Bankruptcy Courts Have Statutory Power to Remove Voided Liens
Bankruptcy Rule 7070, incorporating Federal Rule 70 along with 28 U.S.C. § 1655, gives bankruptcy courts power to remove liens of record when the lenders don’t do so voluntarily.
It’s Ok to Avoid a Fraudulent Transfer Even if It Makes the Debtor Solvent, Circuit Says
The Second Circuit found discretion to avoid a constructively fraudulent transfer of exempt property that would have enabled the debtor to pay her creditors in full.
A Settlement Term Sheet Signed After Mediation Was an Enforceable Contract
The state law standards for creation of a contract governed enforceability of a term sheet signed after mediation.
Chapter 7 Debtors Have No Appellate Standing to Challenge a Short Sale, Circuit Says
Ninth Circuit doesn’t allow debtors to appeal when a trustee sells their home out from underneath them in a short sale.
Stop Punishing the Innocent: Congress Should Fix the Doll/Evans Problem
What will become of the chapter 13 system if standing trustees must refund all fees collected in cases dismissed before confirmation? The answer is perhaps unexpected: Unsecured creditors in confirmed chapter 13 cases will pay the administrative expenses of cases that fail.
Benchnotes October 2023
By Bradley D. Pack, Aaron M. Kaufman and Christina Sanfelippo Debtor Must Pay Default Rate Interest to Cure Defaulted Debt; Takes Deep Dive into Difficult Issue While plenty has been written on the issue of what a debtor must do to “cure” and reinstate an accelerated
Lack of Creditor Opposition Isn’t Grounds for Extending an Expiring Automatic Stay
A repeat filer in chapter 13 must show ‘clear and convincing evidence’ of improved financial condition to warrant an extension of the automatic stay under Section 362(c)(3)(B), Chief Judge Taddonio says.
Equitable Tolling Cannot Extend the Deadline for a Dischargeability Objection
The Third Circuit lauded Bankruptcy Judge Craig Goldblatt for a ‘well-reasoned’ opinion correctly interpreting Supreme Court authority.
Bartenwerfer Doesn’t Apply if the Debtor Isn’t a Partner or Agent, Bankruptcy Judge Says
Bankruptcy Judge Klinette H. Kindred declined to expand Bartenwerfer by imputing fraud or larceny when the debtor wasn’t a partner or agent.
Sixth Circuit Staunches the Spread of Equitable Mootness to Chapter 7
Two judges on the Sixth Circuit cast doubt on the validity of the doctrine of equitable mootness, even in chapter 11 reorganizations.