The Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 1 (Reform) mandates pre-filing credit and budget counseling for consumers seeking bankruptcy protection under both chapters 7 and 13. This provision has remained consistent…
Self-insured retentions (SIRs) and deductibles serve the same purpose, allotting a portion of the risk to the insured. The method chosen has a distinct impact on the insurer's obligations and also impacts determining creditor status when an…
Consumer protection laws regulating debt collection practices are a complex minefield of potential liability for creditors and other debt collectors. Large damage awards, provisions for recovery of attorneys' fees and increased awareness an…
In late 2004, the U.S. Trustee Program (USTP) adopted a strategic plan 1 for 2005-10 that encompasses several critical goals: (1) protecting the integrity of the bankruptcy system, (2) promoting the effectiveness and efficiency of the syste…
Case Management/Electronic Case Filing (CM/ECF) implementation in the bankruptcy courts has been underway since early 2001. Currently, approximately 61 courts are operational, with more scheduled to become activated each month. With the adv…
Consumer creditors were dealt a favorable hand on the issue of lien "revival" or "revesting" in a recent decision authored by Judge Eugene R. Wedoff in In re Booth. 1 The issue presented in Booth is the effect of dismissal of a chapter 13 c…
Some have described the term "Market Rate of Interest" as being similar to pornography: You can't define it, but you know it when you see it. The courts have been struggling with the application of market rate of interest to undersecured cl…
Several years ago, this column addressed the then-growing tendency of bankruptcy courts to enter "first-day orders" allowing debtors to make post-petition payments on account of pre-petition unsecured employee wage claims over and above the…