9th Circuit

Judge Klein’s opinion reads like an amicus brief urging the Supreme Court to grant ‘cert’ and resolve a circuit split by taking sides with the majority on Section 362(c)(3)(A).

Two recent decisions by the 9th Circuit BAP seem in conflict on a chapter 13 debtor’s ability to retain appreciation in the value of assets.

ABI Consumer Commission recommended that ‘comfort orders’ be obtained through motion practice, not adversary proceedings.

If a creditor objects to chapter 13 eligibility in good faith, the court may look behind the debtor’s schedules to decide whether the debt exceeds the cap.

Ninth Circuit assumed that transferred property must remain property of the estate after conversion from ‘13’ to ‘7’ before the chapter 7 trustee can avoid an unauthorized transfer under Section 549.

Taggart left open the question of whether the ‘no objectively reasonable basis’ standard for discharge violations also applies to contempt of the automatic stay.

Even the dissenter in the Ninth Circuit would not let a debt buyer off the hook if the complaint were properly pleaded.

The creditor was guilty of an automatic stay violation, but Taggart insulated the creditor from liability for a discharge violation for continuation of the same conduct.

Dissenter in the Ninth Circuit says that utilizing provisions in the Bankruptcy Code is not bad faith barring confirmation.

The Ninth Circuit may be backing off from Ybarra, a case that waives discharge for attorneys’ fees if the debtor ‘returns to the fray.’