover from the liquidation will not have their distributions adjusted for interest or inflation. In anticipation of the decision, Picard held approximately $1.36 billion in reserve that can now be distributed more quickly, albeit at his desired “discount.” Although Picard has already […]
