The judicial power of the United States is vested in courts created under Article III of the Constitution. However, Congress created the current bankruptcy court system over 40 years ago pursuant to Article I of the Constitution rather than under
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Article I
A Patent Law Dispute Before the Supreme Court This Term Could Have a Major Impact on U.S. Bankruptcy Courts
By Ben Feder on
Posted in Bankruptcy
The Supreme Court recently heard arguments in a patent dispute case, Oil States Energy Services, LLC v. Greene’s Energy Group, LLC. Although the case has nothing to do with bankruptcy law, its outcome could have a substantial impact on…
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Judge Silverstein’s Opinion in Millennium Lab Holdings Threatens to Bring Clarity and Common Sense to Debate Regarding Constitutional Power of Bankruptcy Courts
By Ben Feder on
Posted in Bankruptcy
In December 2015, U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Laurie Silverstein of the District of Delaware confirmed a plan of reorganization in the Millennium Lab Holdings chapter 11 case that included the non-consensual release of certain claims against various non-debtor third parties. …
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Could Supreme Court Case on Debt Recharacterization Provide a Pathway Out of the Stern v. Marshall Maze?
By Ben Feder on
Posted in Bankruptcy
The Supreme Court recently granted certiorari in PEM Entities LLC v. Levin, in which it will decide whether federal or a state law should apply when a debt claim held by a debtor’s insider is sought to be recharacterized…
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Millennium Lab Holdings – Ruling on Third Party Releases Highlights Continuing Constitutional Questions Regarding Power of Bankruptcy Courts
By Ben Feder on
Posted in Bankruptcy
In Millennium Lab Holdings, Delaware District Court Judge Leonard Stark, on an appeal from a bankruptcy court order confirming a plan of reorganization, recently upheld a challenge to the bankruptcy court’s constitutional authority to release claims against non-debtor third…
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Supreme Court Decides to Maintain the Viability of the U.S. Bankruptcy Courts, But a Key Question Remains Unresolved
By Ben Feder on
Posted in Bankruptcy
Four years ago, in Stern v. Marshall, the Supreme Court stunned many observers by re-visiting separation of powers issues regarding the jurisdiction of the United States bankruptcy courts that most legal scholars had viewed as long settled. Stern significantly…
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Wellness International Oral Argument: Supreme Court Justices Grapple With Implications of Narrowing Bankruptcy Court Powers
By Ben Feder on
Posted in Bankruptcy
There were nearly a million bankruptcy cases filed by individuals and businesses in 2014. It is safe to say that only the tiniest fraction of such debtors have any familiarity with the Supreme Court’s decision in Stern v. Marshall nearly …
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Still Trying to Close the Stern v. Marshall Can of Worms – The Supreme Court To Grapple Again With Thorny Questions of Bankruptcy Court Jurisdiction
By Ben Feder on
Posted in Bankruptcy
Three years ago, in Stern v. Marshall, a case that arose out of the endless litigation between Anna Nicole Smith and the son of her late husband, the Supreme Court stunned the commercial legal community by reopening what many …
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Supreme Court Decides Not to Destroy the Current Bankruptcy Court System
By Ben Feder on
Posted in Bankruptcy
The U.S. Supreme Court yesterday, in Executive Benefits Insurance Agency v. Arkinson, limited somewhat the ramifications of its landmark opinion two years ago in Stern v. Marshall. The Court in Executive Benefits could have thrown the entire federal …
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Whither the Bankruptcy Courts? Will They Wither? Supreme Court Again to Consider Constitutional Limits on Bankruptcy Court Jurisdiction
By Ben Feder on
Posted in Bankruptcy
Two years ago in Stern v Marshall, the Supreme Court surprised many observers by placing constitutional limits on the jurisdiction of the United States Bankruptcy Courts. The Court, in limiting the ability of a bankruptcy court judge to render a