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.
Four circuits now agree: The costs of a lawyer’s disciplinary proceedings are nondischargeable debts under Section 523(a)(7).
Joining the First, Ninth and Eleventh Circuits, the Seventh Circuit ruled.....
The Sixth Circuit Bankruptcy Appellate Panel barred a debtor from using voluntary dismissal under Rule 41(a)(2) to avoid the consequences of discovery abuses. More specifically, the factual findings.....
Debtors’ counsel have a problem. If a case converts to chapter 7 before confirmation of a chapter 13 plan, they might not be paid.
If a chapter 13 case is dismissed before confirmation, Section 1326(a).....
There is no “cause” for modifying the automatic stay when the creditor’s objective is to undo the consequences of disastrous litigation strategy, according to the Eleventh Circuit.
The November 16.....
Dismissal with prejudice is a hot topic in chapter 13 for courts throughout the country. Bankruptcy Judge Michelle V. Larson of Dallas dismissed a case for “cause” under Section 1307(c) and imposed a.....
The bankruptcy judges in the Western District of Kentucky have effectively banned so-called bifurcated fee arrangements where chapter 7 debtors pay counsel fees after filing. The October 5 opinion by.....
Even if it may not prevail, a debtor’s objection to the claim of a dominant unsecured creditor can prevent that creditor from voting for the election of a hand-picked chapter 7 trustee, as shown in an.....
If the law changes, neither judicial estoppel nor law-of-the-case prevents the debtor from objecting to the classification of a claim that was treated as having priority in a confirmed chapter 13 plan.....
At least in the Eleventh Circuit, a delay of more than two years in effecting service of a complaint wasn’t fatal because the plaintiff was diligently attempting to complete service.
The September 23.....
A trustee may not sell claims of the estate when there is only minimal incremental benefit to unsecured creditors, according to Bankruptcy Judge Louis A. Scarcella of Central Islip, New York.
In his.....