In the wake of COVID-related closures, businesses large and small have turned to insurance to compensate for losses. A recent Indiana Court of Appeals decision outlines the limits of such policies in the pandemic context and cautions a careful review of policies prior to making a claim. 

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As we say goodbye to 2021 and hello to 2022, please take a second out of your day to enjoy our section’s newest episode of Fireside Chats. This episode features a discussion with Chief Judge Jeffrey Graham of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana. Judge Graham and I discuss everything from the day he was sworn into what he is binge-watching at the moment.

In early October, bankruptcy judges from around the country descended upon the city of Indianapolis for the 2021 National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges Conference. Whether it was “Jeopardy, The Broken Bench Edition” or the “Ethics Roundtable with the Judges,” just being with other practitioners and bankruptcy judges from around the U.S. gave everyone a sense of camaraderie and fellowship that has been lacking over the last year or more. 

As bankruptcy and other insolvency practitioners continue to anticipate an uptick in financial distress, this article by John Waller discusses how credit unions and smaller banks could start feeling pressure as early as next year.

Generally, for a farmer to qualify as a “family farmer” under Chapter 12, the Bankruptcy Code requires, among other things, that not less than 50 percent of the aggregate, non-contingent liquidated debts (excluding the debt for a principal residence, unless that debt arises out of a farming operation), on the date the case is filed, arise out of the farming operation of the “family farmer.” In other words, a farmer’s guaranty of debt totally unrelated to that farmer’s farming operation may disqualify that farmer from Chapter 12 eligibility.

Violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), 15 U.S.C. § 1692 et. seq., often strikes fear in the hearts of debt collectors. A debt collector violating the Act faces monetary penalties plus attorney's fees. That exposure may deter a debt collector from bringing suit for fear that an unsuccessful action may equate to FDCPA liability. That is until the Seventh Circuit weighed in.

In the recent case of Bird v. Valley Acre Farms, Inc. (1 2021 Ind. App. LEXIS 295 (Ind. Ct. App. 2021)), the Indiana Court of Appeals explored the applicability of Indiana’s contemporaneous writing rule and the general disfavor of extrinsic and parol evidence in contract interpretation.

In Becky Cutter v. Jurus (2021 Ind. App. LEXIS 310 (Ind. Ct. App. 2021)), the Indiana Court of Appeals applied the doctrine of reformation to alter the written terms of two deeds to include the grant of a life estate granted in other contracts involving the same land.

In certain instances, an interpreter may be provided. Check out this article for more details.