Two-Year Look-Back Period Cannot Be Equitably Tolled

February 22, 2012

Publication| Bankruptcy & Corporate Restructuring

In Industrial Enters. of Am., Inc. v. Burtis, the Delaware Bankruptcy Court denied a motion to reconsider its holding that equitable tolling cannot enlarge the two-year look-back period under 11 U.S.C. § 548(a).

Section 548(a) provides that the trustee may seek to avoid a transfer of property by the debtor that was made on or within two years before the debtor’s petition date. The defendants moved to dismiss as the plaintiff sought to avoid the transfer of property that occurred earlier than two years before the debtor’s petition date. The plaintiff conceded that the transfers at issue occurred outside of the two-year timeframe but argued that its claim should not be dismissed because the look-back period was subject to equitable tolling.

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