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 accepted procedure for allowing state courts to divide marital property when one spouse files bankruptcy is to modify the automatic stay and abstain from adjudicating the property settlement,”.....
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.....
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.....
Although the Supreme Court held in Clark v. Rameker, 573 U.S. 122 (2014), that an inherited individual retirement account is not exempt, the inheritance of survivor’s benefits under a pension plan can.....
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.....
Writing an opinion that reads like a law review article, Bankruptcy Judge Michelle V. Larson of Dallas decided that the so-called economic unit approach is the best method for deciding the size of a.....
Ruling in favor of the debtor on an issue similar to the question before the Supreme Court this coming term in Bartenwerfer, Bankruptcy Judge Joshua P. Searcy of Tyler, Texas, held that a debt is.....
A district court decision from Houston is required reading for plaintiffs’ tort lawyers to understand how they must write jury instructions and special verdict forms to ensure that judgments for.....