The Absolute Priority Rule is an arcane part of the Bankruptcy Code (see 11 USC § 1129(b)(2)(B)(ii)). It says that, in a Chapter 11 plan, lower classes of creditors cannot be paid anything unless higher classes have either been paid in full Read more >>
January 18, 2013
“Impossible,” you’re probably thinking. But it’s not. Here’s why. Read more »
December 26, 2012
He had a great mansion in Lake Sherwood, near Thousand Oaks, but when his financial-services firm fell apart, so did his life. Baseball legend Lenny Dykstra, who went through bankruptcy in 2009 (claiming about $25 million in assets and $37 million in debts), thought he could hide assets Read more >>
December 3, 2012
The IRS has seized Lindsay Lohan’s bank accounts. It appears that she owes about $233,000 in back taxes. Read more »
December 13, 2012
Attorneys often try to hide a client’s information, disclosing as little as possible. This legal strategy sometimes has comical effects, as in this exchange I heard in a deposition:Read more >>
October 15, 2012
I had an American client who lived in Europe – Luxembourg, of all places. He moved because his business ventures in the US were going bad. His wife was from Luxembourg, so the family moved close to his in-laws Read more >>
October 10, 2012
I’ve always maintained that Congress will never reform the Tax Code toward simplicity. Here is a scholarly article that says just that: the power to tax, and to keep changes in the Tax Code in play, is just too valuable an asset for Congress to give up. Read more »
October 9, 2012
Here is an op-ed article that describes why I like being a lawyer. Read more »
September 14, 2012
Self-employed persons face special challenges in filing bankruptcy. When I hear that a potential debtor has a business, a slew of questions come up: is the business incorporated, a partnership, or a sole proprietorship? Does the debtor Read more >>
June 28, 2012
My client was a landlady who rented her three-unit house not far from the beach in Ventura. The county came by one day and put yellow tags on two of the units, calling them “substandard” and evicting the tenants that day. Why “substandard?” Read more >>
May 21, 2012
