Bartenwerfer: Vicarious liability for fraud under Bankruptcy Code ß523(a)(2)(A)

J. Scott Bovitz is the senior partner of Bovitz & Spitzer in Los Angeles. Mr. Bovitz has been a federal court litigator for 45 years; most of his trials are in bankruptcy court. Mr. Bovitz is Board Certified in Business Bankruptcy Law by The American Board of Certification. Bovitz is also a Certified Specialist in Bankruptcy Law by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization. Bovitz is rated “AV Preeminent” by Martindale-Hubbell. Bovitz has been selected as a Southern California “Super Lawyer” in Bankruptcy & Creditor/Debtor Rights every year since the program arrived in California. Bovitz is a Fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy. Bovitz is an active lecturer and writer. Bovitz has written or produced 762 original songs and is a member of both the Studio B Lockout Band and the Rick Hascobar Project.

Iain Macdonald has practiced bankruptcy law for over 50 years, primarily in the courts of the Northern and Eastern Districts of California. Mr. Macdonald attended the University of San Francisco School of Law and teaches bankruptcy and commercial law at the law school since 1984. Macdonald practiced with the well-regarded firm of Goldberg Stinnett & Macdonald from 1977 to 1993, when he opened his own office, and then partnered with Reno F.R. Fernandez III to form the current firm. Mr. Fernandez, inspired by the grant of certiorari in Bartenwerfer, has left the partnership to pursue a career in complex bankruptcy appellate law. 

Mr. Macdonald’s practice emphasizes: reorganization and business bankruptcy; individual chapter 11; bankruptcy litigation; out of court workout and bankruptcy alternatives; Mediation; expert witness work; appeals; chapter 7 bankruptcy; asset protection planning; and commercial litigation. Mr. Macdonald has been rated by Super Lawyers for more than a decade. Macdonald is rated AV Preeminent by Martindale-Hubbell.

Bartenwerfer is the first Macdonald case to make it all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

B.S. in Engineering and J.D., UCLA.

United States Bankruptcy Judge (1974-present).

Chief Bankruptcy Judge, Central District of California (2003-2006).

Bankruptcy Appellate Panel (1988-2001); Chief Judge BAP (1999-2001).

Faculty, Federal Judicial Center, Washington, D.C., instructing bankruptcy judgesthroughout the United States (1977-present)

Author, Bankruptcy Evidence Manual (1987-present).

American Bar Association’s Franklin N. Flaschner Judicial Award, outstanding judge in the United States in a trial court of special jurisdiction (1987).

Los Angeles County Bar Association’s Dispute Resolution Services’ Emil Gumpert Judicial ADR award (2000).

Los Angeles County Bar Association’s Outstanding Jurist Award (2004).

Association of Insolvency and Restructuring Advisors Lifetime Achievement Award in the Bankruptcy and Restructuring Field (2008).

San Fernando Valley Bar Association’s Stanley Mosk Legacy of Justice Award (2009).

Thomson Reuters and American Bankruptcy Institute — William L. Norton, Jr., Judicial Excellence Award (2013).