Villarreal v. Texas, No. 24-557 (U.S. 2026).
A qualified order that prohibits a testifying defendant and counsel from discussing the defendant’s ongoing testimony for its own sake during a mid-testimony overnight recess, while allowing consultation on other trial-related matters, does not infringe the defendant’s Sixth Amendment right to counsel.
Coastal Capital, LLC v. Savage (In re: Savage), No. 25-1249 (1st Cir. 2026).
Section 727(a)(5) authorizes denial of a Chapter 7 discharge where debtors fail to satisfactorily explain a substantial loss or deficiency of assets; unexplained, undisclosed prepetition transfers from a closely held company may not constitute an adequate explanation warranting denial of discharge.
Metz v. McCarthy, No. 24-1820 (4th Cir. 2026).
A landlord has no duty of care to maintain or repair under Virginia law when possession has passed to the tenant, so a tenant’s negligence claim against a landlord for injuries from a known skylight leak fails under Virginia law, where the landlord inspects but does not actually undertake repairs, as negligent-inspection liability does not arise absent a repair undertaking.
Ballard Spahr LLP v. Official Comm. of Equity Sec. Holders, No. 25-2134 (7th Cir. 2026).
A law firm asserting a proof of claim for fees incurred representing an individual manager and his separate entities may not enforce that debt against the debtor LLC where the alleged oral assumption is barred by the statute of frauds, promissory estoppel fails for lack of a definite proved promise, and neither Wisconsin indemnification law nor the operating agreement extends indemnity to the non‑member manager in his personal capacity.
