Melissa B. Jacoby
@mbjacoby.bsky.social
UNC-Chapel Hill professor studying debt/commercial law/bankruptcy & connections to everything else. Wrote a book https://www.mbjacoby.org/unjustdebts.
The study on hospital collection lawsuits linked in this post is worth your time and attention.
New post: Hospitals Suing Patients – A New Study https://creditslips.org/2025/10/27/hospitals-suing-patients/
October 27, 2025 at 6:31 PM
The study on hospital collection lawsuits linked in this post is worth your time and attention.
A reasonable plea for accuracy in counting corporate bankruptcies from @boblawless.bsky.social
www.creditslips.org/creditslips/...
www.creditslips.org/creditslips/...
Chapter 11s Did Not Spike in July 2025 - Credit Slips
There were a number of reports that commercial chapter 11 filings jumped dramatically in July 2025. Unfortunately, these headlines appear to be from junk data and from sources that should know better ...
www.creditslips.org
August 7, 2025 at 5:23 PM
A reasonable plea for accuracy in counting corporate bankruptcies from @boblawless.bsky.social
www.creditslips.org/creditslips/...
www.creditslips.org/creditslips/...
Reposted by Melissa B. Jacoby
My contribution to this fantastic @brooklynlawschool.bsky.social symposium is here: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers..... It's both too long (for the symposium) and too short (much more to say), but I think just the beginning.
August 5, 2025 at 8:29 PM
My contribution to this fantastic @brooklynlawschool.bsky.social symposium is here: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers..... It's both too long (for the symposium) and too short (much more to say), but I think just the beginning.
New book alert!
Official release date for Debt's Grip: Risk and Consumer Bankruptcy, from University of California Press!! In it, @boblawless.bsky.social, Deborah Thorne, and I draw on 11 years of court records and surveys from bankruptcy filers to describe what it means to live in financial precarity in the US.
August 5, 2025 at 7:55 PM
New book alert!
Reposted by Melissa B. Jacoby
NEW: Anat R. Admati reviews "Unjust Debts: How Our Bankruptcy System Makes America More Unequal" (2024) by Melissa B. Jacoby.
www.promarket.org/2025/07/23/o...
www.promarket.org/2025/07/23/o...
Is the US Bankruptcy System Morally Bankrupt? - ProMarket
Anat R. Admati reviews Unjust Debts: How Our Bankruptcy System Makes America More Unequal (2024) by Melissa B. Jacoby.
www.promarket.org
July 23, 2025 at 2:10 PM
NEW: Anat R. Admati reviews "Unjust Debts: How Our Bankruptcy System Makes America More Unequal" (2024) by Melissa B. Jacoby.
www.promarket.org/2025/07/23/o...
www.promarket.org/2025/07/23/o...
Join in livestream - tomorrow, July 15, 2025 at 10am Eastern
judiciary.house.gov/committee-ac...
judiciary.house.gov/committee-ac...
Bankruptcy Law: Overview and Legislative Reforms
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Administrative State, Regulatory Reform, and Antitrust will hold a hearing on Tuesday, July 15, 2025, at 10:00 a.m. ET.
judiciary.house.gov
July 14, 2025 at 1:04 PM
Join in livestream - tomorrow, July 15, 2025 at 10am Eastern
judiciary.house.gov/committee-ac...
judiciary.house.gov/committee-ac...
Reposted by Melissa B. Jacoby
Prof. Melissa B. Jacoby argues that the U.S. bankruptcy system doesn’t just reflect inequality—it reinforces it. In Unjust Debts, she shows how bankruptcy law privileges corporations over people. politicsrights.com/making-ameri...
#bankruptcy @mbjacoby.bsky.social #politicsandrightsreview
#bankruptcy @mbjacoby.bsky.social #politicsandrightsreview
Making Americans Bankrupt Again?
How U.S. bankruptcy law deepens inequality—Melissa Jacoby’s Unjust Debts exposes a system that punishes the vulnerable and protects the powerful.
politicsrights.com
June 16, 2025 at 2:05 PM
Prof. Melissa B. Jacoby argues that the U.S. bankruptcy system doesn’t just reflect inequality—it reinforces it. In Unjust Debts, she shows how bankruptcy law privileges corporations over people. politicsrights.com/making-ameri...
#bankruptcy @mbjacoby.bsky.social #politicsandrightsreview
#bankruptcy @mbjacoby.bsky.social #politicsandrightsreview
An essay by my friend Stephanie Schantz that offers food for thought for everyone:
www.huffpost.com/entry/infert...
www.huffpost.com/entry/infert...
I've Spent The Last 20 Years Trying To Become A Mom. Today I Have Big News To Share.
"Parenthood wasn’t just something I wanted — it became the definition of who I thought I was supposed to be."
www.huffpost.com
June 6, 2025 at 3:11 PM
An essay by my friend Stephanie Schantz that offers food for thought for everyone:
www.huffpost.com/entry/infert...
www.huffpost.com/entry/infert...
Debtor-creditor relationships are everywhere, including and especially in health care.
Glad to see new journalistic coverage of these medical credit products and their implications in the @prospect.org
@mirya.bsky.social
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
Glad to see new journalistic coverage of these medical credit products and their implications in the @prospect.org
@mirya.bsky.social
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
May 29, 2025 at 3:37 PM
Debtor-creditor relationships are everywhere, including and especially in health care.
Glad to see new journalistic coverage of these medical credit products and their implications in the @prospect.org
@mirya.bsky.social
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
Glad to see new journalistic coverage of these medical credit products and their implications in the @prospect.org
@mirya.bsky.social
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
A new book: Sharing Risk, by Professor Pat McCoy, came out yesterday. I'll be reading it for sure.
www.ucpress.edu/books/sharin...
www.ucpress.edu/books/sharin...
Sharing Risk by Patricia McCoy - Hardcover
Scholarship is a powerful tool for changing how people think, plan, and govern. By giving voice to bright minds and bold ideas, we seek to foster understanding and drive progressive change.
www.ucpress.edu
May 28, 2025 at 8:10 PM
A new book: Sharing Risk, by Professor Pat McCoy, came out yesterday. I'll be reading it for sure.
www.ucpress.edu/books/sharin...
www.ucpress.edu/books/sharin...
More on the bankrupt 23andMe, this time in the British Medical Journal
May 27, 2025 at 5:41 PM
More on the bankrupt 23andMe, this time in the British Medical Journal
Were I in the DC area you would find me here. Book events at public libraries are a special thing. And opportunity to hear from a journalist with extensive experience reporting on student loans.
DC-area! I'll be talking about student debt tonight at the Shepherd Park library. Excited to share insights from my book SUNK COST at a local public library! Details here:
May 27, 2025 at 2:21 PM
Were I in the DC area you would find me here. Book events at public libraries are a special thing. And opportunity to hear from a journalist with extensive experience reporting on student loans.
As bankruptcy filings rise, here's a conversation with Greg LaBlanc(recorded in April, released today, May 9). @thenewpress.bsky.social
podfollow.com/unsiloed-wit...
podfollow.com/unsiloed-wit...
unSILOed with Greg LaBlanc: 538. Bankruptcy, Inequality, and the Quest for Fairness feat. Melissa B. Jacoby
What are the broader implications of specialized bankruptcy courts on the U.S. legal system? How are bankruptcies being used and misused by debtors and creditors today?Melissa B. Jacoby is a profes...
podfollow.com
May 9, 2025 at 3:16 PM
As bankruptcy filings rise, here's a conversation with Greg LaBlanc(recorded in April, released today, May 9). @thenewpress.bsky.social
podfollow.com/unsiloed-wit...
podfollow.com/unsiloed-wit...
Unjust Debts heading back to a bookstore on May 9 - Scuppernong Books, Greensboro, NC, in conversation with a former NC Supreme Court justice. Details below. scuppernongbooks.com/event/2025-0...
Melissa Jacoby, Unjust Debts
scuppernongbooks.com
April 30, 2025 at 1:51 PM
Unjust Debts heading back to a bookstore on May 9 - Scuppernong Books, Greensboro, NC, in conversation with a former NC Supreme Court justice. Details below. scuppernongbooks.com/event/2025-0...
Reposted by Melissa B. Jacoby
When 23andMe filed for bankruptcy in March, the fate of its vast genetic database became unclear.
In today’s episode, we look at what might happen to the genetic data of 15 million 23andMe customers as the bankruptcy process unfolds.
In today’s episode, we look at what might happen to the genetic data of 15 million 23andMe customers as the bankruptcy process unfolds.
How 23andMe's bankruptcy led to a run on the gene bank : Planet Money
Reporter Alexi Horowitz-Ghazi's Aunt Vovi signed up for 23andMe back in 2017, hoping to learn more about the genetic makeup of her ancestors. Vovi was one of over 15 million 23andMe customers who…
buff.ly
April 26, 2025 at 2:01 PM
When 23andMe filed for bankruptcy in March, the fate of its vast genetic database became unclear.
In today’s episode, we look at what might happen to the genetic data of 15 million 23andMe customers as the bankruptcy process unfolds.
In today’s episode, we look at what might happen to the genetic data of 15 million 23andMe customers as the bankruptcy process unfolds.
23andMe bankruptcy currently has more active oversight than the federal government in the last 3 months. If members of Congress want to protect Americans' data privacy, they could hold DOGE accountable for its risky business.
Congressmen sound alarm over data privacy following 23andMe bankruptcy
Congressmen sound alarm over data privacy following 23andMe bankruptcy
Three congressmen on the House Committee on Energy and Commerce sent a letter to the genetic testing company 23andMe on Thursday, asking the company questions about its data privacy policies.
www.latimes.com
April 18, 2025 at 2:56 PM
23andMe bankruptcy currently has more active oversight than the federal government in the last 3 months. If members of Congress want to protect Americans' data privacy, they could hold DOGE accountable for its risky business.
Reposted by Melissa B. Jacoby
Johnson & Johnson tried 3 times to resolve talc suits in bankruptcy court. It didn’t work.
We get into it.👇
We get into it.👇
Why Johnson & Johnson is in bankruptcy court over its talc powder - Marketplace
A federal bankruptcy judge has rejected Johnson & Johnson’s latest attempt to settle lawsuits that allege its talc baby powder caused cancer.
www.marketplace.org
April 2, 2025 at 8:01 PM
Johnson & Johnson tried 3 times to resolve talc suits in bankruptcy court. It didn’t work.
We get into it.👇
We get into it.👇
Inflicting too many outrages, in too many illegal ways, to fit on a sign was the strategy...and I'm on my way to a march in NC.
If you’re upset about the chaos and corruption Trump is inflicting on your country—whether your focus is the nihilistic dismantling of government, the economy, our foreign relations, or his threats to the rule of law—please join the nationwide marches on April 5. Learn more here 👉
handsoff2025.com
handsoff2025.com
Hands Off!
Donald Trump and Elon Musk think this country belongs to them. They're taking everything they can get their hands on and daring the world to stop them. On Saturday, April 5th, we're taking to the stre...
handsoff2025.com
April 5, 2025 at 3:25 PM
Inflicting too many outrages, in too many illegal ways, to fit on a sign was the strategy...and I'm on my way to a march in NC.
Having reread, want to emphasize that decision below is important read on lawyers' professional responsibility (and role of claims agent businesses) when firms represent large numbers of claimants.
Bankruptcy court in Texas says J&J's third bankruptcy to cap liability for talc harm must be dismissed. Here is decision: document.epiq11.com/document/get...
document.epiq11.com
April 1, 2025 at 6:03 PM
Having reread, want to emphasize that decision below is important read on lawyers' professional responsibility (and role of claims agent businesses) when firms represent large numbers of claimants.
Bankruptcy court in Texas says J&J's third bankruptcy to cap liability for talc harm must be dismissed. Here is decision: document.epiq11.com/document/get...
document.epiq11.com
March 31, 2025 at 11:44 PM
Bankruptcy court in Texas says J&J's third bankruptcy to cap liability for talc harm must be dismissed. Here is decision: document.epiq11.com/document/get...
March 26, 2025 at 3:28 PM
Recirculating now that 23andMe has filed for bankruptcy...
New in the New England Journal of Medicine ...
www.nejm.org/doi/full/10....
(screenshot from the other place)
www.nejm.org/doi/full/10....
(screenshot from the other place)
March 24, 2025 at 2:13 PM
Recirculating now that 23andMe has filed for bankruptcy...
Thanks to the Harvard Law Review for publishing a review of my book Unjust Debts, particularly by such a thoughtful scholar, Berkeley Law Professor Abbye Atkinson.
harvardlawreview.org/print/vol-13...
@thenewpress.bsky.social
harvardlawreview.org/print/vol-13...
@thenewpress.bsky.social
Who's Afraid of Bankruptcy - Harvard Law Review
Introduction Who’s afraid of a bankruptcy filing? Perhaps we all should be given the increasingly outsized role that bankruptcy law plays in our market...
harvardlawreview.org
March 12, 2025 at 1:28 PM
Thanks to the Harvard Law Review for publishing a review of my book Unjust Debts, particularly by such a thoughtful scholar, Berkeley Law Professor Abbye Atkinson.
harvardlawreview.org/print/vol-13...
@thenewpress.bsky.social
harvardlawreview.org/print/vol-13...
@thenewpress.bsky.social
Save the date: friends and fans of Juliet Moringiello - please join virtually an event on March 20, 2025 1pm ET. Details at @creditslipsblog.bsky.social
www.creditslips.org/creditslips/...
www.creditslips.org/creditslips/...
Virtual Access to Event in Memory of Juliet Moringiello March 20 2025 - Credit Slips
Widener University Commonwealth Law School will hold an event honoring Professor Juliet Moringiello on March 20, 2025 at 1pm ET. Friends and fans of Juliet are welcome and encouraged to join virtually...
www.creditslips.org
March 10, 2025 at 3:16 PM
Save the date: friends and fans of Juliet Moringiello - please join virtually an event on March 20, 2025 1pm ET. Details at @creditslipsblog.bsky.social
www.creditslips.org/creditslips/...
www.creditslips.org/creditslips/...