Joining the Tenth Circuit, the Ninth Circuit also has held that chapter 13 trustees are not paid their fees when cases are dismissed before confirmation. The identical issue was argued on February 15 before the Second Circuit.
In short order, we’ll have either unanimity or a split of circuits. A split will give rise to an issue worthy of a grant of certiorari by the Supreme Court.
Notably, the Ninth Circuit’s opinion on June 12 adopted reasoning in an amicus brief filed in support of the debtor by the National Consumer Bankruptcy Rights Center and National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys.
Counsel in California, beware: The state’s reciprocal fee-shifting statute means that the losing side — whether it be the debtor, the trustee or the creditor — pays the adversary’s attorneys’ fees if.....
Applying analogies to tort law, the Seventh Circuit held that comparative fault requires a reduction of a debtor’s recovery of compensatory damages for a violation of the discharge injunction.
For the.....
An attorney’s disciplinary proceeding offends neither the automatic stay nor the discharge injunction, for reasons explained by the Ninth Circuit Bankruptcy Appellate Panel.
The same is true even when.....
Debtors and trustees should read a Fifth Circuit opinion to understand how the sale of a debtor’s claims should be structured to prevent the sale from being champertous and void.
The debtor severely.....
In the wake of Schwab v. Reilly, 560 U.S. 770 (2010), Bankruptcy Judge John E. Hoffman, Jr., of Columbus, Ohio, explained when a trustee must or cannot object to a homestead exemption claiming “100%.....
Affirming the bankruptcy court, a district judge in Brooklyn identified a loophole allowing chapter 13 debtors in some states to assert a homestead exemption without having the exemption prevent the.....
Sometimes, a trustee and a trustee’s professionals can be paid more than the distribution to unsecured creditors.
Explaining when the phenomenon may occur, Bankruptcy Judge Robert J. Faris said in his.....
If a debtor sues in federal district court seeking money damages for violating the automatic stay, the debtor is entitled to a jury trial. Right?
Wrong! Under Granfinanciera v. Nordberg, 492 U.S. 33.....
If a debtor’s income falls below the median after filing and before confirmation, the chapter 13 debtor is entitled to lower the monthly payments and shorten the term of the plan to 36 months, for.....
Avoiding a split of circuits, the Ninth Circuit affirmed the Bankruptcy Appellate Panel by holding that the exception in Section 1322(c)(2) permits a chapter 13 debtor to bifurcate a home mortgage.....