Two pieces by Bankruptcy + Reorganizations Group attorneys have been selected by the American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI) for inclusion in its “Best of” series for 2022. The article "SC SJ: One Take on Harmonizing the Bankruptcy Code and FAA," authored by Rachel Jaffe Mauceri and Katherine S. Dute, has been included in the “Best of ABI 2022: The Year in Business Bankruptcy,” and the article “Is the ACA Penalty Entitled to Priority Treatment as a Tax Under the Bankruptcy Code?," authored by Andrew A. DePeau and Ryan M. Messina, has been included in the “Best of ABI 2022: The Year in Consumer Bankruptcy.” Both publications are annual compendiums of the best ABI Journal and conference seminar articles.

Rachel and Kate’s article, featured in the May 2022 issue of the Journal, examines the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware’s approach, in a recent hotel bankruptcy, to addressing the longstanding tension between the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) and the Bankruptcy Code. Read the article.

Published in the October 2022 issue of the ABI Journal, Andrew and Ryan’s article addresses the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) signed into law on March 23, 2010. The ACA requires certain individuals to maintain a “minimal essen­tial [health insurance] coverage” throughout the year, known as the “individual mandate.” A person sub­ject to the mandate who fails to main­tain the required insurance for one month or more is assessed a “shared responsibility payment.” The article focuses on several federal court decisions, including from the U.S. Supreme Court as well as contradictory rulings from the Third and Fifth Circuit Courts, that ana­lyzed whether the shared-responsibility payment is a tax under the Bankruptcy Code and, if so, whether such payments qualify for priority treatment. Read the article.