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Postpetition Asset Sales in Chapter 13s--Modification, Not Estate Property
01/26/2023 Debtors selling houses during a chapter 13 continues to cause conceptual problems for the courts. A recent decision, In re Marsh , from Judge Fenimore in Kansas City is an example. (Hat tip to Bill Rochelle for flagging this decision in his DailyWire ...[more]DOJ and DOE New Guidelines for Supporting Student Loan Discharge in Bankruptcy = More Student Loan Discharges?
11/18/2022 The Department of Justice, in coordination with the Department of Education, has announced a new process for its handling of bankruptcy cases in which debtors seek an undue hardship student loan discharge. This new guidance has been a long time coming. In ...[more]Fake and Real People in Bankruptcy
10/09/2022 This draft essay, Fake and Real People in Bankruptcy , just posted on SSRN, is considerably less far along than Unbundling Business Bankruptcy Law, posted last week . ...[more]Personal Insolvency in Asia and Currency Comparison
09/08/2021 While Shenzhen has gotten all the good press since its March launch of the first personal bankruptcy regime in Mainland China, a number of other Asian regimes have also been on the move. ...[more]The Department of Education Can Help With Student Loans in Bankruptcy
07/20/2021 With the Second Circuit's decision last week regarding private student loans, student loan discharge in bankruptcy is in the news. As Slipster Adam Levitin blogged , the "big picture" effect of this decision--and the 5th and 10th ...[more]Second Circuit Holds Many Private Student Loans Are Dischargeable in Bankruptcy
07/16/2021 The 2d Ci ...[more]74 Law Professors Sign Letter in Support of the Consumer Bankruptcy Reform Act
12/14/2020 Last week, Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Representative Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) introduced the Consumer Bankruptcy Reform Act of 2020 (CBRA). ...[more]The Consumer Bankruptcy Reform Act of 2020
12/09/2020 Today Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Dick Durbin (D-IL), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Representatives Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) and David Cicilline (D-RI) introduced the Consumer Bankruptcy Reform Act of 2020 . This is the first major consumer ...[more]CARES Act "Rebates" and Bankruptcy
04/08/2020 Related to Pamela's last post and our article regarding garnishments and the CARES Act "rebates," the US Trustee issued a notice to Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 trustees giving them guidance on what to do about them in a bankruptcy case. ...[more]Debt limits ... and poison pills
02/17/2020 The Russian Duma last week adopted on first reading a bill that attempts to solve the biggest problem with the new Russian personal insolvency law , but the bill contains a poison pill provision that will all but kill its effectiveness if the bill makes ...[more]"Middle Class Faux"?
01/09/2020 I did some digging into Joe Biden's previously unexplored roll call vote on floor amendments to BAPCPA. They were ugly then and have not improved with age. My full take is in The American Prospect . ...[more]Consumer Bankruptcy, Done Correctly, To Help Struggling Americans
01/07/2020 Today, Senator Elizabeth Warren unveiled her new plan to reform the consumer bankruptcy system . The plan is simple, yet elegant. It is based on actual data and research (including some of my own with Consumer Bankruptcy Project co-investigators Slipster ...[more]Supreme Court Grants Cert To Decide Fate of Repossessed Cars in Bankruptcy
12/19/2019 Yesterday, the SCOTUS granted certiorari in City of Chicago v. Fulton, 19-357 , to resolve a circuit split about whether a creditor's inaction in not returning property repossessed pre-petition can violate the automatic stay. The split arises ...[more]Bankruptcy Filing Rate Remains Flat
11/14/2019 Every month I see stories about the bankruptcy rate moving up and down. The truth is that the U.S. ...[more]There's Still Time to Register for NCBJ 2019
09/19/2019 The National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges' annual conference is happening soon – Wednesday, October 30 through Saturday, November 2. I'm delighted to be part of this year's education committee. The 2019 conference features some panels ...[more]Driven to Bankruptcy — New Research from the Consumer Bankruptcy Project
09/16/2019 In America, people drive — to work, to the doctor, to the grocery store, to their kids' daycare, to see their aging parents. Research shows that car ownership increases the probability of employment and number of hours worked; households without cars ...[more]Small Borrowers Continue to Struggle Without Relief
09/10/2019 Several recent stories remind us that many, many ordinary people around the world continue to struggle with crushing debt with no access to legal relief, and when relief is introduced, it is vehemently opposed by lenders and often limited to the most ...[more]What Is "Credit"? AfterPay, Earnin', and ISAs
07/16/2019 A major issue in consumer finance regulation in mid-20th century was what counted as “credit” and was therefore subject to state usury laws and (after 1968) to the federal Truth in Lending Act. Many states had a time-price differential doctrine that held ...[more]