BankruptcyBeach

In a post last week, I reported on the 9th Circuit BAP’s recent decision, In re Onubah, 2007 WL 2701336 (Bankr. App. 9th Cir. August 31, 2007), which surcharged the Debtor’s allowed homestead and household goods exemptions in the amount of the attorney fees and other costs incurred by the trustee as a result of the Debtor’s legal and extra-legal obstruction of the sale of his home.

A landlord has successfully circumvented the “cap” on lease rejection damages imposed under Bankruptcy Code section 502(b)(6). In deciding a case with highly unusual (and sympathetic) facts, Ninth Circuit Judge Alex Kozinski has made some broad statements that will henceforth encourage landlords to structure their claims, and their leases, to try to “beat the cap.” The case is In re El Toro Materials Company, 2007 WL 2822019 (9th Cir., October 1, 2007).

A few weeks ago the Bankruptcy Appellate Panel for the Ninth Circuit issued a decision which all chapter 7 trustees should welcome. The BAP upheld the decision of Bankruptcy Judge Kathleen Thompson, of the Central District of California, surcharging the Debtor’s homestead and household goods exemptions in the amount of the attorney fees and other costs incurred by the Trustee as a result of the Debtor’s refusal to vacate the home and related legal shennanigans aimed at frustrating the sale. In re Onubah, 2007 WL 2701336 (Bankr. App. 9th Cir.

Last summer we had news of a pilot project in which audio recordings of bankruptcy hearings were going to be posted online, as .mp3 files, so that those who didn’t attend a court hearing (either in person or telephonically) can listen to what went on. Its a pilot project now. Three bankruptcy courts and two district courts are supposed to be participating. Since getting the news, I have been checking to find an audio file for a hearing which has been posted on the internet.