BAP Decision Shows How ‘Plain Meaning’ Would Have Given the Wrong Result
An order disallowing a claim didn’t really mean the claim was disallowed.
Private Student Loans Are Discharged Entirely or Not at All, BAP Says
An Internal Revenue Code definition means that the bankruptcy court cannot make part of a private student loan dischargeable and another part nondischargeable.
Ninth Circuit BAP Wrote a Handbook for Vexatious Litigant and Prefiling Injunctions
The Ninth Circuit hasn’t decided whether bankruptcy courts are ‘courts of the U.S.’ authorized to exercise powers under the All Writs Act, 28 U.S.C. § 1651(a).
Ninth Circuit Will Sit En Banc to Decide Whether Trustees Have Qualified Judicial Immunity
The Ninth Circuit will sit en banc, presenting the possibility of a circuit split that could end up stripping bankruptcy trustees of qualified judicial immunity.
Claim Preclusion Didn’t Preclude Making Successive Exemption Claims, Circuit Says
The Ninth Circuit holds that claim preclusion doesn’t prevent a debtor from claiming federal exemptions after the bankruptcy court has denied state exemption.
Reimposing the Stay Is a Final Order to Be Appealed Immediately, Ninth Circuit Says
Ninth Circuit questions continuing validity of BAP opinions on finality handed down before Ritzen.
Disciplinary Costs Are Nondischargeable in California But Dischargeable in Nevada
The Ninth Circuit gives state legislatures the ability to decide whether costs of attorneys’ disciplinary proceedings are dischargeable, or not.
Proven Fraud Won’t Always Cut Down the Amount of a Homestead Exemption, BAP Says
To limit the amount of a homestead exemption under Section 522(q)(1)(B)(ii), the fraud must have occurred after the debtor became a fiduciary.
A Promise Not to Enforce a Judgment Meant There Was No Discharge Violation
The inability to modify a Section 524(a) discharge put the Ninth Circuit BAP in a bind.
There’s Reciprocal Fee-Shifting in California When a Contract Has Unilateral Fee-Shifting
In California, bringing litigation with a marginal possibility of success could be a bad bet whenever a contract permits one side to recover attorneys’ fees.