Bankruptcy Blogs

Sloppiness Does Not Equal Vexatiousness or Bad Faith

09/21/11

Dealing with mortgage servicers can be frustrating. Sometimes it is difficult or impossible to get a clean chain of title or a good accounting. In a new opinion by Judge Stacey Jernigan, the Court was faced with a request for fees incurred by a chapter 13 debtor's counsel in dealing with two motions for relief from stay over a three year period, one of which was withdrawn and the other one of which was denied for failure to prove standing. Counsel sought to recover fees based on 28 U.S.C. Sec. 1927 and the court's inherent authority.

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The Daily Docket: Judge Rejects Barnes Bay’s Chapter 11 Plan

09/21/11

A bankruptcy judge on Tuesday rejected Barnes Bay Development Ltd.’s Chapter 11 plan, wiping out the claims of dozens of wealthy individuals who plunked down money to buy vacation homes at its Caribbean luxury resort. Read the Daily Bankruptcy Review story here.

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INSOL Europe's 30th anniversary conference - Venice

09/21/11

My final job as President of INSOL Europe is to host this year's conference in Venice. The last few days of preparations have been busy, but have brought home just how much has gone on. I can't pre-empt conference announcements, but to touch on some highlights:

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INSOL Europe's 30th anniversary conference - Venice

09/21/11

Mercer & Hole's Chris Laughton is in Venice hosting this morning's INSOL Europe's Annual Congress 2011. Here's what Chris is expecting over the next couple of days.

"My final job as President of INSOL Europe is to host this year's conference in Venice. The last few days of preparations have been busy, but have brought home just how much has gone on. I can't pre-empt conference announcements, but to touch on some highlights:

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Bankruptcy Might Get Your Car Back, But Why Wait?

09/21/11

Bankruptcy may be able to get a car back that has been picked up by the Sheriff to sell to pay on a judgment claim, but it would be better not to wait until you see your car (or other property) being taken away to call a lawyer. You might be able to do something to [...]

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Are NYC Squeegee Men an Economic Bellwether?

09/20/11

Yesterday’s Daily News ran a front page story on the return of squeegee men to the streets of Manhattan. For those of you who don’t know, “squeegee men” are a highly evolved form of panhandlers who clean your windshield unsolicited, then aggressively demand payment as you sit in traffic. How fun. To be sure, squeegee [...]

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Poll: Support Mixed for Pre-Bankruptcy Municipal Mediation

09/20/11

The concept behind a pending California law requiring municipalities to seek mediation before filing for bankruptcy divided respondents to a recent American Bankruptcy Institute poll.

Nearly half of participants, 49%, either “strongly agreed” or “somewhat agreed” with the statement: “Local governments should be required to first go through mediation before filing for Chapter 9,” the form of bankruptcy reserved for municipalities.

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