Bankruptcy Blogs

What is a straw buyer and what are the consequences? Is this an option to consider if I can’t qualify the home I want?

06/30/11

A straw buyer is a fake buyer set up to defraud the mortgage company.  If an individual cannot qualify for a loan for a particular home, due to bad credit or some other reason, it may seem like a solution to ask a relative or friend to purchase the home and pay them.  However, this [...]

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Sbarro in Bankruptcy? Darwin Would Approve

06/30/11

Sbarro in Bankruptcy? DUH. Is anyone really all that surprised that Sbarro’s chain of “Italian quick service restaurants”  filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection? Or put another way, has anyone, or anyone that you know, ever willingly eaten at a Sbarro restaurant? Don’t get me wrong, I’m far from a food snob. As a bachelor, [...]

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Decision in Tweeter Opco Once Again Reminds Trustees of the Specificity Requirement in Pleading Preference Actions

06/30/11

Summary

In an 11 page opinion published June 14, 2011, Judge Walrath ruled that a Chapter 7 Trustee’s lack of specificity in pleading a preference action was grounds for dismissal under FRCP 12(b)(6). Judge Walrath’s opinion is available here (the “Opinion”).

Background

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The Daily Docket: Lehman Files Revised Plan

06/30/11

Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. early Wednesday filed a revised plan to repay creditors that has much broader support than its previous proposals and could result in other parties withdrawing their rival plans and a final deal being confirmed by the court before the end of the year. Read the Daily Bankruptcy Review article here.

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Decision in American Remanufacturers, Inc. Holds That an Agreement Creating Mutual Obligations Can Provide a Defense to a Preference Action

06/30/11

Summary

In a 56 page opinion published June 9, 2011, Judge Walsh ruled that a method of operating in which all of the credits and debits between two companies were netted out allows this same method to be used in calculating a set-off defense in preference litigation. Judge Walsh’s opinion is available here (the “Opinion”).

Background

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Responsible Lending as an Emerging International Norm

06/30/11

The International Association of Consumer Law, with participants present from six continents, has been meeting at Brunel University in West London the last few days, hearing presentations from regulators, industry representatives, consumer advocates, and academics.

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Loan Redemption Program Lets You Keep Your Car After Bankruptcy and Save Money

06/30/11

In most cases, when you file for bankruptcy, you have very few options when it comes to your vehicle. Normally, you can keep your existing car loan and make the high monthly payments until the loan is paid in full. Or you can give your vehicle to the lender, which leaves you with no way [...]

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How to Protect Yourself From Mortgage Relief Scams

06/30/11

THANKS … to the Federal Trade Commission in Washington, DC, for kindly providing much of the information in this article. The possibility of losing your home to foreclosure can be terrifying. The fact that scam artists are preying on desperate homeowners in financial distress is equally frightening. Many companies say they can change your home [...]

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The BoA MBS Settlement

06/30/11

The $8.5B dollar figure of the Bank of America settlement with a cohort of MBS investors has gotten all the attention, but I think there's a bunch of more interesting things going on than the price tag.  Still, it's hard not to talk about the price tag, so let's get that out of the way.

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