On July 18, 2013, the City of Detroit commenced the largest chapter 9 municipal bankruptcy in American history. This article examines the early phase of the case based on a review of audio recordings of court hearings and primary source documents. Decisions made during the pre-eligibility period created the conditions for greater federal court oversight of a municipal bankruptcy than prior commentators thought possible - a theme and story that will be given more expansive treatment in future work.

One of the leading casebooks in the field, The Law of Debtors and Creditors features 39 problem sets with realistic questions a lawyer considers in managing a bankruptcy case. It also challenges the students with the major policy and theoretical questions in the field. The text features a functional organization as a bankruptcy case would unfold. The focus is on teaching through the realistic problems, complete with ethical difficulties embedded into the fact patterns. The presentation is lively and colloquial. Explanatory text throughout makes bankruptcy law accessible to students and easier to teach. Because it divides the subject between consumer and business bankruptcy, professors can select the depth of coverage for each subject in designing a two-, three-, or four-credit class. The authors—Senator Elizabeth Warren, Congresswoman Katie Porter, and Professors Pottow (Michigan) and Westbrook (Texas)—are among the most prominent in the field. Uniquely comprehensive Teacher’s Manual—chock full of material on how to design class around the problem sets, citations to new cases and literature, and suggestions for steering class discussion. New to the Eighth Edition: The emergence of a whole new form of chapter 11 bankruptcy, the Small Business Reorganization Act in subchapter V, just as the Covid19 crisis exploded The impact of recent Supreme Court decisions, including Jevic, Merit Management, Midland Funding, and Wellness New cases and issues since the Seventh Edition Updated materials on § 363 sales Incorporation of discussion of ABI Commission on Consumer Bankruptcy Reform A number of interesting new problems Professors and students will benefit from: Separation of consumer bankruptcy from business bankruptcy—professors can select the depth of coverage for each subject Lively explanatory text—makes bankruptcy law accessible to students and easier to teach Engagement of current events and economic trends Discussion of many recent cases 39 problem sets—featuring the realistic questions a lawyer considers in applying the statutory provisions in a bankruptcy case Substantial discussion of the ethical questions that arise in bankruptcy practice, and including ethical issues in the problems students must solve Functional organization—as a bankruptcy case would unfold rather than using some artificial paradigm Chapters specifically devoted to bankruptcy theory (consumer and business), to international insolvencies, and to important ethics issue in the consumer and business contexts Problem sets designed to combine doctrinal, transactional, and theoretical issues

What happens when an iconic American city goes broke? At exactly 4:06 p.m. on July 18, 2013, the city of Detroit filed for bankruptcy. It was the largest municipal bankruptcy in American history—the Motor City had finally hit rock bottom. But what led to that fateful day, and how did the city survive the perilous months that followed? In Detroit Resurrected, Nathan Bomey delivers the inside story of the fight to save Detroit against impossible odds. Bomey, who covered the bankruptcy for the Detroit Free Press, provides a gripping account of the tremendous clash between lawyers, judges, bankers, union leaders, politicians, philanthropists, and the people of Detroit themselves. The battle to rescue this iconic city pulled together those who believed in its future—despite their differences. Help came in the form of Republican governor Rick Snyder, a technocrat who famously called himself “one tough nerd”; emergency manager Kevyn Orr, a sharp-shooting lawyer and “yellow-dog Democrat”; and judges Steven Rhodes and Gerald Rosen, the key architects of the grand bargain that would give the city a second chance at life. Detroit had a long way to go. Facing a legacy of broken promises, the city had to seek unprecedented sacrifices from retirees and union leaders, who fought for their pensions and benefits. It had to confront the consequences of years of municipal corruption while warding off Wall Street bond insurers who demanded their money back. And it had to consider liquidating the Detroit Institute of Arts, whose world-class collection became an object of desire for the city’s numerous creditors. In a tight, suspenseful narrative, Detroit Resurrected reveals the tricky path to rescuing the city from $18 billion in debt and giving new hope to its citizens. Based on hundreds of exclusive interviews, insider sources, and thousands of records, Detroit Resurrected gives a sweeping account of financial ruin, backroom intrigue, and political rebirth in the struggle to reinvent one of America’s iconic cities.

"Essential...in showcasing people who are persistent, clever, flawed, loving, struggling and full of contradictions, Broke affirms why it’s worth solving the hardest problems in our most challenging cities in the first place. " —Anna Clark, The New York Times "Through in-depth reporting of structural inequality as it affects real people in Detroit, Jodie Adams Kirshner's Broke examines one side of the economic divide in America" —Salon "What Broke really tells us is how systems of government, law and finance can crush even the hardiest of boot-strap pullers." —Brian Alexander, author of Glass House A galvanizing, narrative account of a city’s bankruptcy and its aftermath told through the lives of seven valiantly struggling Detroiters Bankruptcy and the austerity it represents have become a common "solution" for struggling American cities. What do the spending cuts and limited resources do to the lives of city residents? In Broke, Jodie Adams Kirshner follows seven Detroiters as they navigate life during and after their city's bankruptcy. Reggie loses his savings trying to make a habitable home for his family. Cindy fights drug use, prostitution, and dumping on her block. Lola commutes two hours a day to her suburban job. For them, financial issues are mired within the larger ramifications of poor urban policies, restorative negligence on the state and federal level and—even before the decision to declare Detroit bankrupt in 2013—the root causes of a city’s fiscal demise. Like Matthew Desmond’s Evicted, Broke looks at what municipal distress means, not just on paper but in practical—and personal—terms. More than 40 percent of Detroit’s 700,000 residents fall below the poverty line. Post-bankruptcy, they struggle with a broken real estate market, school system, and job market—and their lives have not improved. Detroit is emblematic. Kirshner makes a powerful argument that cities—the economic engine of America—are never quite given the aid that they need by either the state or federal government for their residents to survive, not to mention flourish. Success for all America’s citizens depends on equity of opportunity.

This manual strives to provide a clearer path for judges and clerks of court handling a chapter 9 case. It outlines the statutory requirements and processes that apply in any Chapter 9 case and provides examples of relevant cases and resources. It is organized into several parts including: Part II summarizes the history of Chapter 9 and discusses constitutional challenges to the original municipal bankruptcy laws enacted in 1934 and the structural and constitutional issues analyzed by lower courts in the context of Chapter 9. Part II presents and overview of the Chapter 9 process, contrasting it with the Chapter 11 process and providing several primers on issues unique to a Chapter 9 case. This section also includes basic information on matters, such as municipal accounting, the municipal bond market, and public pension obligations. Part IV identifies key administrative matters for the judge and the clerk of court in a Chapter 9 case. Part V explains what transpires after the filing of a Chapter 9 petition and appointment of the bankruptcy judge. It follows not only the legal steps required at the beginning of the case and eligibility determination, but also covers questions, issues, and information the judge may want to consider as the case starts down the Chapter 9 path. Part VI discusses the administration of the case -- i.e. what happens after the order for relief but before the plan confirmation process. Part VII covers the end of a case: it examines the plan, the disclosure statement, and the confirmation process. it includes information on postconfirmation jurisdiction and implementation issue. You will also find information about modification of the plan or if the debtor is unable to confirm a plan within a reasonable time, or dismissal of a case. Part VII is devoted to smaller municipal cases and cases involving special purpose entities or instrumentalities of a state. Part IX focuses on larger municipal cases. These cases can present factors and considerations unique to the size of, and stakeholders, in these cases. Part X summarizes key takeaway points for judges and clerks of the court handling Chapter 9 cases.

This report outlines the problems underlying the erosion of Detroit's property tax base--a factor that contributed to the city's bankruptcy in 2013. It offers recommendations for reform at the local and state level, as well as insight and analysis to help policy makers across the country protect their communities from economic decline.

A 50 State Survey of: (1) Rights and Remedies Provided by States to Investors, (2) State Supervision and Oversight Mechanisms of Financially Distressed Local Governments and (3) State Authorization of Municipalities to File Chapter 9 Bankruptcy

The Financial Crisis Inquiry Report, published by the U.S. Government and the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission in early 2011, is the official government report on the United States financial collapse and the review of major financial institutions that bankrupted and failed, or would have without help from the government. The commission and the report were implemented after Congress passed an act in 2009 to review and prevent fraudulent activity. The report details, among other things, the periods before, during, and after the crisis, what led up to it, and analyses of subprime mortgage lending, credit expansion and banking policies, the collapse of companies like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and the federal bailouts of Lehman and AIG. It also discusses the aftermath of the fallout and our current state. This report should be of interest to anyone concerned about the financial situation in the U.S. and around the world.THE FINANCIAL CRISIS INQUIRY COMMISSION is an independent, bi-partisan, government-appointed panel of 10 people that was created to "examine the causes, domestic and global, of the current financial and economic crisis in the United States." It was established as part of the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act of 2009. The commission consisted of private citizens with expertise in economics and finance, banking, housing, market regulation, and consumer protection. They examined and reported on "the collapse of major financial institutions that failed or would have failed if not for exceptional assistance from the government."News Dissector DANNY SCHECHTER is a journalist, blogger and filmmaker. He has been reporting on economic crises since the 1980's when he was with ABC News. His film In Debt We Trust warned of the economic meltdown in 2006. He has since written three books on the subject including Plunder: Investigating Our Economic Calamity (Cosimo Books, 2008), and The Crime Of Our Time: Why Wall Street Is Not Too Big to Jail (Disinfo Books, 2011), a companion to his latest film Plunder The Crime Of Our Time. He can be reached online at www.newsdissector.com.