Bendall v. Lancer Management Group, LLC (Definition of “Claim”)

523 F. App’x 554, 556 (11th Cir. 2013)

The Eleventh Circuit, in an unpublished decision, found that the definition of “claim” included a contingent right to payment of attorneys’ fees by a receivership entity under a contractual indemnification provision, such that the ‘right’ would be subject to the claims bar date established by the Court in its case management order. The Court surmised that the definition of “claim” is broadly construed in this context and encompasses all rights to payment, even those that may be contingent or currently unenforceable. In reaching this decision, the Court analyzed the definition of “claim” using the bankruptcy code and bankruptcy case law, citing precedent from several circuits on the propriety of applying analogous bankruptcy law in the absence of applicable precedent in the receivership context.