University of Pennsylvania Finding Aids

George C. Paine II was born on October 31, 1945 in Nashville, Tenn. He graduated from the University of Mississippi School of Law in 1973. In 1981, Paine was appointed a bankruptcy judge for the Middle District of Tennessee. He has served as Chief Bankruptcy Judge of that district since 1986. In 1984, George Paine was one of four judges who filed suit against the Administrative Office of the United States Courts ("Administrative Office"). The Administrative Office's director, William Foley, had refused to pay bankruptcy judges, arguing that parts of the Bankruptcy Amendments and Federal Judge Act of 1984 were unconstitutional. The case was later rendered moot when Foley rescinded his order and agreed to pay the judges. However, when Foley issued his first memorandum, a number of defendants in bankruptcy cases filed motions to overturn the bankruptcy courts' rulings, citing Foley's assertion that the judges had not been lawfully appointed at the time of the court proceedings. Paine and the other judges who filed suit against Foley intervened in the proceedings of these cases to argue for the constitutionality of the bankruptcy judge system. In one such case, known as In re Benny, George and Alexandra Benny were the defendants. Shortly after Foley's original memorandum in July 1984, the Bennys filed a motion to overturn the local bankruptcy court's ruling in their case. The motion was denied in November 1984. The collection includes two bound volumes of photocopies of court records of the In re Benny proceedings. Paine assembled the volumes. The first volume, called "Intervention," deals primarily with the bankruptcy judges' attempts to intervene in the motion by the Bennys to declare the Bankruptcy Amendments and Federal Judgeship Act of 1984 unconstitutional. The second volume, called "Constitutionality," contains records reflecting the entire proceedings surrounding the motion filed by the Bennys. The records were collected and photocopied for Paine from July to December 1984.

On July 11, 1984, William Foley, Legislative Affairs Officer of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts ("Administrative Office"), issued a memorandum stating that the Administrative Office would not pay bankruptcy judges because, in its opinion, Congress had acted unlawfully by awarding retroactive terms of office to the normally presidentially-appointed bankruptcy judges. In response, on July 13, 1984, four bankruptcy judges sued Foley and the Administrative Office for abuse of power. The case became commonly known as Lundin v. Foley. The law firm of Kronish, Lieb, Shainswit, Weiner and Hellman (later, Kronish, Lieb, Weiner and Hellman) represented the bankruptcy judges. Richard Lieb served as the primary attorney on the case. In 1988 the court issued a summary judgment on the grounds that the explicit reason for the suit (i.e. the refusal of Foley to pay the judges) had been resolved. However, when Foley issued his original memorandum, parties with an interest in other bankruptcy cases called for a dismissal of their cases or rulings on the grounds that the judges were not lawfully appointed. The bankruptcy judges in the original suit intervened in these cases on behalf of the presiding bankruptcy judges and, more importantly, the constituionality of the bankruptcy judge system as a whole. In each case, all of the motions were denied, thereby securing the bankruptcy judges a clear, unqualified victory. Following the court's decision, the judges sought reimbursement for its attorney fees under the Equal Access to Justice Act, which allows for plaintiffs who win a case against the government to be compensated for court costs. The Administrative Office refused to reimburse the judges, arguing that the Equal Access to Justice Act only covers suits against the Executive Branch, an argument which was upheld by the courts in the original ruling. The judges appealed and in 1992, the court ruled in favor of them for Lundin v. Foley. However, the judges were denied their request to recover fees for the related cases. The collection, 1984-1994, includes correspondence, clippings, photocopies of cases compiled in the course of research, notes, court documents, and other materials regarding the cases for which Kronish, Lieb represented bankruptcy judges in their lawsuit against the Administrative Office of the United States Courts.

The Oral History Project was begun by the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges (NCBJ) at its 2004 Annual Meeting. The purpose of the project was to record interviews in which past presidents of the NCBJ reminisced about the organization and the role they played in it. The project later expanded to encompass oral histories of prominent bankruptcy judges. The collection chiefly includes oral histories recorded with past presidents of the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges. Accruals to this project include prominent members of the NCBJ who may or may not be former presidents.

Randall J. Newsome attended Boston University for his Bachelor of Arts in 1972 and the University of Cincinnati College of Law for his Juris Doctor in 1975. With 28 years of experience serving as a settlement and bankruptcy judge, Judge Newsome is best known for his intelligent and pragmatic approach to resolving complex matters and he is frequently sought out as a national speaker on topics related to bankruptcy. Judge Newsome devoted much of his career handling local and national bankruptcy issues. Not only was Judge Newsome vocal about bankruptcy reform for consumers, but he was also actively involved with the ongoing legislative battles over bankruptcy reform, particularly during the ever changing Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act (BAPCPA) in the late 1990s. The Randall J. Newsome Papers, 1969-2010, primarily covers Judge Newsome's activities as a Bankruptcy Judge from 1982-2010 as well as his activities as a member and future President of the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges (NCBJ).