Northern District Cases

In United Community Bank v. Harper (In re Harper), Adv. Proc. No. 12-1080, 2013 Bankr. LEXIS 1080 (Bankr. N.D. Ga.

In a key decision in the Northern District of Georgia, Judge Hagenau has ruled that a secured creditor is only entitled to a secured claim, pursuant to § 506(b), to the extent of its actual and reasonable fees rather than contractual and statutory fees after a foreclosure sale where the property has not been abandoned.  Most Promissory Notes and Security Deeds call for contractual attorneys fees and expenses upon default.  The contractual and statutory attorneys fees are up to 15% of the loan amount and may or

In In re Stanley, 2012 Bankr. LEXIS 6031 (Bankr. N.D. Ga. Nov. 8, 2012), the debtors certified that they tried to obtain credit counseling but were unable to complete it because they needed to file their Chapter 13 petition to stop a foreclosure the same day.  Debtors requested a waiver and deferment of the counseling requirement under Section 109(h)(3)(A), which provides the following:

It is fairly well settled and well known that public and private student loans are nondischargeable pursuant to Section 523(a)(8) of the Bankruptcy Code, unless the debtor meets the high bar of showing "undue hardship."  This section states the following:

A discharge under section 727, 1141, 1228 (a), 1228 (b), or 1328 (b) of this title does not discharge an individual debtor from any debt—

Chapter 13 cases, especially after 2005, are often a tightrope between being able to pay basic living expenses and contributing all disposable income to the plan.  Chapter 13 Trustees are often viewed as wanting to squeeze every penny from a debtor.  This case is an example of the posturing of the parties, and a victory for the debtor and her non-filing spouse.