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 a story on January 27, we bemoaned the failure of Congress to fix the problem that the Supreme Court foisted on individual debtors with its decision in Lamie v. United States Trustee, 540 U.S. 526.....
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On an important issue about judicial estoppel in bankruptcy cases, the Fifth Circuit handed down a nonprecedential opinion on January 13 raising exactly the same issue coming before the Supreme Court.....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.....
On a question where there is precious little authority, Bankruptcy Judge Janet S. Baer of Chicago decided that Bankruptcy Rule 9006(b) and equitable tolling permit an extension of the two-year.....
Regarding the right of a chapter 13 debtor to dismiss a case filed in bad faith, Bankruptcy Judge Stacey L. Meisel of Newark, N.J., said it all in the second paragraph of her opinion:
A Chapter 13.....
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.....
Bankruptcy Judge Donald R. Cassling of Chicago overruled a confirmation objection that would have driven lawyers away from the chapter 13 practice if sustained. He rejected an unsecured creditor’s.....
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.....
Even though a couple were married only one month before the husband filed a chapter 13 petition, Chicago’s Bankruptcy Judge Michael B. Slade decided that the husband was entitled to claim a house of.....