GeorgiaBankruptcyBlog

Last week I was at a final hearing on fee applications on behalf of a Chapter 7 Trustee, in a case in which the debtor had failed to disclose a pre-petition personal injury case  pending in another state.  The defendants in that case ultimately founds out about the Bankruptcy case about a year after it was closed and the debtor received her discharge.  They contacted the Trustee and the case was reopened more than a year after debtor’s discharge to administer the asset (the proceeds of the personal injury case settled by the Trustee).  The Judge questioned why we had not pursued revoc

It is not uncommon for Bankruptcy lawyers to get requests from individuals to just help them fill out the Bankruptcy paperwork, or act as the occasional sounding board behind the scenes, without actually representing the debtor in the Bankruptcy Court.  This often happens when the client either does not have the money for fees or simply does not believe they need to pay the full fee for a lawyer.  Most reputable lawyers decline to act in this capacity.  In the Northern District of Georgia, which is one of the busiest districts in the country, scores of

Bankruptcy lawyers regularly caution debtors to avoid unusual financial transactions, including credit card charges, cash withdrawals, and the like, prior to filing their case.  This is a case in which a pro se debtor withdrew several thousand dollars in the week before filing and got caught.  In addition, Debtor also requested, and initially received, approval for a waiver of her filing fee because she appeared destitute.  In re Ricks, Ch. 7 Case No. 13-60100, 2013 Bankr. LEXIS 3355 (Bankr. S.D. Ga.

In Alley Cassetty Companies, Inc. v. Wren, No. 2:12-cv-196-WCO, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11294 (N.D. Ga.

In a significant victory for former Georgia football coach Jim Donnan, a Bankruptcy Judge has ruled that the evidence at trial did not support a finding that Donnan knowingly participated in a fraudulent Ponzi Scheme.  The case is Fennell v. Donnan, Adv. No. 11-3088, 2013 Bankr. LEXIS 3110 (Bankr. M.D. Ga.