Thanks.
I must point out that back during the dark days of the pandemic, I tackled various arcane subjects like killer & helper T-cell immunology and RNA virus biology, even though those 'dark arts' weren't directly in my wheelhouse
. OK, perhaps they weren't quite so arcane as bankruptcy law seems to be
.
I also knew that no one would know if I said something wrong
.
Okay, okay, you talked me into it. I will now demonstrate that I really am not a bankruptcy lawyer
A major issue will be whether or not the damages can be discharged:
>>>A looming question over the Free Speech Systems bankruptcy is whether damages stemming out of defamation judgments can be discharged. If a judge finds the verdict can’t be discharged, that could have a “dramatic effect on whether the Debtor is able to successfully navigate and then exit the bankruptcy process,” said Rosenberg.
Fourth Circuit
precedent allows a bankruptcy court to prevent a small business debtor from discharging debts incurred through “willful and malicious injury,” Cyganowski said. However, Free Speech Systems’ case is in Texas. The US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, which includes Texas, has not addressed the matter.
There’s also a question of whether “willful and malicious injury,” can be proven since the Connecticut judgment didn’t result from a trial on the merits, Grassgreen said. Instead, Jones was found liable for defamation under default judgment after he failed to respond to discovery.<<<
A $965 million jury verdict this week against Infowars founder Alex Jones will considerably ramp up his and Sandy Hook shooting victim families’ focus on using bankruptcy mediation to sort out available assets and payments.
news.bloomberglaw.com
With regards to discharge, my prediction is no. I doubt that a court would want to reward Jones for a default judgement (this is just my initial reaction to the issue).
As a practical matter, financial issues will probably become a major factor at some point. I'd guess that all or almost all of the lawyers representing the families are working on a contingency basis. Even if they want to keep fighting, it becomes difficult to continue litigation over a long period of time when you're not getting paid. In contrast, Jones has an incentive to burn the money in litigation because he won't get to keep it anyway if he loses.
Another side note on bankruptcy. One of the reasons it tends to be specialized is because the payments to the bankruptcy lawyers are determined by the court. At first blush this might sound wonderful, but the court can decide well into a case that it paid the lawyers too much previously and the court can "claw back" the fees that had been paid. It's entirely possible to put in many hours on a case, get paid, then have the court order the money to be paid back to the bankruptcy estate.
I realize that visions of lawyers getting screwed financially are unlikely to elicit much sympathy, but it is a factor that weighs against practicing in this area.
Perhaps it's time for a warm fuzzy bedtime story about Jones's lawyers getting screwed?
