Barry Mukamal Update!

Face it, you guys can't go more than a few hours without thinking about Barry Mukamal.

I know I can't.

Sometimes it's almost like a weird kismet, I can be walking down the street or having lunch at the Bankers Club, not planning at all to think about Barry, when suddenly -- BOOM -- there he is!

True story -- one time I even thought of Barry while I was windsurfing.

What the hail is it about this guy?

Well, even the 11th Circuit has Barry on its mind, as it entered a pretty interesting order affirming The Power of Barry.

The question before the Court was whether a debtor's efforts to consolidate debt among credit cards constituted a "preferential transfer" or merely bank-to-bank transfers among creditors.

Even though there was not much at stake, Barry as trustee was not about to let that money escape:

The decisions of the Bankruptcy Court and District Court are affirmed. The
transfer of credit card funds to pay Egidi’s debt owed to MBNA now BOA, which
occurred within 90 days of the bankruptcy petition, was a preference subject to
avoidance by the trustee under 11 U.S.C. § 547(b) and were not subject to
earmarking. The trustee was entitled to judgment in his favor in the amount of the
transfer, $16,065.00.

Allow me to translate all that bankruptcy gobblygook: You Don't Mess With The Mukamal.