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.
The Fifth Circuit expanded Bartenwerfer by holding a debt to be nondischargeable when the debtor was neither a partner nor an agent nor the person who himself committed the fraud.
The October 16.....
Student loans consolidated after filing cannot be discharged even on a showing of “undue hardship,” for reasons explained by Bankruptcy Judge Shad M. Robinson of Austin, Texas.
The debtor filed a.....
On a question where the courts are divided, Bankruptcy Judge John S. Hodge of Shreveport, La., ruled that debt service for a non-purchase money lien on an automobile is not deductible in calculating a.....
The extended bar date for governmental claims applies if a governmental unit is the holder of the claim, even if a nongovernmental entity is the servicer of the claim, the Fifth Circuit says.
A couple.....
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.....
A contempt action brought against a debtor personally in a state matrimonial court to compel payment of a domestic support obligation violates the automatic stay despite Section 362(b)(2)(B). That.....
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 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.....