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.
When a chapter 13 debtor has excess disposable income not being paid to creditors every month, some courts in Texas have been imposing a so-called Molina provision on the plan that bars the debtor.....
The Bankruptcy Code and the Internal Revenue Code seem in conflict about the ability of the IRS to offset a tax refund that the debtor claims to be exempt. Resolving a question of first impression.....
Holding that “the reasonable reliance requirement is a low hurdle for creditors to satisfy,” the Fifth Circuit decided that the bankruptcy court’s findings of fact were clearly erroneous, and directed.....
Writing about the so-called individual mandate under the Affordable Care Act (a.k.a. ACA or Obamacare) seems like beating a dead horse now that Congress has repealed the penalty for taxpayers who didn.....
In chapter 13, creditors – not just the debtor – may sometimes lose out if the debtor had concealed the existence of a personal injury claim and the defendant invokes judicial estoppel to bar.....
A relatively puny case from south Texas involving a false notice under Bankruptcy Rule 3002.1 is making important law on the rule and the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, or FDCPA, 15 U.S.C.....
Bankruptcy Judge John E. Waites, sitting in Columbia, S.C., refused to compel arbitration of “core” bankruptcy issues. Not surprising.
In a case involving a consumer, he also decided that.....
Fifth Circuit Stretches Equitable Notions to Bend Plain Language
A nonprecedential opinion from the Fifth Circuit raises the perennial question: When, if ever, may the court ignore the plain language.....
In one of his last rulings before ascending to the district court bench, then-Chief Bankruptcy Judge Frank W. Volk of Charleston, W.Va., navigated between several decisional splits and three statutes.....
Yesterday, the Supreme Court granted certiorari in City of Chicago v. Fulton, 19-357 (Sup. Ct.), to resolve a circuit split and decide whether inaction can violate the automatic stay under Section 362.....