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.
BAPCPA Limits Remedies Against Debtors Who Don’t Reaffirm or Surrender
In the BAPCPA amendments in 2005, Congress may have intended to bar debtors from allowing mortgages to “ride through” bankruptcy.....
Payments Under the NFL’s Brain Injury Settlement Are Held Exempt on Appeal
In the first-ever appeal from the first decision on the question, a district judge in Florida upheld Bankruptcy Judge John K.....
Tardy Recordation of a Mortgage Not Salvaged by Relation-Back Arguments
A bankruptcy judge must have a command of the intricacies of state law, as shown in an opinion by Bankruptcy Judge Paul W.....
Fifth Circuit Hints that Debtors May Retain Property for Recreation and Entertainment
Although the Fifth Circuit was unwilling to make the opinion precedential, the appeals court is nonetheless.....
Fifth Circuit Joins Sister Circuits in Bestowing Qualified Immunity on Trustees
The Fifth Circuit joined three other circuits by endowing bankruptcy trustees and their attorneys with broad immunities.....
Direct Mortgage Payments Are Not Provided For in a Plan, Eleventh Circuit Holds
For the first time among the courts of appeals, two judges on an Eleventh Circuit panel held that direct payments by a.....
Invocation of Rooker-Feldman Requires Finality in the State Court Judgment
The Eleventh Circuit explained when the Rooker-Feldman doctrine does not apply despite a judgment in state court.
Named for.....
Executory Contracts Are Automatically Rejected Even if Unscheduled, Fifth Circuit Holds
On a topic where there is scant appellate authority, the Fifth Circuit held that a trustee cannot assume and.....
Retention of Voluntary Post-Petition Payment Doesn’t Violate the Automatic Stay
Without violating the automatic stay, may a creditor retain a payment made voluntarily by a debtor after bankruptcy with.....