News & Publications

On May 20, 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its long-awaited decision in Mission Products Holdings, Inc. v. Tempnology, LLC nka Old Cold LLC, (Case No. 17-1657, U.S. Supreme Court, May 20, 2019) ("Tempnology"). The U.S. Supreme Court decided that a trademark licensee can continue to use a trademark license even when a bankrupt trademark licensor rejects the license agreement. For many years, we have been following courts of appeal decisions regarding the status of [...]

n a victory for Chapter 13 debtors, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit recently issued a major decision that changes the way bankruptcy courts in North Carolina will deal with certain home mortgages in Chapter 13. For over 22 years, bankruptcy courts in North Carolina prohibited Chapter 13 debtors from modifying the amount of a claim secured by a principal residence.  But in Hurlburt v. Black, the Fourth Circuit reversed itself [...]

Can a debtor discharge a debt arising out of a deliberate or intentional act that causes injury to you? A recent article addressed the general issue of discharging debts in bankruptcy and various grounds for excepting debts from discharge in Chapter 7.  This article focuses on the discharge exception for debts arising out of willful and malicious injuries by the debtor.  The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit recently reiterated in TKC Aerospace Inc. v. [...]