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.
In fixing the value of a debtor’s interest in property held as tenants by the entireties when avoiding a judicial lien as an impairment of an exemption under Section 522(f), the First Circuit held.....
The commission of a serious crime doesn’t necessarily give rise to a nondischargeable debt, as Bankruptcy Judge Robert L. Jones of Lubbock, Texas, explained in an opinion on July 7. The opinion shows.....
If a chapter 7 trustee succeeds with a clever argument in the Fifth Circuit, whole life policies will not be exempt in Texas. The trustee’s argument failed to convince Bankruptcy Judge Craig A.....
Courts are split three ways on whether chapter 13 debtors can make contributions to 401(k) plans. Some courts permit none whatsoever, while others permit contributions no larger than what the debtor.....
Two bankruptcy judges in Texas have now rejected clever arguments that would have effectively overruled the Texas legislature and terminated the state exemption for owners and beneficiaries of life.....
The First Circuit wrote a 47-page dissertation on the invocation of judicial estoppel in bankruptcy cases. Basically, the principle requires more than a demonstration that the party had advanced legal.....
The settlement of a lawsuit where the debtor does not expressly admit liability may nevertheless result in automatic nondischargeability under Section 523(a)(19) if the complaint was properly drafted.....
Writing an opinion that reads like a law review article, Bankruptcy Judge Michelle V. Larson of Dallas decided that the so-called economic unit approach is the best method for deciding the size of a.....
Ruling in favor of the debtor on an issue similar to the question before the Supreme Court this coming term in Bartenwerfer, Bankruptcy Judge Joshua P. Searcy of Tyler, Texas, held that a debt is.....
The First Circuit Bankruptcy Appellate Panel insinuated that the Department of Education’s so-called borrower defense to the repayment of student loans cannot be raised under Section 523(a)(8) without.....