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California federal court provides guidance on how to draft a stipulated judgment that is non-dischargeable in bankruptcy

By: alan-yatvin

The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California held in In re Wlodarczyk (Cheikes v. Wlodarczyk) that a debtor’s failure to disclose his financial inability to pay a guarantee did not rise to the level of a fraudulent omission leading to non-dischargeability of the debt under Section 523(a)(2)(A) of the Bankruptcy Code, where the creditor failed to ask him to make representations regarding his financial condition and therefore the debtor had no affirmative duty to disclose that poor condition.  Thus, although the parties had stipulated to the judgment and stipulated further that the judgment was non-dischargeable, the court held that the judgment in that case nevertheless could be subject to discharge.  See https://www.leagle.com/decision/infdco20190716a39

Missouri federal court addresses entitlement of senior lender to collect default interest after the debtor’s bankruptcy

The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Missouri held in In re Family Pharmacy Inc. that federal law allows the application of equitable principles to deny a claim for default interest post-petition in an appropriate case.  The court also looked to state law to determine whether default interest is deemed a penalty.  See, https://www.leagle.com/decision/inbco20190708334

Court grants class certification in suit against New York Department of Education on behalf of students with diabetes.

By: alan-yatvin

On June 18, 2019, United States District Judge Nina Gershon, of the Eastern District of New York, certified a class defined as:

All students with diabetes who are now or will be entitled to receive diabetes related care and attend New York City Department of Education schools.

The case, M.F., et al. v. The New York City Department of Education, et al., was brought by the parents of three New York City public school students with diabetes and the American Diabetes Association, suing as an organizational plaintiff on behalf of its members who who include children with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes who attend New York City Department of Education (DOE) schools and their parents. Continue reading “Court grants class certification in suit against New York Department of Education on behalf of students with diabetes.”

Brown v. Board of Education at 65

By: alan-yatvin

65 years ago the Supreme Court of the United States issued the decision in Brown v. Board of Education, a historic decision on desegregation in public education, outlawing so-called separate but equal discrimination in public education.  

One might think that the issue was well-settled, but Brown is once again in the news.  As a Washington Post op-ed noted yesterday:  “More than two dozen of President Trump’s judicial nominees have declined to answer whether Brown v. Board of Education was properly decided.”

On the 50th anniversary of the Brown decision, I wrote an essay for Philadelphia’s newspaper serving the legal community, The Legal Intelligencer.  On the occasion of the 65th anniversary, I am republishing that essay.((  At the time of her death in March 2018, I also wrote of Linda Brown, whose father joined the eponymous law suit on her behalf. )) Continue reading “Brown v. Board of Education at 65”

January 22, 1973, at about 10 AM

By: alan-yatvin

Memory is strange.  My son, Dan, has a savant-like ability to precisely place and describe even the most mundane events, going back to nursery school.  My recall of even important moments is foggier.  Unlike most people born before 1960, I do not remember where I was when I learned that John F. Kennedy had been shot.

However, one very distinct memory I have from my youth is where I was on January 22, 1973, at about 10 AM. Continue reading “January 22, 1973, at about 10 AM”

Yatvin co-counsels suit against New York Department of Education on behalf of students with diabetes.

By: alan-yatvin

Alan L. Yatvin is serving as co-counsel in a federal class action lawsuit filed on November 1, 2018, alleging the New York City public schools routinely violate the rights of students with diabetes by denying them necessary services and even excluding them from some school activities altogether. Almost two months into another school year, many parents of children with diabetes still face the impossible choice of sending their child to school without knowing whether their child will receive the necessary diabetes-related care or keeping them at home.

Disability Rights Advocates (“DRA”), the American Diabetes Association (“ADA”), and Law Offices of Popper & Yatvin are suing the New York City Department of Education (“DOE”) and other New York City agencies for their systemic failure to ensure that students with diabetes can attend school safely and have access to the same educational opportunities as their peers. This constitutes a clear violation of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the New York City Human Rights Law. Continue reading “Yatvin co-counsels suit against New York Department of Education on behalf of students with diabetes.”

Yatvin Key Member of Defense Team at the ICC

By: alan-yatvin

A decade ago Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo (Bemba) was charged by the Office of the Prosecutor (Prosecutor) of the International Criminal Court (ICC) with crimes committed in the Central African Republic (CAR) in 2002-2003 (murder and rape as crimes against humanity, murder and rape as war crimes, and pillaging as a war crime). Mr. Bemba was President of the Movement for the Liberation of the Congo (MLC), a political party founded by him and based in the northwest of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and Commander-in-Chief of its military branch. The events giving rise to the charges took place on the territory of the CAR, during an MLC intervention to support Ange-Félix Patassé, the then President of the CAR, in suppressing a rebellion. Bemba was convicted on March 21, 2016.

Aime-kilolo
Mr. Aimé Kilolo Musamba

Bemba was represented in this Main Case at the ICC by Aimé Kilolo Musamba (Kilolo), a lawyer from DRC, who is also a French speaking member of the Brussels Bar.

In November of 2013, Mr. Kilolo and three other members of the Bemba defense team were arrested. Bemba was already in custody on the main case. Mr. Kilolo remained in custody in The Hague, seat of the ICC, for the next 11 months. Kilolo and the others were charged a few weeks later with offences against the administration of justice. Essentially, this case was about witness and evidence tampering. Continue reading “Yatvin Key Member of Defense Team at the ICC”