Click to search again.
Page 5 of 132
Trustee Entitled to Attorney’s Fees for Exemption Dispute
Where the debtor’s original exemption claim was for bodily injury, the trustee had a reasonable argument that the actual post-petition settlements of her personal injury case, which specified that they were for non-bodily injury damages, did not fall under that exemption. Because the trustee’s objection related to the post-settlement exemption claim, it was timely. Biondo v. […]
Tags: bankruptcy, bodily injury, equitable mootness, exemption claim, medical expenses, pain and suffering, pecuniary loss
March 14, 2023
Debt Owed to Trust is DSO
Where the debtor’s payments to his ex-wife’s Trust were in lieu of alimony and were understood by both the debtor and his ex-wife to be for her future support, the payments were in the nature of a domestic support obligation not dischargeable in bankruptcy. Hundt v. Ventrone (In re Ventrone), No. 21-11643, Adv. Proc. Nos. 22-00005, […]
Tags: attorney fees in divorce, bankruptcy, domestic support, domestic support obligations, post-nuptial agreements
March 9, 2023
Debt Collector Can’t Blame Debtor or FDCPA for Discharge Violation
A debt collector’s efforts to collect an unsecured judgment that had been discharged in bankruptcy violated the discharge injunction even though the debtor requested information about the debt. The statement sent to the debtor was explicitly designated an “attempt to collect a debt,” and the debt collector had sufficient information to alert it to the […]
Tags: bankruptcy, discharge injunction, discharge injunction violation, post-discharge collection efforts
March 3, 2023
Good Faith in Failure to Disclose Lawsuit
Where the debtor failed to amend her schedules before her case was closed, she forfeited the right to do so as a matter of course, but based on the facts and circumstances in this case, the debtor’s neglect was excusable. The court allowed her to reopen her case to claim an exemption in a personal […]
Tags: amending schedules post-closure, bankruptcy, excusable neglect, reopening bankruptcy case, Rule 1009, Rule 9006
February 27, 2023
Passive Voice and 1885 Case Sink Debt Discharge
SCOTUS determined that section 523(a)(2)(A), which excludes from discharge debts incurred by fraud, applies to innocent partners of the fraudulent actor where the statute does not draw any connection between the individual debtor and the fraudulent conduct but instead is written in passive tense saying merely that a debt owed by an individual and procured […]
Tags: 523(a)(2)(A), bankruptcy, fraud by agency, nondischargeability of fraud debts, real estate fraud, statutory interpretation
Creditor Estopped from Objecting to Amended Plan
A mortgage creditor who accepted the debtor’s plan could not late object to confirmation of an amended plan that contained the same terms with respect to that creditor. In re Ritter, No. 22-40120 (Bankr. S.D. Ill. Feb. 2, 2023). The debtor filed a chapter 13 petition listing his mortgagee’s claim at $116,819.95. The debtor proposed a plan […]
Tags: bankruptcy, creditor objections, late objections, waiver of objections
February 21, 2023
Chapter 7 Trustee Bound by Pre-Conversion Agreement
The Chapter 7 trustee was bound by the Chapter 13 trustee’s pre-conversion concession that the creditor’s liens were valid. Therefore the Chapter 7 trustee could not prevent the creditor from receiving the proceeds from the sale of the property securing the liens. In re Hillis, No. 20-70372 (Bankr. M.D. Ga. Jan. 11, 2023). When the debtors […]
Tags: bankruptcy, binding effect of trustee actions, Chapter 7, conversion, lien challenges, res judicata
February 17, 2023
National Consumer Bankruptcy Rights Center Seeks Part-time Executive Director
The National Consumer Bankruptcy Rights Center is seeking a new Executive Director. The position will consist of remote work as an independent contractor, approximately half time, although hours may vary from month to month. The National Consumer Bankruptcy Rights Center is a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to protecting the integrity of the bankruptcy system and preserving […]
Tags: News Release
February 16, 2023
Creditor Must Resume Statements After Discharge
PNC’s TILA obligation to provide regular statements concerning the plaintiffs’ debt resumed after the debtors received their bankruptcy discharge even though the plaintiffs’ bankruptcy case was not closed until almost four years later. Polonowski v. PNC Bank, NA, No. 20-151 (W.D. Mich. Jan. 23, 2023). The plaintiffs had a home equity line of credit (HELOC) with […]
Tags: automatic stay, bankruptcy, creditor communications, discharge violation, reaffirmed debts, termination of automatic stay, TILA
February 15, 2023
Mortgage Statements Not Attempts to Collect a Debt
Where statements sent by the mortgage servicer listed the higher, pre-modification amount due, but specifically stated they were not an attempt to collect a debt and did not include an amount in potential late fees, the bankruptcy court erred in finding the statements were in violation of the automatic stay. Freedom Mortgage Corp. v. Dean, No. […]
Tags: automatic stay, bankruptcy, compliance with stay, debt collection, discharge violation, TILA
February 9, 2023
Page 5 of 132