Practice and Procedure

9th Circuit Jun 17, 2022

Chapter 7 Debtors Have No Appellate Standing to Challenge a Short Sale, BAP Says

BAP doesn’t allow debtors to appeal when a trustee sells their home out from underneath them in a short sale.
Supreme Court May 23, 2022

Supreme Court on Arbitration (Again): Perhaps Bankruptcy Is Exempt from Arbitration?

Cutting back on knee-jerk invocation of arbitration, the Supreme Court says that agreements to arbitrate are no more enforceable than ordinary contracts.

In the Interest of Justice: An Equitable Defense Can Defeat a Motion to Dismiss

A chapter 13 bankruptcy allows a defaulted homeowner the unique benefit of saving real property, along with other secured debt. Given the benefits of chapter 13, this particular type of bankruptcy has the ability to help a large mass of people, and as such requires an orderly administration. Chapter 13 Trustees — guided by Code provisions and bankruptcy rules — are the gatekeepers for this administration. While these trustees do a remarkable job in ensuring that debtors, creditors and other entities comply with procedural requirements, occasional oversights are expected.

9th Circuit May 16, 2022

Nonjudicial Foreclosure Wipes Out Deficiencies for the FCRA, Ninth Circuit Says

The Ninth Circuit equates nonjudicial foreclosure with bankruptcy discharge in terms of the effect on deficiencies following foreclosure.

Importance of the Supreme Court’s Upcoming Bartenwerfer Decision Seen in Florida Case

The decision by the Supreme Court next term in Bartenwerfer will tell us whether debts can be automatically nondischargeable, even when the debtor is without fault.
1st Circuit May 6, 2022

Circuits More Deeply Split on Waiver of Sovereign Immunity for Native American Tribes

Over a vigorous dissent, the First Circuit Joins the Ninth Circuit by holding that Section 106(a) waives tribes’ sovereign immunity.
7th Circuit Apr 21, 2022

Liens on Impounded Cars Are Judicial Liens that May Be Avoided, Seventh Circuit Says

The City of Chicago argued unsuccessfully that liens on cars are statutory because they arise automatically when the car is impounded.
10th Circuit Colorado Mar 30, 2022

Judge Brown Finds a Loophole Where Debtors Get Discharges Despite Nondisclosure

Had Congress considered the facts that were before Bankruptcy Judge Elizabeth Brown, it surely would have written the statute differently, this writer believes.