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.
To deny an individual’s discharge under Section 727(a)(5) for failure “to explain satisfactorily” a loss of assets, the First Circuit held that the missing assets need not be substantial.
Objecting to.....
Some exemption planning is permissible, but Bankruptcy Judge Pamela W. McAfee of Raleigh, N.C., had a case where it went too far. Indeed, marriage can be a badge of fraud.
In an opinion on February 13.....
For debtors in chapter 7, the sale of cryptocurrency is considered “income” in the calculation of current monthly income and in deciding whether there is a presumption of abuse, in the eyes of.....
In an important decision, the Second Circuit held that a creditor may not use an uncontested claim allowance in an offensive use of claim preclusion if it would be “unfair.”
In her August 8 opinion.....
Believe it or not, a debtor can have a homestead exemption in property in another country, even when the debtor doesn’t live there. Bankruptcy Judge Pamela W. McAfee explained how it works in a July 7.....
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.....
Twenty-seven months after oral argument, the Second Circuit avoided making a circuit split, sided with three other circuits, and held that a chapter 13 standing trustee “cannot keep any percentage fee.....
While most courts more recently are allowing the debtor to dismiss a chapter 13 case even when creditors prefer conversion to chapter 7, a decision by Bankruptcy Judge Michael A. Fagone of Bangor.....
With courts divided on the interpretation of 28 U.S.C. § 1412 about transferring venue in bankruptcy cases, a district judge in Rochester, N.Y., has adopted the approach from the Southern District of.....
On a question where the bankruptcy courts are divided, Bankruptcy Judge Pamela W. McAfee of Raleigh, N.C., sided with the majority in holding that a chapter 13 debtor does not have standing to compel.....