Creditors' Rights & Bankruptcy

NASHVILLE, Tenn.—The 2021 edition of Mid-South Super Lawyers recently honored eight Stites & Harbison, PLLC attorneys. Five attorneys were named to the Super Lawyers list and three were named to the Rising Stars list.

U.S. News & World Report and Best Lawyers® have released their 2022 “Best Law Firms” rankings. Stites & Harbison, PLLC’s three National Tier 1 rankings include: Litigation – Construction, Litigation – Real Estate, and Trademark Law. The firm’s overall results include 82 metropolitan rankings in six regions.

The law governing the repossession of collateral is similar to Kenny Rogers’ advice in his classic, “The Gambler.” Like the old-time card players in Rogers’ ballad, secured parties who utilize self-help to repossess collateral must know when to walk away . . . and when to run. Indiana, like most states, allows secured parties to use “self-help” to repossess collateral securing a defaulted debt.

NASHVILLE, Tenn.—Stites & Harbison, PLLC welcomes attorney Johnathan D. Burnley to the firm’s Nashville and Franklin, Tenn., offices. He joins the Business Litigation Service Group.

President Biden has announced plans to reduce the number of unvaccinated Americans by using regulatory and other powers to increase the number of Americans covered by vaccination requirements as COVID-19 cases continue to climb.

LOUISVILLE, Ky.—Stites & Harbison, PLLC is pleased to announce that 93 lawyers are included in the 2022 Edition of The Best Lawyers in America©. Since it was first published in 1983, Best Lawyers® has become universally regarded as the definitive guide to legal excellence. Additionally, 11 attorneys are named as “Lawyer of the Year” and 14 attorneys are recognized in “Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch,” which recognizes attorneys early in their careers for outstanding professional excellence in private practice in the United States.

“Springing liens” are first priority statutory liens on property that spring into existence when certain obligations remain unpaid. Springing Liens can attach to real estate, for example, when the following obligations are not paid: taxes, condominium association dues, or claims for construction labor or materials.

LEXINGTON, Ky.—Governor Andy Beshear has appointed Stites & Harbison, PLLC attorney Elizabeth Lee Thompson as a member of the Northern Kentucky University (NKU) Board of Regents.

While a colleague has likened Kentucky’s guaranty statute to Lewis G. Carroll’s Jabberwocky, the statute that frightens us more is Kentucky’s failure to release statute. It is a statute that comes with draconian penalties ($500/day plus attorney’s fees) and a lack of judicial interpretation.

LOUISVILLE, Ky.—Stites & Harbison, PLLC is ranked 3rd in “Best Places to Work in Kentucky” for 2021 in the medium company category. The firm has made the list 15 times.

Following the most recent slew of high-profile ransomware attacks, the White House deputy national security adviser for cyber and emerging technology, Anne Neuberger, issued an open letter to the private sector urging action to increase cyber defenses to match the nation’s increasing ransomware threat.

LOUISVILLE, Ky.—Chambers USA selected 22 Stites & Harbison, PLLC attorneys in Kentucky and Tennessee for inclusion in their 2021 guide.

Although the Bankruptcy Code does not define “executory contract,” the widely adopted definition explains it as a “contract under which the obligation of both the bankrupt and the other party to the contract are so far underperformed that the failure of either to complete performance would constitute a material breach excusing the performance of the other.” Bankruptcy Judge Martin Isgur of the Southern District of Texas, In re Cornerstone Valve, LLC, et al, Case No. 19-30869, recently held that a creditor’s failure to properly analyze its contract with the debtor resulted in its otherwise valid unsecured claim being untimely filed.

Kentucky-based Stites & Harbison PLLC has expanded its operations to Ohio for the first time in nearly 200 years with a new office in the Cincinnati suburb of Mason, the firm announced Friday. Led by member Robin D. Miller, the Cincinnati-area office is currently operating with the help of attorneys from the nearby town of Covington, Kentucky, but the firm said it hopes to hire more Cincinnati full-timers by the end of 2021.

CINCINNATI—Stites & Harbison, PLLC announced today it has opened a Cincinnati, Ohio office to better meet the increased needs of its clients in the region. The office will be led by Member (Partner), Robin D. Miller.

Due to foreclosure and eviction moratoriums, voluntary forbearances, or the influx of government stimulus, the anticipated wave of creditor actions as a result of the pandemic have been held at bay.