The Supreme Court handed a major procedural victory to hospitals in its June 3, 2019, opinion in Azar v. Allina Health Services.[1] By a 7-1 majority, the Court found that the government’s imposition of controversial Medicare payment calculations without a public notice and comment period violated the Medicare Act.
Hon. Jack B. Schmetterer of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Illinois issued a memorandum opinion dismissing a debtor’s lawsuit to equitably subordinate a secured lender’s claim. In re American Consolidated Transportation Cos. Inc., Adv. No. 10-00154, slip op. (Bankr. N.D. Ill. July 13, 2010).
It is well established that health care businesses are confronted with significant financial challenges, including lower reimbursement rates, constant changes in the delivery of services, increased competition and the need for expensive capital improvements to adopt the latest technology. Recent political uncertainty and heightened government scrutiny has only exacerbated these challenges.
Trustees were previously required to wait seven years after filing a tax return before distributing money to creditors.
To nonbankruptcy lawyers, Rule 2004 seems too good to be true. It appears to allow virtually anyone to obtain documents or testimony from any other person on any subject tangentially related to a bankruptcy. Not surprisingly, then, clever lawyers will attempt to push its boundaries. A recent opinion in the Cambridge Analytica bankruptcy examines and quashes one such attempt.
As a receiver or counsel to a receiver, it is important to be aware of your potential courses of action should you be required to locate/secure assets or seek the disclosure of documentation from a party in a foreign jurisdiction such as the Cayman Islands.
If you are a young or new attorney, there is a good chance that you have at least some (and perhaps significant) student loan debt. You may also be aware that discharging student loan debt in bankruptcy, unlike most other unsecured debt, is extremely difficult.
Secured creditors should file UCC-1 financing statements. A proper UCC-1 must list both the name of the debtor and a description of the collateral. In a recent case before the First Circuit, both components in initial financing statements were insufficient to perfect the secured creditors’ interests.
In an insolvency situation, a lender’s strategy is very dependent upon the nature and extent of its collateral. Nothing can be more frustrating to a lender than believing it is in a senior position, only to find out that it has been primed. While a standard UCC Article 9 search will discover most liens and security interests, certain liens and interests require enhanced diligence.
