The Continually Narrowing View of Name Sufficiency under section 9-503 of the UCC

American Bankruptcy Institute Journal

by Andrew P. Moratzka

As the reader may be well aware, a financing statement must sufficiently provide the name of the debtor to be effective under the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC). UCC §9-503(a).

Recoupment and Setoff Under State Law

American Bankruptcy Institute Journal

by Andrew P. Moratzka

Relying on Travelers Casualty & Surety Co. of Am. v. Pacific Gas and Electric Co., 127 S.Ct. 1199 (2007), the bankruptcy court in In the Matter of Bill Heard Enter. Inc., 2009 WL 416313 (Bankr. N.D. Ala. 2009), recently determined that state law governed the issue of recoupment. The Heard court provided further state law analysis under setoff.

"First Annual Second Harvest Heartland Food Mania Challenge - Big Success!"

Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal

by Second Harvest Heartland

Arbitration: To Do or Not To Do

Mackall, Crounse & Moore, PLC

by Lawrence R. Commers

In a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision, Hall Street Associates, LLC v. Mattel, Inc., the Court imposed certain restrictions on arbitration provisions that businesses had been incorporating into their mandatory arbitration provisions. Business arbitration provisions oftentimes expressly included expanded grounds for judicial review of arbitration awards where the findings of fact were not supported by substantial evidence, or if the arbitrator’s conclusions of law were erroneous.

Law firms compete to help food bank

Star Tribune

by David Phelps, Janet Moore, & Neal St. Anthony

Creative fundraising Law firm Mackall, Crounse & Moore and accounting firm Eide Bailly have tapped the competitive instincts of their professional brethren to raise what they hope will be $150,000 in food, cash and volunteer time for Second Harvest Heartland, Minnesota’s largest hunger-relief organization.

Negative Equity for "910-Day" Vehicle Purchase Receiving Positive Treatment for Creditors

American Bankruptcy Institute Journal

by Andrew P. Moratzka

Bankruptcy Courts have increasingly been faced with the issue of how to address negative equity in conjunction with the valuation of “910-day” vehicles.

Eighth Circuit Refuses to Conflate Constitutional Standing Doctrine with In Pari Delicto Defense

American Bankruptcy Institute Journal

by Andrew P. Moratzka

In Moratzka v. Morris, et al. (In re Senior Cottages of America LLC),— F.3d—, 2007 WL 958145 (8th Cir. 2007), the Eighth Circuit aligned itself with the First, Third, Fifth and Eleventh Circuits in holding that a corporate insider’s collusion with third parties to injure the corporation does not deprive the corporation (or a subsequently appointed bankruptcy trustee) of standing to sue third parties. In Moratzka, the chapter 7 trustee, Timothy D. Moratzka, brought an action against the defendants, former attorneys for debtor Senior Cottages of America LLC (SCA), Murray Klane, SCA’s majority shareholder (Klane) and Millennium Properties LLC (MP), alleging claims for malpractice and aiding and abetting a breach of fiduciary duty.

Secured Creditors Note: SARE Analysis Remains the Same under BAPCPA

American Bankruptcy Institute Journal

by Andrew P. Moratzka

For some time, secured creditors have had the ability to expedite a debtor’s bankruptcy proceeding under §362(d)(3) of the Bankruptcy Code. In order to use that section, however, the debtor must qualify as a single-asset real estate debtor (SARE) under §101(51B) of the Code. BAPCPA amended this definition to specifically exclude a family farmer and delete the reference to a $4 million cap. The effect of these edits was recently analyzed by the Fifth Circuit.

Minnesota Lawyer names MCM Attorney Up & Coming

MINNESOTA LAWYER

by Jane Pribek

When people see news about a local utility’s rate hike,they often feel powerless to stop it. Not Andrew P.Moratzka, an energy law attorney with Mackall, Crounse & Moore in Minneapolis, who devotes a fair amount of his time to this type of complex litigation.