FMV PART 4: FAIR MARKET VALUE IN LITIGATION

The primary thesis of this blog series is that assessing fair market value in litigation and bankruptcy must now account for general economic conditions, due to Federal Reserve distortions of fair market value through unlimited monetary expansion and the unavoidable influence of global derivatives trading markets. Continue reading “FMV PART 4: FAIR MARKET VALUE IN LITIGATION”

FMV PART 3: ASSET VALUATION METHODS

The concept of fair market value is central to litigation and bankruptcy asset valuations. As such, bankruptcy asset valuation methods affect every part of the reorganization or liquidation process. Continue reading “FMV PART 3: ASSET VALUATION METHODS”

FMV PART 2: IMPACT OF DERIVATIVES MARKETS

The core cause of the financial crisis of 2008, and again in 2020, has been the dangerous impact of derivatives markets created by large banks, insurance companies and hedge funds. Speculative trading practices by large banks were outlawed in this country under the Glass-Stegal Act of 1935. But in 1999, at the end of the Clinton Administration, Glass-Stegal was repealed. This repeal, along with passage of the Commodity Futures Modernization Act), during the Bush II administration, opened the door for massive speculative trades in complex derivative instruments. Continue reading “FMV PART 2: IMPACT OF DERIVATIVES MARKETS”

FMV PART 1: DISTORTIONS OF FAIR MARKET VALUE

Our legal system depends on accurate assessments of fair market value in virtually every business-related matter that comes before a court. Distortions of fair market value, from whatever source, are problematic. Valuation issues materially affect everything from real estate values to stock and commodity values to more esoteric valuations involving crop prices for farmers. Continue reading “FMV PART 1: DISTORTIONS OF FAIR MARKET VALUE”

UPDATES

539 FIREFIGHTERS v. CITY OF LOS ANGELES — INTRODUCTION

Firefighters4Freedom Foundation, a California non-profit foundation, has filed with and on behalf of 539 Los Angeles City Firefighters a complaint to block the City's mandatory… Read more… →

VAERS DATA FOR COVID VACCINES

The Vaccine Adverse Effect Reporting System “VAERS Data” is maintained by the US Dept. of Health & Human Services (https://VAERS.hhs.gov). A copy of the actual… Read more… →

ONGOING CLINICAL TRIALS FOR COVID VACCINES

ClinicalTrials.gov (https://clinicaltrials.gov) is a Web-based resource that provides patients, their family members, health care professionals, researchers, and the public with easy access to information on… Read more… →

EMPLOYERS MAY NOT MANDATE COVID VACCINATIONS IN CALIFORNIA

May California employers mandate COVID vaccinations for employees? The short answer is no. California's constitutional right to privacy, combined with California's unfair competition law, prevent… Read more… →

HEALTHCARE SHARING: AN AFFORDABLE OPTION FOR SELF-EMPLOYED

Healthcare sharing is the best option for the 28 million uninsured people in this country--a fact supported by a 2019, Congressional Budget Office (“CBO”) study. … Read more… →

SOFTBANK RESTRUCTURING FRAUD

Softbank restructuring fraud is a destructive--but real--twist on business restructuring models. Most corporate restructuring occurs through new opportunities and effective marketplace execution--and sometimes through a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing. But Softbank, the well-known "software company," "venture capital fund," hedge fund, keeps finding new ways to restructure its business through fraudulent market manipulation. Read more… →

FMV PART 4: FAIR MARKET VALUE IN LITIGATION

FIFTH CIRCUIT COURT: ACA INDIVIDUAL MANDATE UNCONSTITUTIONAL

The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that the ACA individual mandate is unconstitutional. The opinion was issued December 18, 2019, a copy of which is here. In referencing the US Supreme Court's well-known opinion in NFIB v. Sebelius (US 2012) the Fifth Circuit Court reasoned:

In NFIB, the individual mandate—most naturally read as a command to purchase insurance—was saved from unconstitutionality because it could be read together with the shared responsibility payment as an option to purchase insurance or pay a tax. It could be read this way because the shared responsibility payment produced revenue. It no longer does so. Therefore, the most straightforward reading applies: the mandate is a command. Using that meaning, the individual mandate is unconstitutional.
Texas v. USA (5th Cir. Dec. 18, 2019) at 44

By way of brief background to this case, the ACA originally required buyers of individual health insurance policies to purchase "minimum essential coverage" benefits. This is commonly known as the ACA individual mandate. Read more… →

ACA EXCHANGES LOST 2.5 MILLION ENROLLEES FROM 2016 TO 2018

The ACA exchanges lost enrollees from 2016 to 2018, reflecting the declining reach of President Obama's health care plan. Unsubsidized enrollment in Obamacare exchanges declined by 2.5 million people from 2016 to 2018, representing a 40 percent drop nationally, according to a study by Centers for Medicare and Medicade Services (CMS) released August 12, 2019. The decrease in enrollment between 2016 and 2018 occurred entirely among people who did not receive ACA premium tax credit subsidies.

By contrast, enrollment via ACA exchanges by persons receiving premium tax credit subsidies increased by 300,000 people during the same time frame. This stunning contrast provides statistical evidence for what many working people and business owners in the US can see simply by the "eye" test: that Obamacare is not working for them. Read more… →