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Municipal Insolvencies: An Article on the Treatment of Municipalities Under Chapter 9 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code  


Author:  Alexander M. Laughlin.


Source: Volume 26, Number 02, Summer 2005 , pp.37-59(23)




Municipal Finance Journal

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Abstract: 

The first municipal bankruptcy legislation was enacted in 1934 on the heels of the Great Depression. The current version of this legislation, contained in chapter 9 of the United States Bankruptcy Code, provides special guidance for municipalities filing bankruptcy cases and lists five eligibility requirements that the municipality must meet. These cases are fundamentally different from chapter 11 cases in that the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution limits Congress’s power over the states. These limitations are reflected in the Bankruptcy Code’s restraint on the powers of a federal bankruptcy court to interfere with a municipality’s self-governance.

Keywords: 

Affiliations:  1: Wiley Rein & Fielding LLP.

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