News Topic: BankruptcyBeach

On Tuesday the House Committee on the Judiciary held a day long hearing on the second anniversary of the enactment of BAPCPA. Before I assumed the responsibilities of a blogger, I didn't know that Congressional hearings were given snappy titles. The ... Read full article

The Ninth Circuit BAP has spoken on the “hanging paragraph” issue , siding with consumer lenders. Ever since the enactment of BAPCPA, some have claimed that poor legislative drafting must be read as substantially liberalizing the treatment of certain ... Read full article

We all know that per 11 U.S.C. § 303(i), when an involuntary bankruptcy petition is unsuccessful, the court may grant judgment against the petitioning creditors for attorney fees, and may also award damages and punitive damages if the petition was filed in ... Read full article

A little understood aspect of the automatic stay is the effect of a bankruptcy filing on a judgment debtor’s appeal rights. Contrary to what you might think, when a judgment is entered in a pre-bankruptcy action against the debtor, prosecution of the ... Read full article

Section 101(37) of the Bankruptcy Code defines “lien” as a “charge against or interest in property to secure payment of a debt . . . .” and section 101(51) defines “security interest” as a “lien created by an agreement.” Most of us who get hired to enforce ... Read full article

Recently, the American Financial Services Association posted a blurb on their website “Spotlight on Financial Services” noting a continuing “disconnect between rising foreclosures in the subprime mortgage market and the statistics on personal bankruptcy ... Read full article

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 ... Read full article

James and Beverly Nichols filed their 2001 federal income tax return on January 20, 2002. The return showed that they were entitled to a refund in the amount of $2,231.57 . They checked the box on their return, making the irrevocable election to apply that ... Read full article

A major new source of fresh, meaningful bankruptcy statistics has come to my attention. The Institute for Financial Literacy is based in Portland, Maine. To quote from the IFL website : ... Read full article

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 ... Read full article

Everyone who has represented a general unsecured creditor in a big chapter 11 case has had this experience. After the proof of claim has been filed, and usually after the plan has been confirmed, you receive in the mail the “Reorganized Debtor’s First ... Read full article

The Ninth Circuit BAP has spoken on the “hanging paragraph” issue , siding with consumer lenders. Ever since the enactment of BAPCPA, some have claimed that poor legislative drafting must be read as substantially liberalizing the treatment of certain ... Read full article

Section 101(37) of the Bankruptcy Code defines “lien” as a “charge against or interest in property to secure payment of a debt . . . .” and section 101(51) defines “security interest” as a “lien created by an agreement.” Most of us who get hired to enforce ... Read full article

In the previous post, I covered In re Trejos, 2007 WL 2391184 (Bankr. App. 9th Cir. July 30, 2007), in which the Ninth Circuit BAP first considered BAPCPA’s infamous “hanging paragraph.” The language in issue is found in Bankruptcy Code section 1325(a): ... Read full article

If you have defended a few preference actions, I’ll bet that you’ve heard this one from your client more than once: “Can I countersue them for what they owe me?" The obvious (to a bankruptcy lawyer) and correct response is “no,” but you might not have ... Read full article

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 ... Read full article

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 ... Read full article

There is now a difference of opinion in the published cases about whether means testing applies to determine chapter 7 eligibility in a case converted from chapter 13. Last month, Bankruptcy Judge Burns of the District of New Jersey decided In re Fox , ... Read full article