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.
Reversing the Bankruptcy Appellate Panel, the Ninth Circuit inveighed against an expansive reading of Kelly v. Robinson, 479 U.S. 36 (1986), where the Supreme Court arguably departed from the language.....
When the sweeping language of a landmark Supreme Court opinion conflicted with the statute, Chief Bankruptcy Judge Phillip J. Shefferly of Detroit followed the statute.
In Harris v. Viegelahn, 575 U.S.....
Here’s a cautionary tale from the liquidation of the Bernard Madoff Ponzi scheme: For having lost a discovery motion, Bankruptcy Judge Stuart M. Bernstein of Manhattan directed the lawyer to pay the.....
In chapter 13, creditors – not just the debtor – may sometimes lose out if the debtor had concealed the existence of a personal injury claim and the defendant invokes judicial estoppel to bar.....
The standards under Taggart limiting the imposition of contempt sanctions for violating the discharge injunction do not apply when the creditor’s violation of the automatic stay continues after.....
Another court has sanctioned a necessarily cumbersome process to make bankruptcy affordable for those who need it most — namely, people so broke they can’t pay the filing fee, much less a retainer.
Ba.....
Circuit decisions are rare where the concurrence is more significant than the panel opinion. In a bankruptcy that has already generated gobs of law at all levels, Sixth Circuit Judge Jeffrey S. Sutton.....
A lawyer who allegedly helped judgment debtors hide their assets in his trust account got off scot-free under New York fraudulent transfer law combined with ethical rules governing a lawyer’s conduct.....
Fifth Circuit Stretches Equitable Notions to Bend Plain Language
A nonprecedential opinion from the Fifth Circuit raises the perennial question: When, if ever, may the court ignore the plain language.....
An opinion from the Eighth Circuit shows the injustice that seemingly results from slavish adherence to the statute demanded by Law v. Segal, 571 U.S. 415 (2014), where the Supreme Court held that the.....