The Creditor Rights Coalition Joins Letter Urging the Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas to End Judge Shopping

ALEXANDRIA, Va., Nov. 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Creditor Rights Coalition today joined leading academics, industry associations and former government officials in urging the Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas to abolish judge shopping and adopt a system of random assignment among all bankruptcy court judges. 

In this regard, the Coalition urges the District Court for the Southern District of Texas to take the initiative to abolish judge shopping if the Bankruptcy Court fails to act. The letter notes that bankruptcy courts in the Southern District of New York and the Eastern District of Virginia recently changed their judicial assignment rules to eliminate the ability of debtors to game the system by choosing the judge of their choice within these Districts. The letter also notes that the recent ethics controversy and resignation of Judge David R. Jones has undermined the public's confidence in the integrity and independence of the Judiciary and it is time for that to be restored. Signatories to the letter include:

Kenneth Ayotte, Robert L. Bridges Professor of Law, U.C. Berkeley School of Law
Berkeley, CA

Ralph Brubaker, James H.M. Sprayregen Professor of Law, University of Illinois College of Law, Champaign, IL 

Creditor Rights Coalition 

Edith Hotchkiss, Professor of Finance & Hillenbrand Family Faculty Fellow, Boston College, Carroll School of Management, Chestnut Hill, MA

David R. Kuney, Adjunct Professor of Law, Georgetown University Law Center
Washington, D.C.

George Kuney, Lindsay Young Distinguished Professor of Law, The University of Tennessee College of Law, Knoxville, TN 

Robert M. Lawless, Max L. Rowe Professor of Law, University of Illinois College of Law, Champaign, IL 

Adam J. Levitin, Carmack Waterhouse Professor of Law and Finance, Georgetown University Law Center, Washington DC 

Loan Sales & Trading Association

Stephen J. Lubben, Harvey Washington Wiley Chair in Corporate Governance & Business Ethics, Seton Hall University School of Law, Newark, NJ 

Robert W. Miller, Assistant Professor of Law, University of South Dakota, Knudson School of Law, Vermillion, SD

Samir Parikh, Robert E. Jones Professor of Advocacy and Ethics, Lewis & Clark Law School, Portland, OR 

Nancy B. Rapoport, UNLV Distinguished Professor, Garman Turner Gordon Professor of Law, William S. Boyd School of Law, University of Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV   

Clifford J. White III, Former Director, United States Trustee Program (2005-2022), Department of Justice 

Additional signatories are invited to join the letter by visiting the Creditor Rights Coalition website at https://creditorcoalition.org/advocacy/.

The letter can be accessed at https://acrobat.adobe.com/link/review?uri=urn:aaid:scds:US:f92ee8e1-4cdb-3c35-9d4d-d6bd8757ac9d.

About The Creditor Rights Coalition

The Creditor Rights Coalition CRC is a nonprofit association established to serve as the leading voice representing all stakeholders with an interest in protecting creditor rights. The Coalition promotes transparency, accountability and equality to ensure fair and robust stakeholder participation in bankruptcy proceedings by monitoring judicial, legislative and regulatory matters associated with bankruptcy-related issues. More information about the Coalition can be found at www.creditorcoalition.org.

CONTACT:
Joshua Clarkson
[email protected]

SOURCE Creditor Rights Coalition