Jason Binford

Narrow SCOTUS Majority Prohibits Nonconsensual Third-Party Releases in Bankruptcy

While the ultimate outcome of the Purdue Pharma bankruptcy case is likely to remain uncertain for quite some time, the failure to approve the plan may ultimately mean that no money at all will flow to these victims of the opioid crisis. However, the decision also stands to have much broader implications on the use of Chapter 11 to solve complicated problems, especially relating to mass tort cases. Given this potential to alter the landscape of Chapter 11 practice in future cases, the Court’s statutory analysis in the Purdue Pharma decision warrants close scrutiny.

July 2, 2024 Jason Binford

SCOTUS to Take Up Non-Consensual Third-Party Releases in Bankruptcy

The U.S. Supreme Court recently entered a short order that may later be seen as one of the final steps toward definitively addressing a bankruptcy issue that has bedeviled both lawyers and courts for decades.

August 22, 2023 Jason Binford

Not Just Any Decision: The Ongoing Power Struggle Between Bankruptcy Courts and State Regulators

The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals' decision in ERCOT v. Just Energy Texas, L.P. is notable in its own right for addressing critical issues regarding who has authority to regulate a state’s electric utilities. But the case is even more interesting when considered in the broader mosaic of recent decisions by courts dealing with how and when state regulatory power may be circumscribed by federal bankruptcy courts.

February 15, 2023 Jason Binford