Recent Articles

Value Billing For The Bankruptcy Professional?

Sean McCaffity
January 28, 2009 21:24

Bloomberg has a story about $18.50 per minute legal services in some of the larger bankruptcies currently on file.  For those as bad at math as me, that is over $1000 an hour.  Nice work if you can get it.  The story does point out that there is an avenue to object to unreasonable or...

2009: Time to get Blogging (and Tweeting?)

Sean McCaffity
January 27, 2009 22:30

Jeez.  It's 2009 already.  Time to get moving on blogging for the bankruptcy litigation folks out there.  I suspect there will be plenty to keep us all busy this year (and the coming years, sadly).  Check back for more updates in the coming days and weeks.    One...

Auditor Negligence Exception to In Pari Delicto

Sean McCaffity
September 18, 2008 16:36

On September 9, 2008, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit issued an opinion in Thabault v. Chait & PriceWaterhouseCoopers, LLP, 2008 U.S. App. LEXIS 19227.  The opinion is an interesting read for a number of reasons, but I want to focus on only one portion of...

More In Pari Delicto

Sean McCaffity
May 20, 2008 16:43

On May 5, 2008, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York issued an interesting opinion in Adelphia Recovery Trust v. Bank of America, N.A., 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 36553 (S.D.N.Y. May 5, 2008).  This opinion is written in response to a Motion for Reconsideration and...

Frightening Freddie and Fannie Facts?

Sean McCaffity
May 15, 2008 15:38

Freddie Mac reported a large loss yesterday, but it was a loss that was smaller than expected.  Good news, right?  Well, maybe not.  Apparently, the losses were smaller than expected "because of accounting tactics that minimized the impact of bad loans." But here is...

In Pari Delicto

Sean McCaffity
May 02, 2008 16:06

A common defense that virtually every bankruptcy trustee or receiver must deal with when suing culpable third parties is the affirmative defense of in pari delicto.  The Southern District of Georgia recently issued an opinion dealing with the defense in the context of a Chapter 11 bankruptcy...

1929 Redux?

Sean McCaffity
May 02, 2008 15:30

My partner, Scott DeWolf, sent me this link the other day and I've been traveling and have not had time to stick it up on the blog.  It is an interesting news story (now a week old) picking up the comments of Joseph Stiglitz, a Columbia University professor and 2001 Nobel Laureate.  In...

"Subprime" Student Loan Crisis Looming?

Sean McCaffity
April 18, 2008 00:29

Sallie Mae's chief executive announced today that the student lender would still retain some "core" profits in 2008, but that new loans would likely be made at a loss.  He also indicated that Sallie Mae had been predicting a crisis in the $85 billion student loan market for some...

Officers, Caremark and Aiding and Abetting Liability

Sean McCaffity
April 15, 2008 16:01

In a recent post here, Francis G.X. Pileggi of the Delaware Corporate and Commercial Litigation Blog highlights the District of Delaware's decision in Miller v. Mcdonald, et al., Adv. Proc. No. 07-51350 (In re World Health Alternatives, Inc., Bankr. Case No. 06-10166) (April 9, 2008).  I...

We're In A Flat Spin, Maverick...

Sean McCaffity
April 11, 2008 20:02

Another airline, Frontier, filed bankruptcy today in New York.  You can see the Associated Press story here.  That makes four airlines in the past several weeks:  Frontier, Skybus, Aloha Airgroup and ATA Airlines.   It looks like turbulence is ahead this summer for the...