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 one defendant among many is in bankruptcy, an order dismissing the complaint as to all of the other defendants isn’t final and isn’t appealable.
However, a December 8 opinion from the Sixth.....
For every rule, there’s an exception.
On January 30, we reported the Paris decision by Bankruptcy Judge David D. Cleary of Chicago, which could be read (improperly) to mean that a division of marital.....
On an issue where the courts are divided, Bankruptcy Judge Beth A. Buchanan of Cincinnati decided that the Social Security benefits of a nonfiling spouse are not to be included in deciding whether the.....
The Sixth Circuit has effectively immunized the U.S. Trustee from paying a debtor’s attorneys’ fees under the Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA) when the U.S. Trustee is the loser in a contested.....
The receipt of a chapter 7 discharge does not automatically bar a debtor from converting a case to chapter 7, according to District Judge Nancy G. Edmonds of Detroit.
On the other hand, the right to.....
Other than a judicial lien securing a domestic support obligation, a debtor may avoid a lien that impairs an exemption under Section 522(f), even if the lien secures a nondischargeable debt, according.....
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 courts disagree, Bankruptcy Judge Denise E. Barnett of Memphis, Tenn., has held that a chapter 13 debtor may retain exempt proceeds from a personal injury settlement because.....
Hon. Mark Randon of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Michigan recently weighed in on an issue that has divided bankruptcy courts over the past few years. Debtors who opt for.....
Before we begin this column, we'd like to take a moment to remember the lives that were lost on 9/11 and the families and communities that continue to be impacted by that tragic event. Never forget.
Ci.....