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.
If a chapter 13 debtor has two secured claims that are collateralized with personal property, and if the loans are cross-collateralized, a chapter 13 plan may not surrender the collateral for one loan.....
Even when the facts tug on the heartstrings, the law is the law. Representing that a business is profitable and lucrative is a representation about “financial condition” that must be in writing to.....
Enacted on March 27, the CARES Act amended Section 1329 by allowing chapter 13 debtors to extend their plans for up to seven years if they have experienced “material and financial hardship” as a.....
For debtors with incomes below the median, the Fifth Circuit invalidated a local rule requiring all chapter 13 debtors to turn over income tax refunds in excess of $2,000 for distribution to creditors.....
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.....
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mandate under the Affordable Care Act (a.k.a. ACA or Obamacare) seems like beating a dead horse now that Congress has repealed the penalty for taxpayers who didn.....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.....
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.....