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.
At least in Illinois, unused vacation pay is exempt as wages, no matter how much, according to Seventh Circuit Judge Frank H. Easterbrook.
The debtor lost his job and filed bankruptcy one week later.....
As a matter of constitutional law, the Seventh Circuit reduced punitive damages from $3 million to $582,000 when the jury had awarded the debtor $582,000 in compensatory damages as a consequence of.....
A decision from Illinois highlights two flaws in the U.S. health care system: (1) Even with health insurance, medical bills can force someone into bankruptcy; and (2) if medical bills are “consumer”.....
The Seventh Circuit slammed the door on another theory used by bankrupt citizens of Chicago to avoid paying traffic tickets and parking fines incurred while in chapter 13.
In March, the Chicago-based.....
In 1991, the Supreme Court arguably ignored Section 522(f)(1) to achieve an equitable result in a matrimonial case that ended up in bankruptcy court. Farrey v. Sanderfoot, 500 U.S. 291 (1991). Last.....
Knowledge of a debtor’s fraud before discharge precludes the revocation of discharge under Section 727(d)(1). However, knowledge before discharge that the debtor fraudulently took estate property does.....
On an issue where the courts are divided, bankruptcy and district judges in Indianapolis allow a chapter 13 debtor’s attorney to be paid in full before secured creditors receive more than adequate.....
The debate continues on the right of a chapter 13 debtor to a discharge after missing direct payments to a home mortgage lender.
Bankruptcy Judge Susan D. Barrett of Augusta, Georgia, joined the.....
Proceedings for contempt of the discharge injunction were not within the scope of an arbitration agreement, according to bankruptcy and district judges in Tampa, Florida.
A chapter 7 debtor scheduled.....
A September 20 opinion from the Seventh Circuit reads like a suspense novel: For nine pages, Circuit Judge Frank H. Easterbrook sounded as though he was rejecting a test for “related to” jurisdiction.....