In some good news for commercial vendors, the Supreme Court of Texas recently ruled that payments for ordinary services provided to an insolvent customer are not recoverable as fraudulent transfers, even if the customer turns out to be a “Ponzi scheme” instead of a legitimate business.

In Janvey v. Golf Channel, Inc.,[1] the Court considered whether, under the Texas Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act (“TUFTA”), a vendor should be required to return payments it received in good faith for services rendered simply because its customer turned out to be a Ponzi scheme and not a lawful business.[2]  Ultimately, the Court determined that the objective market value of services provided in the ordinary course of business serves as a defense to a fraudulent transfer claim, despite the illegitimate nature of the Ponzi scheme. In reaching that conclusion, the Court rejected the contention that the

On June 1, 2015, the Supreme Court released its opinion in Bank of America, N.A. v. Caulkett, No. 13-1421, 575 U.S. ____ (2015), in which it held that a Chapter 7 debtor may not void a junior mortgage under Section 506(d) of the Bankruptcy Code merely because the debt owed on a senior mortgage exceeds the present value of the property and the creditor’s claim is secured by a lien and allowed under Section 502. For now, this opinion cuts off a Chapter 7 debtor’s ability to “strip off” an underwater junior lien.

In Caulkett, the debtor had two mortgage liens on his home; Bank of America held the junior lien. The amount owed on the senior mortgage exceeded the value of the home, rendering Bank of America’s junior mortgage fully “underwater,” or with no current economic value. Generally, where the value of a creditor’s interest in its collateral is

On June 12, 2014, the Supreme Court issued a unanimous opinion in Clark v. Rameker, Dkt. No. 13-299, 573 U.S. ___ (2014), holding that funds held in inherited Individual Retirement Accounts are not “retirement funds” within the meaning of 11 U.S.C. § 522(b)(3)(c) and therefore not exempt from the bankruptcy estate. This opinion limits retirement funds that remain out of creditors’ reach when an individual files a bankruptcy case.

In Clark, Heidi Clark inherited a traditional IRA account established by her mother. Clark then filed a Chapter 7 bankruptcy case and claimed the inherited IRA account as exempt from the bankruptcy estate under Section 522(b)(3)(C). The trustee and unsecured creditors objected, arguing that the inherited IRA funds were not “retirement funds” within the meaning of the statute.

The Court distinguished between inherited IRAs and traditional IRAs, noting that holders of inherited IRAs are prohibited from making contributions to those accounts,