Stay Violation Order Is Final Even Before Attorneys’ Fees Are Awarded, Circuit Says
First Circuit rules that an order finding a stay violation must be appealed before the bankruptcy court grants an award of attorneys’ fees.
A Prior BAP Opinion Is Virtually Binding on a Later BAP Panel
A later First Circuit BAP panel should follow BAP authority unless the prior opinion seems “dead wrong.”
An Inherited IRA Can Be Exempt Under State Law When It’s Not in Section 522(b)(3)(C)
A divided Rhode Island Supreme Court ruled that an inherited IRA, not exempt under federal law, is exempt under state law.
First Circuit Starkly Holds that Tuition for an Adult Child Is a Fraudulent Transfer
The case in the appeals court apparently did not involve a student account structured to prevent the college from being the initial recipient of a fraudulent transfer.
Proceeds of Exempt Property Retain Exempt Status in Chapter 7, District Judge Says
District judge in Maine follows the Fifth Circuit by ruling that the post-petition sale of exempt property does not destroy the exempt status of the proceeds.
Boston Judge Suggests Procedures for Removing Uncertainty from Section 365(p)
Judge Hoffman’s analysis comports with the ABI Commission’s recommendations for improvements in lease assumptions by chapter 7 debtors under Section 365(p).
Recent Decisions Deepen and Entrench Circuit Split on Discharging Student Loans
Conflicting standards among the circuits warrant a grant of certiorari to define ‘undue hardship’ required for discharging a student loan.
Different Rules Govern When Claims Accrue By or Against an Estate
Like physics, bankruptcy searches for a unified theory to explain claims by and against the estate.
Equity Can’t Alter the Three Petitioning Creditors Requirement, First Circuit Rules
Even if a debtor has committed fraud, at least three creditors still must join an involuntary petition if the debtor has 12 or more creditors.
First Circuit Terminates the Stay Entirely as to Repeat Filers
In the first opinion at the circuit level, the First Circuit latches onto the lousy drafting of Section 362(c)(3)(A) to end the automatic stay entirely, 30 days after the second filing within a year.