(In the garden of the Fauntleroy YMCA)
Saturday, March 09, 2019
Friday, March 08, 2019
Eyman Bankruptcy Fail
Washington State's Tim Eyman makes an ample but dishonest living filing referenda and then collecting money to cover his expenses.
One day, the state of Washington decided to sue him for breaking various laws. Facing defeat, Tim and his lawyer Larry Feinstein invented a brilliant defense: file for bankruptcy!
I guess they reasoned that if the state won the lawsuit, it would bankrupt him, so why not file bankruptcy now and ask the bankruptcy court to stop the lawsuit.
Let us all admire this Wiley E. Coyote level of genius.
The State filed for an exemption from the bankruptcy stay under 11 U.S. Code § 362(b)(4), which allows governmental units to continue lawsuits to enforce "regulatory power". Then Feinstein argued to the press that this wouldn't work, because that exemption applied to "a governmental unit or any organization exercising authority under the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on Their Destruction".
[Quoting Feinstein: “Perhaps I am missing something, but I thought the actions against Mr. Eyman have to do with campaign finance laws of the state and not about Mr. Eyman producing, stockpiling and using chemical weapons … Perhaps his politics and political action committees are toxic to the state, but still, I think that is a bit of a stretch.”]
The answer is yes, he was "missing something": the word "or". To be fair, it's very small.
You can use the exemption if you are a "governmental unit OR an organization exercising authority under the Convention etc etc"
I like to think that Feinstein was just making a joke, because that at least would make sense.
I hope also that his client was in on the joke, because then we wouldn't have malpractice. Either way, the court humorlessly allowed the exemption, apparently reasoning the word "exercising" did not apply to "a governmental unit". It could have done this on the plain structure of grammar or it could have construed the text taking judicial notice of the complete lack of American 'governmental units' whose authority derives from the Convention.
The main case resumed. Eyman discovered his bankruptcy is not only costing him big bucks, but also forcing him to voluntarily disclose a whole lot of information that he'd rather not get about. The State of Washington might have been happy for Eyman to continue his bankruptcy since its disclosures would have saved them a lot of discovery. But ... you can't always get what you want.
Eyman filed to end the bankruptcy claim, and let us hope he and his lawyer have a nice chat about the bill.
There's a lesson to be learned from all this, but the people who need to learn it probably won't. -
------
Cites:
One day, the state of Washington decided to sue him for breaking various laws. Facing defeat, Tim and his lawyer Larry Feinstein invented a brilliant defense: file for bankruptcy!
I guess they reasoned that if the state won the lawsuit, it would bankrupt him, so why not file bankruptcy now and ask the bankruptcy court to stop the lawsuit.
Let us all admire this Wiley E. Coyote level of genius.
The State filed for an exemption from the bankruptcy stay under 11 U.S. Code § 362(b)(4), which allows governmental units to continue lawsuits to enforce "regulatory power". Then Feinstein argued to the press that this wouldn't work, because that exemption applied to "a governmental unit or any organization exercising authority under the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on Their Destruction".
[Quoting Feinstein: “Perhaps I am missing something, but I thought the actions against Mr. Eyman have to do with campaign finance laws of the state and not about Mr. Eyman producing, stockpiling and using chemical weapons … Perhaps his politics and political action committees are toxic to the state, but still, I think that is a bit of a stretch.”]
The answer is yes, he was "missing something": the word "or". To be fair, it's very small.
You can use the exemption if you are a "governmental unit OR an organization exercising authority under the Convention etc etc"
I like to think that Feinstein was just making a joke, because that at least would make sense.
I hope also that his client was in on the joke, because then we wouldn't have malpractice. Either way, the court humorlessly allowed the exemption, apparently reasoning the word "exercising" did not apply to "a governmental unit". It could have done this on the plain structure of grammar or it could have construed the text taking judicial notice of the complete lack of American 'governmental units' whose authority derives from the Convention.
The main case resumed. Eyman discovered his bankruptcy is not only costing him big bucks, but also forcing him to voluntarily disclose a whole lot of information that he'd rather not get about. The State of Washington might have been happy for Eyman to continue his bankruptcy since its disclosures would have saved them a lot of discovery. But ... you can't always get what you want.
Eyman filed to end the bankruptcy claim, and let us hope he and his lawyer have a nice chat about the bill.
There's a lesson to be learned from all this, but the people who need to learn it probably won't. -
------
Cites:
- So much for that bankruptcy: Tim Eyman moves for his Chapter 11 case to be dismissed
- Eyman bankruptcy filing stalls state campaign-finance suit (In which either Eyman's lawyer or the reporter misquotes the law)
- 11 U.S. Code § 362 - Automatic stay
Serious Thought
WW3 (USA vs Russia) was never fought as a nuclear exchange, thank goodness; it was just a long series of proxy wars (e.g. South East Asia) that were fatal to millions but did not end civilization.
WW4 (democracy vs fascism) is being fought in information and political space. Democracy is not winning, mostly because we are not recognizing that we are at war. We fight among ourselves egged on by the fascists.
I don't know how this comes out ... information space has never been more important in warfare ... but let us at least be clear about what is happening.
WW4 (democracy vs fascism) is being fought in information and political space. Democracy is not winning, mostly because we are not recognizing that we are at war. We fight among ourselves egged on by the fascists.
I don't know how this comes out ... information space has never been more important in warfare ... but let us at least be clear about what is happening.
Thursday, March 07, 2019
Today, the Washington State Legislature passed substitute bill HB1788 by a vote of 96-1-1, repealing the WA Bar Act, which is the WSBA's charter. The purpose of this repeal is to allow the Supreme Court to seize funds to apply to its pet projects, now that the WSBA WSBA Board of Governors has show a speck of independence. There is no legitimate reason to kill the Bar Act. Please click the link below and click on the link that says "Comment on this bill."
Comment On The Bill This repeal of the Bar Act strips the Washington state Bar Association of its Legislative Charter. The impact will be to give its funds into the keeping of the Court, which is not allowed to tax and wants the money for its pet projects. The bill has been snuck through the Legislature without the customary discuss within the Bar. If passed, the bill will expose Washington State to a federal Takings Clause lawsuit. As you know, WSBA existed long before GR12 asserted Court control over its assets. That Court rule purported to take WSBA's assets, including its name, treasury and intellectual property without compensation to the association.
This is a mess Washington State should avoid. Inslee should Veto the bill, and let a regular discussion ensue.
Comment On The Bill This repeal of the Bar Act strips the Washington state Bar Association of its Legislative Charter. The impact will be to give its funds into the keeping of the Court, which is not allowed to tax and wants the money for its pet projects. The bill has been snuck through the Legislature without the customary discuss within the Bar. If passed, the bill will expose Washington State to a federal Takings Clause lawsuit. As you know, WSBA existed long before GR12 asserted Court control over its assets. That Court rule purported to take WSBA's assets, including its name, treasury and intellectual property without compensation to the association.
This is a mess Washington State should avoid. Inslee should Veto the bill, and let a regular discussion ensue.
Sunday, March 03, 2019
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