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.....
Based on the broad definition given the word “claim,” a creditor has standing to bring a nondischargeability suit against an individual debtor for embezzlement when the debtor didn’t embezzle from the.....
On an important issue about judicial estoppel in bankruptcy cases, the Fifth Circuit handed down a nonprecedential opinion on January 13 raising exactly the same issue coming before the Supreme Court.....
The amendment to Bankruptcy Rule 2003(e) didn’t create a bright-line rule automatically cutting off the time for objecting to exemptions when the trustee doesn’t announce and file a statement.....
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.....
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.....
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.....
In a split decision, the majority on the Fifth Circuit panel are requiring chapter 13 debtors to accelerate the repayment of nondischargeable student loans when there is available disposable income.....