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.
On an issue where the circuits are split, a district judge sided with the majority by upholding Bankruptcy Judge Kent Lindquist of Hammond, Indiana, and ruling that the automatic stay does not.....
A district court decision upholding Chief Bankruptcy Judge Dale L. Somers has two important holdings regarding the dischargeability of student loans: (1) Disposable income insufficient even to pay.....
A debtor who is not a U.S. citizen is not entitled to a Florida homestead exemption unless the debtor holds a so-called green card entitling the debtor to permanent residence in the U.S.
The debtor was.....
In 1987 when it handed down Brunner v. N.Y. State Higher Educ. Servs. Corp. (In re Brunner), 831 F.2d 395 (2d Cir. 1987), the Second Circuit claims to have anticipated legislative intent 10 years.....
Bankruptcy Judge Timothy A. Barnes of Chicago displayed tools a judge can use to help a debtor who may have had a meritorious defense but could not afford to defend a dischargeability suit.
The.....
By adopting an opinion by the Bankruptcy Appellate Panel “in full,” the Ninth Circuit has limited its own precedents constricting a debtor’s ability to exempt a homestead.
In Wolfe v. Jacobson (In re.....
On a question where the lower courts are split, Chief Bankruptcy Judge G. Michael Halfenger of Milwaukee decided that the fees paid for a chapter 13 debtor’s counsel must be taken into consideration.....
The Ninth Circuit Bankruptcy Appellate Panel explored what it called “the fringes of the bankruptcy discharge injunction” and the meaning of “personal liability of the debtor” in Section 524(a).
The.....
The federal and California moratoria on evictions during the Covid-19 pandemic did not apply in a bankruptcy case, “even if the property in question is [the debtor’s] residence,” according to.....
An individual chapter 7 debtor cannot assume a lease of personal property by reaffirming the debt under Section 524(c). For example, a debtor can only assume a car lease by assuming the lease under.....