Law Changes in Georgia on Calculation of Fees for Standing Trustees
By excluding payments by the debtor directly to secured creditors from the calculation of the standing trustee’s fee, the recovery increased for unsecured creditors in chapter 12.
$1.6 Million Fee Disgorgement Upheld for Failure to Disclose Fee-Sharing
The bankruptcy judge had authority to sanction a lawyer for all misconduct in the district, not just in the cases before that judge.
Bifurcated Fee Arrangements Nixed on Appeal in Chicago
Parroting a local rule made the retention agreement more confusing, not less.
Congress Needs to Fix the Mess Created by the Supreme Court in Lamie
Unlike debtors in chapter 13, chapter 7 debtors cannot pay counsel with estate property. There may be no workaround allowing chapter 7 debtors to pay counsel before filing for services to be performed after filing.
Collecting a Sanction May Be Enforced by Contempt Rather than Writ of Execution
A district court in New York affirmed Bankruptcy Judge Paek by holding that collection of a sanction for a stay violation doesn’t require a writ of execution under Federal Rule 69(a).
Debtor’s Counsel Pays Lender’s Attorneys’ Fees for Filing Plan with 0% Interest
Bankruptcy Judge Hagan halted the practice of a chapter 13 debtor’s counsel who always filed plans with 0% interest for secured creditors.
Automatic Dismissal of a Chapter 13 Case Under Section 521(i)(1) Can’t Be Vacated
Because dismissal under Section 521(i)(1) is automatic and does not result from an order, there’s no rule to vacate dismissal for excusable neglect.
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).
Disgorgement Was the Remedy for Failure to Disclose a Post-Petition Retainer
Disclosing a post-petition retainer in a monthly operating report wasn’t a substitute for disclosure required by Rule 2016(b)(2).
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.