The Eighth Annual Education and Networking Conference was held at the Villanova University Conference Center on April 23, 2015, under the auspices of ABF Journal, the New York Institute of Credit, the Turnaround Management Association Philadelphia Chapter and the Commercial Finance Association Philadelphia Chapter. The day once again featured last year’s popular “Judicial Jeopardy” segment, along with three panels of some of the region’s top judges, lenders, factors and attorneys and rounded it out with a networking cocktail hour.
Judicial Jeopardy
Back by popular demand, “Judicial Jeopardy” — once again proved to be a rousing game, highlighting the legal (and trivial) knowledge of bankruptcy judges from the Districts of Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Bankruptcy Judge Michael B. Kaplan of the District of New Jersey served in the role of Alex Trebek. The contestants included Judge Andrew B. Altenburg, Jr. of the District of New Jersey, Chief Judge Eric L. Frank of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, and Chief Judge Kevin Gross of the District of Delaware.
The venerable judges fielded difficult questions on American history and bankruptcy as well as more light-hearted questions on popular television show theme songs. Several attendees remarked that this year’s bankruptcy-related questions were an order of magnitude tougher than last year. (It is rumored that the judicial contestants breathed a sigh of relief that former Judge Judith Wizmur had retired, since at last year’s conference she had virtually swept the contest with her encyclopedic knowledge of American history.)
Judicial Jeopardy Quiz
1. This Bankruptcy Code section enumerates expenses and claims that have priority, in the order in which they are listed.
2. This term is defined first under Bankruptcy Code §101(1).
3. Section 727(a)(1) provides that the Court shall grant a Chapter 7 debtor a discharge unless the debtor is ____.
4. Section 523(a)(17) makes these debts nondischargeable for prisoners.
5. This Code section provides redemption for the individual debtor.
6. This Code section is titled, “Who may be a Debtor.”
7. This subsection provides a list of what property of the Estate does not include.
8. Section 705 allows for the election of ___ at a §341(a) meeting of creditors.
9. Section 101(9) explicitly excludes this type of partnership from the definition of the term “corporation.”
10. Distribution on account of punitive damage claims is expressly subordinated to other unsecured claims by this Code section.
Answers to Bankruptcy Questions
1. What is §507?
2. What is “accountant”?
3. What is “not an individual”?
4. What are Court-imposed fees and costs?
5. What is §722?
6. What is §109?
7. What is §541(b)?
8. What is a creditors’ committee?
9. What is a “limited partnership”?
10. What is §726(a)(4)?
Howard Brod Brownstein is president of The Brownstein Corporation, a turnaround management and distressed M&A firm, and is a contributing editor of ABF Journal.