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 August, Congress adopted the so-called HAVEN Act, which allows military veterans to exclude disability benefits from the calculation of “current monthly income.” In practical terms, the new law.....
On an issue where the lower courts are split, the Sixth Circuit Bankruptcy Appellate Panel held that a pre-petition personal guaranty is a contingent debt that is discharged, even as to post-petition.....
A $300,000 debt for life-saving, emergency medical treatment was not a “consumer” debt because it was not “voluntarily” incurred, according to Bankruptcy Judge C. Kathryn Preston of Columbus, Ohio.
A.....
In six cases where neither the chapter 13 trustee nor creditors had lodged objections to confirmation of the plans, Bankruptcy Judge Diane Davis of Utica, N.Y., refused to approve four plans because.....
Addressing several issues where the courts are deeply split, Bankruptcy Judge Thomas J. Tucker of Detroit concluded that Social Security benefits can be considered in deciding whether a chapter 7.....
Another court has sanctioned a necessarily cumbersome process to make bankruptcy affordable for those who need it most — namely, people so broke they can’t pay the filing fee, much less a retainer.
Ba.....
Circuit decisions are rare where the concurrence is more significant than the panel opinion. In a bankruptcy that has already generated gobs of law at all levels, Sixth Circuit Judge Jeffrey S. Sutton.....
A lawyer who allegedly helped judgment debtors hide their assets in his trust account got off scot-free under New York fraudulent transfer law combined with ethical rules governing a lawyer’s conduct.....
Observing that some courts have incorrectly interpreted the Brunner test to impose “punitive standards,” Chief Bankruptcy Judge Cecelia G. Morris of the Southern District of New York allowed a debtor.....
Although holding a hearing on a contempt motion in state court may not violate the automatic stay, the remedy imposed by the state court may nonetheless violate the stay, according to Bankruptcy Judge.....