Eighth Circuit BAP Approves the Amount of Bifurcated Fees Paid After Filing
Courts are continuing to grapple with bifurcated fee arrangements allowing chapter 7 debtors to pay the entire fee after filing.
Standards Laid Down for Bifurcated Fee Arrangement in the Southern District of Florida
Local or state bar groups should work up standard-form retainer agreements and disclosures to facilitate bifurcated fee arrangements.
Barton Protection Ends When the Bankruptcy Case Closes, Eleventh Circuit Says
Eleventh Circuit splits with four other circuits by holding that the Barton doctrine doesn’t protect trustees once the bankruptcy is over.
Treble Damages for ‘Willfulness’ Won’t Automatically Result in Nondischargeability
The lack of specific findings of fact by the arbitrator meant that a treble damage award for willful breach of contract was dischargeable.
Acevedo Doesn’t Bar Compensation for Services Before Entry of a Retention Order
So long as there was no delay in filing the retention application, Judge Tighe identified statutory and practical reasons for allowing compensation for services rendered before entry of a retention order.
Ninth Circuit Puts Limits on the Supreme Court’s Preclusion of Equitable Remedies
Law v. Siegel didn’t bar bankruptcy courts from invoking doctrines of claim and issue preclusion, the Ninth Circuit says.
Chapter 13 Debtors Lost Appreciation in Property After Conversion to ‘7’
On an issue where the courts are split, a judge in Washington State says that the debtors lose the post-petition appreciation in the value of estate property when a chapter 13 case converts to chapter 7.