Click here for Notice to Participate

Click here to register for the conference.

“. . . This expansive language sent shock waves through Chapter 13 practice in the Fourth Circuit. The holding appeared to bar not just the affirmative claims for damages under Rule 7001(1) but any “statutory objection” after confirmation. . . .”

In Part 2, we ask: Why would a debtor or trustee object? Then, to bring the discussion full circle, why would the creditor not want to file a claim or want to withdraw a previously-filed claim? Finally, how is a claim withdrawn?

Click here for Part 1 of 2 – Part 1: Why would a creditor file a claim and how? We also will consider how the debtor or trustee would object.

See also: Supreme Court Unanimously Backs Debt Collector in Gorsuch Opinion

• Subprime Auto Has ‘Credit Issues,’ Top ABS Analyst At BofA Says

• Auto Loans Are Experiencing A Toxic Trifecta – Lengthening loan terms; Rising transaction prices; Falling used-vehicle values

• Lenders Hit the Brakes on Subprime Auto Loans

• Subprime Auto Bonds From 2015 May End Up Worst Ever, Fitch Says

• Cars Whose Leases Are Up Flood The Market, Pushing Prices Down

• Watch Out for This Surprise Credit-Card Charge, the CFPB Warns

• Happening across the country . . .Called About Jury Duty? Don’t Fall For This Scam

• Wells Fargo Accused of Adding Years to Modified Mortgages Without Telling Borrowers

• Chapter 7 . . .Judge Orders Bankruptcy Court to Consider Evidence of Trustee and Special Counsel Activity when Considering Request for Sanctions

• Worth repeating . . .Bankruptcy Attorney Steals Millions from Clients Filing for Bankruptcy

• Not bankruptcy related . . .Eric C. Conn, Center of $550M Social Security Fraud, Disappears

“ . . . The rules will change on December 1, 2017, specifically recognizing that both secured and unsecured creditors must file proofs of claim in order to ensure that they hold an allowed claim. . . .”

GM Creditors’ $1 Billion Fight Hangs on Fixture Definition – Lawyer Filed Wrong Form in 2008, Leading to $1 Billion Dispute

• CFPB Hits Fay Servicing with $1.15 Million Fine For Illegal Foreclosure Practices
  Servicer Fined for “Keeping Borrowers in the Dark” About Foreclosure Options

• Ex-New Haven Bankruptcy Lawyer From Woodbridge Pleads Guilty to Embezzlement

• Bankruptcy Attorney Steals Millions from Clients Filing for Bankruptcy

• Suspended Lawyer Dies in Custody After Stalking Arrest

• Trump’s Budget Would Kill a Major Student Loan Forgiveness Program, but Only for New Borrowers

• Here’s How Trump’s New Budget Will Affect Your Student Loans

• Former ITT Tech Students Got Promise Of Help, Then Silence

• Americans Are Paying $38 to Collect $1 of Student Debt – Student loan defaults are a bonanza for the debt collection industry.

• Department of Education Must End Billion-Dollar Student Loan Collection Boondoggle

• Women Hold Nearly 65% of the Country’s $1.3-Trillion in Student Debt

• Republicans Can Seize On A Prime Opportunity To Reform Student Loans

• To Pay Off Student Loan Debt, Michigan Woman Wants To Thank You

• Personal Attacks on Trustee Not Sanctionable – But Not Helpful Either

• Allentown Attorney Sanctioned for Mishandling Bankruptcy Cases

• After Complaints, Fannie Mae Will Stop Selling Homes to Vision Property

• South Bay Man Sentenced to 56 Months For Bankruptcy Fraud

• Ohio Supreme Court Disbars Cincinnati Lawyer Who Impersonated Ex-Colleague – Attorney practiced law with suspended license (Not a bankruptcy case)

• Court Order Shuts Down 11 Debt Settlement Companies – Companies accused of collecting money to settle debts, then keeping it

• Buried Deep Within GOP Bill: A ‘Free Pass’ For Payday And Car-Title Lenders

Click here for the Bill

• How the Affordable Care Act Drove Down Personal Bankruptcy

In this well-written piece, Attorney Moran speaks to non-bankruptcy professionals while also providing the Academy with a tangible resource on the intersection of bankruptcy and divorce.

“The intersection of Bankruptcy and Family Law can be liberating or disruptive, depending on the timing of a bankruptcy filing and the goals of your client. There are an almost infinite number of combinations of timing and facts when these two areas of law collide . . .”

Click here for Part II

• Peake v. Ayobami – Appellant’s brief seeking reversal of Bankruptcy Court decision regarding misapplication of Form 106C.

• Peake v. Ayobami – Reply brief

A note to all taxpayers – Taxpayers should keep a copy of their tax return. Beginning in 2017, taxpayers using a software product may need their Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) amount from their prior-year tax return to verify their identity.

What to Do When an IRS Letter Arrives in the Mail

• FDCPA Implications of May 15 Supreme Court Ruling on Abusive Bankruptcy Proof of Claims
  By April Kuehnhoff and Tara Twomey

• From SCOTUS Blog – Opinion Analysis: Justices Approve Filing Stale Claims In Consumer Bankruptcies

• High Court Backs Bids to Collect Outdated Debt in Bankruptcy

• FDCPA Implications of May 15 Supreme Court Ruling on Abusive Bankruptcy Proof of Claims
  By April Kuehnhoff and Tara Twomey

• From SCOTUS Blog – Opinion Analysis: Justices Approve Filing Stale Claims In Consumer Bankruptcies

• High Court Backs Bids to Collect Outdated Debt in Bankruptcy

Judge Brown brings two cases to our attention this week – one on co-debtor stay and one on standing:

• Co-debtor stay applied only to consumer debt of the debtor

• Debtor’s lacked standing to avoid prepetition foreclosure

• Peake v. Ayobami – Appellant’s brief seeking reversal of Bankruptcy Court decision regarding misapplication of Form 106C.

• Peake v. Ayobami – Reply brief

• The Mortgage Industry’s Next Headache: Website Accessibility Requirements

For Your Blog contains articles, particularly debtor attorneys, might want to use as filler content for website or blog.

• 5 Ways to Maximize Your Social Security Benefits

• The Financial Case for Welcoming Your Adult Children Back Home

• Can’t Pay Your Student Loans? The Government May Come After Your House

• 400,000 were promised student loan forgiveness. Now they are panicking

• Trump May Scrap Obama’s Student Loan Forgiveness Program, Leaked Education Budget Suggests

• Trump Administration Looking To End Student Loan Forgiveness Program

H.R.2366 – Discharge Student Loans in Bankruptcy Act of 2017On 5/4/17 Rep. John Delaney of Maryland cosponsored a short but sweet bill, which if enacted, will do just what the title says.Click here for the text of the bill

• Used-Car Glut Is a Dealer’s Dream, Automakers’ Nightmare

• Wells Fargo to Shrink Auto Loans as Used Car Prices Fall

• Banks Tighten Auto Lending as More Borrowers Fall Into Default

• Weil Gotshal Benchslapped Over Fee Request

• Former Chicago Rush Owner David Staral Gets 3 1/2 Years for Fraud

• St. Louis Judge Orders, Then Stays Arrest Warrant for Bankruptcy Firm Owner and Lawyer

• Wells Fargo Bogus Accounts Balloon To 3.5 Million: Lawyers

• Ex-Judge Admits Taking $609,000 In Bribes In Conn Disability Fraud (this is not a bankruptcy case; however, those of you in East Kentucky could see some of the 1,500 victims/fraudsters)

• Former ‘Dance Moms’ Star Abby Lee Miller Sentenced to Jail* for Bankruptcy Fraud
  *And probation after that!

• Defense Chips Away at Total ‘Dance Moms’ Star Hid from Court

Judge Brown is back – big time – SIX cases involving property of the estate and/or exemptions:

• Tenancy by entirety exemption retained after transfer

• Minnesota’s property tax refund was not exempt as a government assistance based on need

• Conversion from Chapter 7 to 13 triggered new exemption objection period

• Avoidance of judicial lien

• Timing of lien avoidance in Chapter 13

• Debtor’s right of redemption of property sold at tax sale was property of estate

Chapter 13 Standing Trustee Advertisements

• District of Connecticut – Application Due Date May 31st

• Farms Exceed Chapter 12 Bankruptcy Debt

• Eleventh Circuit Disappoints on Undue Hardship Issue

• Auto Loan Fraud Soars in a Parallel to the Housing Bubble

• 5th Circuit Upholds Fine for Lawyer Who Refused Judge’s Request for Yes-or-No Answer

• U.S. Bank Fined $15 Million for Bankruptcy Filing Violations

• Update: Kent Lindemuth Indicted on 117 Federal Counts, A Firearms Charge – Bankruptcy judge severs cases of Lindemuth, wife

Chapter 13 Standing Trustee Advertisements

• District of Connecticut – Application Due Date May 31st

Chapter 7 Panel Trustee Advertisements

• Northern District of Ohio, Eastern Division (Cleveland) – Application Due Date May 19th
• Southern District of Georgia, Savannah and Statesboro Divisions – Application Due Date May 12th

• Bankruptcy ‘Safe Harbor’ Protection to Get Supreme Court Review

• Supreme Court Grants Cert on, of all Things, the Standard of Review for Determining Non-Statutory Insider Status

• How the Affordable Care Act Drove Down Personal Bankruptcy

• A Loan Is Not an “Educational Benefit” for Dischargeability Purposes

• Trump Administration Welcomes Back Student Debt Collectors Fired by Obama

• Debt Relief for Kentuckians Attending Corinthian Colleges Inc. (Article could also go under Sanctions and Irony and Fraud category)

• These Massive Shifts Are Killing The Auto Industry’s 7 Years Of Growth

• April Car Sales Plummet: Does that signal a longer-term decline?

The Academy is pleased to present Professor B. Summer Chandler of Georgia State University College of Law and Attorney Phil Lamos, Chief Legal Counsel to Chapter 13 Trustee Craig Shopneck, in an ethics program on how to navigate social media. They will answer questions such as:

• Do attorneys/trustees have a duty to investigate the online presence of debtors?
• How should/must an attorney respond to statements made by clients online?
• Should attorneys give advice regarding online presence to try to avoid future issues?
• And more.

• EOUST Sends Reminder Letter on Marijuana Policy in Bankruptcy Cases

See also Academy article from the archives: Weeding Out Marijuana From Bankruptcy Proceedings: The Intersection Between State Laws Legalizing Marijuana and Federal Bankruptcy Law

Chapter 13 Standing Trustee Advertisements

• District of Connecticut – Application Due Date May 31st

Chapter 7 Panel Trustee Advertisements

• Northern District of Ohio, Eastern Division (Cleveland) – Application Due Date May 19th
• Southern District of Georgia, Savannah and Statesboro Divisions – Application Due Date May 12th

• Argument Analysis: Court Dubious About Reading Fair Debt Collection Practices Act to Reach Debt Buyers

• Beware of a New Scam Involving “Relatives” and Gift Cards

• Attorney General Warns Senior Citizens Of New Gift Card Scam

• Refinancing Pitches Hit the Mail for Student Debt

• EOUST Sends Reminder Letter on Marijuana Policy in Bankruptcy Cases

See also Academy article from the archives: Weeding Out Marijuana From Bankruptcy Proceedings: The Intersection Between State Laws Legalizing Marijuana and Federal Bankruptcy Law

• Subprime Mortgage Giant Ocwen Rocked by U.S. Suit Claiming Abuse

• Cincinnati Sues ‘Predatory’ Housing Firm

• Utah’s Formerly Fastest-Growing Company Files for Bankruptcy After Federal Raid

• Frederick Pain Management Clinic at Center of Criminal Case Files for Bankruptcy

• Investment Fraudster Gets 12-Years – Federal appeals court affirmed the conviction and sentence . . . on multiple counts of wire fraud, bank fraud, bankruptcy fraud and making false statements on bankruptcy schedules relating to an investment.

• Wife Seeks to Sever Joint Bankruptcy with Husband Kent Lindemuth – Remember this guy?
  • Bankruptcy Trustee Seeks Sale of 2,000-Plus Lindemuth Firearms to Pay Creditors
  • Kent Lindemuth Indicted on Perjury Charge for Allegedly Lying about Money
  • Lindemuth Shoots Intruder Early Friday At Vacant Property
  • Kent Lindemuth Convicted of Felony Criminal Threat to Oklahoma Trucking Company Owner

• Justices Appear Reluctant to Close Debt Collection Loophole

• Kentucky Among Worst for Student Loan Defaults

• March 2017 Bankruptcy Filings Down 4.7 Percent

• CFPB Sues Weltman, Weinberg & Reis Over Alleged Collection Tactics

• Report: Complaints Mount Against Medical-Debt Collectors

• Alfaro Declines to Mount Defense in Investor Fraud Trial

• Argument Preview: Court to consider application of Fair Debt Collection Practices Act to debt buyers

• Group: Bankruptcy Judge Shortage Could ‘Cripple’ Delaware

• Judiciary Seeks Bankruptcy Judgeships, Warns of ‘Crisis’

• Loans ‘Designed to Fail’: States Say Navient Preyed on Students

• Voices of Navient’s Borrowers: ‘The Biggest Mistake of My Life’

• Navient Lawsuit: What Student Loan Borrowers Need To Know

• Your Money: How To Keep Student Loan Defaults From Ruining Your Life

• Betsy DeVos Undoes Obama’s Student Loan Protections

• Bankruptcy Bulletin Blamed for Blabbing Bondholders; New York Court Appoints Itself Arbiter of Who is “Legitimate Media”

• Wells Fargo Board Claws Back $28 Million More From Ex-CEO Stumpf

• Former Company Official Sentenced in Clay County Factory Scheme

• Sanford Capital Affiliate Accused of Using Bankruptcy to Avoid Enforcement

• Troubles at the American Mall Coming to a Boil

• Teachers, Lawyers and Others Worry About Fate of Student Debt Forgiveness

• Student Debt Giant Navient to Borrowers: You’re on Your Own

This Friday-April 14th beginning at 2:00 Eastern/1:00 Central/12:00 Mtn/11:00 Pacific

And from the archives:

• Federal Reserve Inconsistent in Monitoring Big Banks: Auditors

• Circuit Court Upholds Punitive Damages Eight Times Compensatory

• Knoxville Car Dealership Scion Confesses Fraud

Perhaps the following items deserve their own category . . .

• Bankruptcy Trustee Seeks Sale of 2,000-Plus Lindemuth Firearms to Pay Creditors

• Kent Lindemuth Indicted on Perjury Charge for Allegedly Lying about Money

These two links are just for your reading ‘pleasure’ . . .

• Lindemuth Shoots Intruder Early Friday At Vacant Property

• Kent Lindemuth Convicted of Felony Criminal Threat to Oklahoma Trucking Company Owner

“We have a rich history in bankruptcy. The Supreme Court has been an important component in that development.”

Part two of this four-part series looks at Dean v. Davis, Chicago Board of Trade v. Johnson, and Cunningham v. Brown.

This is the first of what we expect will become a regular series of comments on statutes and decisions that have consequences beyond the contemplation of the legislators and judges involved.

If you have suggestions for future comments, please send them to the author at LAhern@BrownAhern.com.

“The Supreme Court has now clarified the boundaries of this shortcut to reorganization . . .”

See also:

No Easy Answers for the Supreme Court: Jevic Pits the Bankruptcy Code Against the Law of Unintended Consequences

• Justices Tackle Designation of Bankruptcy Plan Insiders

• Supreme Court Adds Two Cases to Docket

• U.S. Top Court Rejects Bid to Revive $7.25 Billion Credit Card Settlement

• ‘Deep Subprime’ Loans Skyrocket as Americans Keep Buying Cars They Can’t Pay For

• ‘Deep Subprime’ Auto Loans on the Rise, Report Says

• ‘Deep Subprime’ Auto Loans Are Surging

• An Increasing Number of Americans Have Stopped Paying Their Car Loans, and Wall Street Is Starting to Worry

• Santander Unit to Pay $25 Million Over Subprime Auto Loans

• Young Workers Turn to Employers for Student Loan Debt Solutions

• Trump’s Student Loan Default Penalty Has an Unlikely Foe

• U.S. Stores Are Too Big, Boring and Expensive

• Retail Apocalypse: 3,500 stores or More to Close This Year

• BofA Fined $45 M By BK Court

• Citizens Stock Falls After Report That Workers Falsified Appointment Data

• Fake Checkups and Tax Opinions

• Wells Fargo Gets Lower Grade Over Lending Discrimination, Accounts Scandal

• Wells Fargo Reaches $110 Million Fake Accounts Settlement

Take a look at this new empirical study by Professors Pamela Foohey, Robert M. Lawless, Katherine M. Porter and Deborah Thorne

“This Article exposes the increasingly prevalent phenomenon of debtors paying nothing in attorneys’ fees to file chapter 13.”

“We have a rich history in bankruptcy. The Supreme Court has been an important component in that development.”

We begin this four-part series by looking at the common themes which naturally effervesced while looking at the cases; along with an examination of Sturges v. Crowninshield and Hanover Nat. Bank v. Moyses.

Take a look at this new empirical study by Professors Pamela Foohey, Robert M. Lawless, Katherine M. Porter and Deborah Thorne

“This Article exposes the increasingly prevalent phenomenon of debtors paying nothing in attorneys’ fees to file chapter 13.”

• Goldman Sachs Biggest Buyer of Fannie Mae NPL’s

• Fannie Mae Selling Another $1.68 billion in NPLs to Goldman Sachs Subsidiary, Private Equity – 9,400 Non-Performing Loans Sold Out of Fannie Mae’s Portfolio

• Here’s Why Goldman Sachs is Snatching Up Delinquent Mortgages – Bank Dominates Fannie Mae Non-Performing Loan Sales

• Education Department Rescinds Rule That Stopped Aggressive Student Debt Collectors

• The Latest–And Surprising–Victims of the Student-Loan Debt Crisis: Older Americans

• Use the National Student Loan Data System to Help Keep Track of Your Student Aid

• How We Got to $1 Trillion in Debt: An Illustrated History of Student Loans In America

• Top Ten Adoption Tax Credit Facts to Consider – Taxpayers who have adopted or tried to adopt a child in 2016 may qualify for a tax credit.

• Free Tax Help Available for the Military

• How Student Loan Debt Can Affect Your Tax Return

• Fraudster Gets 15 Years for Bilking 1,000+ Distressed Homeowners in Loan Modification Scheme – Caused More Than $3.5 Million in Losses

In a complete departure from The Academy norm, Trustee Beth Vaughan shares with us the answer to a question she is often asked, “How do you write a book?”

See also:

Former Staff Attorney Appointed Standing Chapter 13 Trustee

A Celebrity Among Us

The US Trustee Program has announced that Scott Lieske has been appointed as the new Chapter 13 Standing Trustee in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, effective May 1, 2017. Lieske replaces Mary Grossman who is resigning.

Prior to his appointment as Trustee, Mr. Lieske was the Senior Staff Attorney for Russell A. Brown, Chapter 13 Standing Trustee for the District of Arizona, and served in that position for 14 years. Mr. Lieske has been a member of the State Bar of Arizona since 1995. He received his undergraduate degree from Trinity University and his J.D. from Arizona State University School of Law. Prior to joining the Trustee’s office, Mr. Lieske was in private practice handling consumer bankruptcy cases for Doney and Associates. Mr. Lieske is a Master in the Arizona Bankruptcy American Inn of Court and has served as Chairman of the Arizona State Bar’s Unauthorized Practice of Law Advisory Committee.

See also Academy resource:

“I Surrender” (or Maybe Not) – the Impact of “Surrender” in Post-Discharge Foreclosure Proceedings

• Alabama Payday Lending Amendment Would Cap Interest at 36%

• Payday Loan Interest Rates Would Be Capped Under Ohio Bill

• Bill Proposes Cap To Missouri Payday Loans Interest Rates

• Effort To Rein In Payday Loan Industry In New Mexico Gains Steam

• Mother Had No Legal Duty to Pay Daughter’s College Tuition, Bankruptcy Judge Declares

• More Than 1.1 Million Borrowers Defaulted on Federal Student Loans in 2016

• Student Loan Defaults Rising, Study Finds

• Here’s What Happens to Endowments When Colleges Close

• Winter Storm Extension to March 20th: Many Businesses Have Extra Time to Request Six-Month Extension

• IRS Opposes Granting of Certiorari in Cases Addressing Definition of Return

• 9 Audit Red Flags That Will Get You Audited by the IRS

• Nationstar Mortgage to Pay $1.7 Million Over Loan Reporting Flaws: CFPB

• Wells Fargo, RBS, Deutsche Bank in $165 Million NovaStar Settlement

• Companies that Dumped Radioactive Waste in Estill and Greenup Counties File Bankruptcy

A win for creditors . . .

An above-median income Chapter 13 debtor is not permitted to take a mortgage/rent expense deduction when the debtor’s non-filing spouse is the owner of the property and the debtor has no obligation on a mortgage.

A win for creditors . . .

An above-median income Chapter 13 debtor is not permitted to take a mortgage/rent expense deduction when the debtor’s non-filing spouse is the owner of the property and the debtor has no obligation on a mortgage.

In this well-written piece, Attorney Moran speaks to non-bankruptcy professionals while also providing the Academy with a tangible resource on the intersection of bankruptcy and divorce.

“The intersection of Bankruptcy and Family Law can be liberating or disruptive. . .” Part 2 picks up with a discussion of exemptions, continues into avoidance powers, and concludes with discharge issues.

Click here for Part 1

Appellee’s counsel in Metro Government v. Hildebrand and Corrine is Nashville, Tennessee, attorney, Alex Koval of Rothschild & Ausbrooks, PLLC.

New this week:

State Law Applicable Solely to Bankruptcy Is Not Non-Bankruptcy Law

• 9 Audit Red Flags That Will Get You Audited by the IRS

• US Atty: Topeka Developer Hid $1.4 Million in Guns During Bankruptcy

• FL Lawyer Accused in Foreclosure Fraud

• Utah Couple Sentenced for Bank Fraud and Bankruptcy Fraud

“. . . examined whether a chapter 13 debtor who cannot defend a motion to dismiss for non-payment or modify his plan to enable completion, may otherwise strategically exit chapter 13.”

In this well-written piece, Attorney Moran speaks to non-bankruptcy professionals while also providing the Academy with a tangible resource on the intersection of bankruptcy and divorce.

“The intersection of Bankruptcy and Family Law can be liberating or disruptive, depending on the timing of a bankruptcy filing and the goals of your client. There are an almost infinite number of combinations of timing and facts when these two areas of law collide . . .”

• Brewster Resident Named Clerk of Bankruptcy Court

Bankruptcy Administrator/Western District of North Carolina

Location: Charlotte, North Carolina
Application Due Date: March 10, 2017

Chapter 13 Standing Trustee Advertisements

Location: Northern District of Ohio, Cleveland division
Application Due Date: March 24, 2017Location: Denver, Colorado
Application Due Date: March 10, 2017

Chapter 7 Panel Trustee Advertisements

Location: Western District of Kentucky, primarily in the Owensboro Division
Application Due Date: March 31, 2017

Location: Middle District of Tennessee, primarily in the Nashville, Cookeville and Columbia divisions
Application Due Date: April 1, 2017

Location: Southern District of Texas, primarily in the Brownsville, Corpus Christi, McAllen, Laredo, and Victoria Division
Application Due Date: March 8, 2017

Location: Central District of Illinois, primarily in the Peoria Division
Application Due Date: March 10, 2017

• Navient Charged Student Borrowers Too Much, Says CFPB

• Student Loan Provider Navient Intends to Defend Against Suits Brought By US, Illinois, Washington

• AG Balderas Sues California Lawyers for Scamming NM Homeowners

• Springfield Not-For-Profit Owner Pleads Guilty to Bankruptcy Fraud

• MERS Settlement with Kentucky Attorney General Will Result In $2.8 Million for State

• Judge Raps Pasco Foreclosure Lawyer and His Clients

• Mayor Duggan: Kevyn Orr Hid Pension Plan Details; City May Sue Firm

• Pasco Attorney Constantine Kalogianis Facing Nine Felony Counts Connected To Foreclosure Fraud

• Dance Mom’ Abby Miller Terrified at Thought of Prison in Fraud Case

• Moline Man Charged With Falsifying Bankruptcy Records

• Payday Lender to Pay $40 Million to Georgia Consumers

And now . . .

Hot off the press: Hank Wins One at the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals

“This bankruptcy case raises questions of statutory interpretation, federal preemption, and equal protection. Mildred Bratt filed a Chapter 13 plan providing for 12% interest on overdue property taxes to which Metro Nashville objected, arguing that Tennessee law specifies 18% interest. The bankruptcy court decided that the state law violated the Supremacy Clause. The State of Tennessee intervened and the parties appealed. The bankruptcy appellate panel (BAP) affirmed use of the 12% interest rate on different grounds, relying instead on interpretation of federal and state statutes and declining to address the constitutional arguments. Likewise, we AFFIRM the bankruptcy court’s approval of a plan using the 12% interest rate based on the language of the statutes at issue.”

Bankruptcy Administrator/Western District of North Carolina

Location: Charlotte, North Carolina
Application Due Date: March 10, 2017

Chapter 13 Standing Trustee Advertisements

Location: Denver, Colorado
Application Due Date: March 10, 2017

Chapter 7 Panel Trustee Advertisements

Location: Southern District of Texas, primarily in the Brownsville, Corpus Christi, McAllen, Laredo, and Victoria Division
Application Due Date: March 8, 2017

Location: Central District of Illinois, primarily in the Peoria Division
Application Due Date: March 10, 2017

• Student Debt in America Has Hit a New Record

• Capital Gains and Losses – 10 Helpful Facts to Know
• Tax Professionals Warned of New Scam to “Unlock” Their Tax Software Accounts
• Retaining Your Tax Records

For Your Clients: Use the “Where’s My Refund?” Tool – Taxpayers can use “Where’s My Refund?” app to check the status. Find it on IRS.gov or the free IRS mobile app IRS2Go.

1. Spokeo rescheduled for March 16th – save the date
2. Words for the Web – Content Creation for Lawyers – March 3rd 2:00 eastern – REGISTER NOW

Not an Academy member . . . webinars are only part of the many resources you are missing. JOIN NOW!

• ‘Dance Moms’ Star’s Bankruptcy Fraud Sentencing to be Rescheduled

How often do you hear the word “salacious” in reference to a bankruptcy case? Ohh la la!!! But, alas, the case is actually pretty esoteric.

“The Eleventh Circuit . . . recently offered a reminder of the potential inconvenience of bankruptcy courts’ limited adjudicatory powers. The allegations in the case were salacious—that a law firm hired a bankruptcy judge’s fiancé in a scheme to improperly influence court rulings. But the Eleventh Circuit did not end up expressing any view of these doings because the appeal foundered on procedural grounds.”

Happy Presidents’ Day

How often do you hear the word “salacious” in reference to a bankruptcy case? Ohh la la!!! But, alas, the case is actually pretty esoteric.

“The Eleventh Circuit . . . recently offered a reminder of the potential inconvenience of bankruptcy courts’ limited adjudicatory powers. The allegations in the case were salacious—that a law firm hired a bankruptcy judge’s fiancé in a scheme to improperly influence court rulings. But the Eleventh Circuit did not end up expressing any view of these doings because the appeal foundered on procedural grounds.”

Chapter 13 Standing Trustee Advertisements

Location: Denver Colorado
Application Due Date: March 10, 2017

Chapter 7 Panel Trustee Advertisements

Location: Southern District of Texas, primarily in the Brownsville, Corpus Christi, McAllen, Laredo, and Victoria Division
Application Due Date: March 8, 2017

Location: Central District of Illinois, primarily in the Peoria Division
Application Due Date: March 10, 2017

The Internet Archive Wants to Host PACER Records from U.S. Courts and Make Them Available . . . FREE (Not password protected)

From our 2/6 weekly email: Lawsuit Challenging PACER Fees Certified as Class Action

The National Association of Chapter 13 Trustees has announced their annual law student writing contest. Entries must be received by April 30th. Click here for details.

Please feel free to share this information with any law professor or law student you come in contact with.

• Professor Michelle Harner Selected as U.S. Bankruptcy Judge

• Colby High Grad Named U.S. Bankruptcy Judge

• Colorado Bankruptcy Judge Bows Out After 14 Years

• False Promises – California Man Sentenced for Operating Foreclosure Rescue Scheme

• CFPB Orders Prospect Mortgage to Pay $3.5 Million For Improper Mortgage Referrals – Regulator Calls Alleged Activity “Kickback” Scheme

• Hershey Man Indicted on Bankruptcy Fraud Charges

• Agency’s Bankruptcy Dashes Adoption Hopes Across U.S.

• Did Claims of Fraud Make Jobless Go Bankrupt?

• Broken – The human toll of Michigan’s unemployment fraud saga (same issue as above)

• From a Risk-of-Bankruptcy Standpoint, the Retail Business is the New Oil And Gas

• Retail Woes: A Bankruptcy Timeline

• 17 Retailers Closing Stores in 2017 – Gymboree, J. Crew, Guess?, Claire’s, Am. Eagle, Aeropostale, Abercrombie & Fitch, Neiman Marcus, Chico’s, Eastern Mountain Sports, Gander Mtn.

• Macy’s Closing 68 Stores – here’s where they will shut down

• These 9 Retailers Closing Nearly 1,000 Stores in 2017: Sears, Kmart, CVS, JCPenney, The Limited, Wet Seal, American Apparel, BCBG, Macy’s

• MC Sports Files for Bankruptcy, Begins Liquidation of Stores

• Gander Mountain Preparing to File for Bankruptcy this Month: Sources

• Payless in Talks to Close 1,000 Stores

• Fort Worth Golf Club Maker Ben Hogan Files For Bankruptcy

• HHGregg Said to Hire Advisers to Help Cope with Retail Woes

“The District Court began its analysis of the issue by examining the plain meaning of the terms ‘surrender’ and ‘vest’ in the context of §§ 1325 and 1322.”

See also: Forced Vesting Does Not Satisfy Confirmation Requirements

John V. “Jack” LaBarge, Jr., was appointed the Standing Chapter 13 Trustee serving the Eastern District of Missouri in October of 1987. Prior to that, he had been a Chapter 7 Panel Trustee since 1971 – 46 years – WOW. Jack served two terms on the NACTT Board of Directors as an at-large Director. He also served for many years on the Peer Review Committee. Additionally, Jack has mentored multiple new trustees. Jack is a long-time member and supporter of both NACTT and The Academy. He is an institution of service to others and will be leave a gaping hole in these organizations.It is often said that behind every successful man is an equally successful woman. No exception here. Mary LaBarge has served the trusteeship and the consumer bankruptcy community right alongside Jack. She was on the initial Staff Symposia Committee led by Robin Weiner. This Committee developed the concept of nationwide employee training. She developed curriculum and served as facilitator for many years at the beginning of this project and helped set the standard for this valuable training. Even after her retirement from the Staff Symposia Committee she was always willing to step up and fill in any gap when needed.

Mary participated as a panelist multiple times at NACTT annual summer meetings. She developed materials and spoke to upper level trustee staff on such topics as ethics with The Honorable Barry S. Schermer. In addition, Mary served with Alice Whitten and Debbie Langehennig on an NACTT/Academy joint Educational Webinar Training Committee for three years. She participated in the development and/or delivery of at least a half dozen training webinars for which The Academy is eternally grateful.

Not only are we losing the LaBarges this month, but Martha K. “Marty” Hallowell, Deputy Assistant Director for Oversight, Executive Office for United States Trustees, U.S. Department of Justice left us at the end of January. When asked what is next, Ms. Hallowell responded, “play and travel.” Marty, you will be tremendously missed – thank you, Marty, for your hard work and for always being so pleasant.

In discussing future plans with each of these icons, the common theme seemed to be to NOT answer to an alarm clock!

We wish you all the best in a happy and fulfilling retirement.

Bankruptcy Attorney Considers Pro Bono Work a Calling

Thank you Samuel Pennington for making bankruptcy attorneys look good!

• Killing Dodd-Frank Before the Rules Are Even Fully Written

• Memo from a Key Congressman Outlines Plan to Gut Dodd-Frank Bank Rules

The National Association of Chapter 13 Trustees has announced their annual law student writing contest. Entries must be received by April 30th. Click here for details.

Please feel free to share this information with any law professor or law student you come in contact with.

Please share this with your clients and include on your law firm’s blog or advertising emails.

Real people are being taken advantage of. Since October 2013, over 10,000 victims who have collectively paid over $54 million as a result of phone scams and these are just the reported cases!

New Judge for Eastern District of Wisconsin

Brett H. Ludwig named U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge

• Dodd-Frank’s Bankruptcy Provision Could Be a Trump Target

• Judge Threatens to Use Force Against Lawyer in Terse Benchslap

“To continue the new year off right, here’s a discussion about a question that I received:

I get a telephone msg (or email or text) from a client with a legitimate legal question. How long do I, ethically, have to respond? A day, a week? What if I never respond?”

“To continue the new year off right, here’s a discussion about a question that I received:I get a telephone msg (or email or text) from a client with a legitimate legal question. How long do I, ethically, have to respond? A day, a week? What if I never respond?”

The National Association of Chapter 13 Trustees has announced their annual law student writing contest. Entries must be received by April 30th. Click here for details.Please feel free to share this information with any law professor or law student you come in contact with.

• Absolute right to dismiss, but with sanctions

• Omission of material information supported dismissal

Missoula Lawyer Named U.S. Bankruptcy Judge for Montana

Gerald Rosen, Judge Who Helped Save Detroit, Retires

• In Navient Lawsuits, Unsettling Echoes of Past Lending Crisis

• What The Navient Lawsuit Means For Your Student Loans: Part 2

• Women Carry Bigger Burden of Student Loan Debt than Men

• The Grim Reality of Student Loan Debt — It Can Last Until Retirement

• Bankruptcy Delays Civil Suit…Again

• Agency: TCF National Bank Tricked Customers on Overdraft Fees . . . CEO Even Named Boat ‘The Overdraft’

• Wells Fargo Admits to Signs of Worker Retaliation

• Wells Fargo Levied Fees on Mortgages It Delayed, ProPublica Says

• Citi Mortgage Units Fined $28.8 Million

This week, Judge Brown takes a look at 2 cases pertaining to appellate procedure:

• Failure to timely appeal

• District court had discretion to deny stay pending appeal

Oregon Bankruptcy Court Judge Named

New Bankruptcy Judge Named for Western Washington State

• Why Student Loan Payback Is Worse than the Government Thought – At least half of students defaulted or failed to pay down debt within 7 years

• Two Law Schools Get an ‘F’ for High Student Debt from Education Dept.

• Student Loan Servicer Navient Hit With Three Government Lawsuits In One Day

• Overnight Regulation: Consumer Agency Sues Major Student Loan Provider

• The Number of Older Student Loan Borrowers Is Rising

• Harmed by Navient? What student loan borrowers need to know

• 70 Years Old with Nearly $180K in Student Loan Debt

• For-Profit Law School Is Cut Off From Federal Student Loans

• Attorney Sanctioned for Using DocuSign for Bankruptcy Filing

• Dance Moms’ Abby Lee Miller Tries to Avoid Jail Time in Bankruptcy Fraud Case

• Colorado And Federal Bankruptcy Law At Odds Over What Happens In Case Of Death – Not An Easy Way Out

• Ex-Billionaire to Settle in Retirement Home After SEC Loss

• JPMorgan to Pay $55 Million to Settle Mortgage Discrimination Complaint

Our friends at Credit Slips furnish this week’s By the Numbers:

• Bankruptcy Rate Rises in December . . . A Blip and Not a Blip

• Bankruptcy Filings for 2017 — Let’s Say 767,000

Judge Brown is back bringing us three cases involving attorney’s fees:

• Attorney fees cannot be charged for preparing and prosecuting fee application.

• Debtors’ attorney fees after final plan payment.

• Disgorgement of fees denied.

Our friends at Credit Slips furnish this week’s By the Numbers:

• Bankruptcy Rate Rises in December . . . A Blip and Not a Blip

• Bankruptcy Filings for 2017 — Let’s Say 767,000

In a letter dated 1/10/17, Lauren Saunders, Associate Director of the NCLC, strongly urges readers to oppose H.R. 5 the Regulatory Accountability Act of 2017Click here for Saunders’ LetterOn 1/11 the Bill passed the House

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• Conn. Attorney Suspended for Blowing Off Clients (Not a bankruptcy attorney)

• TBI Executes Search Warrant at Home of Hendersonville Attorney (Not a bankruptcy attorney)

• After Prison, Jungen Files for Bankruptcy

The IRS Newsletter entitled Who Will Prepare Your Tax Return is typical with a few exceptions:

For YOU – If you are in search of a tax preparer, two links may be of interest:

• Choosing a Tax Preparer
• Understanding Tax Return Preparer Credentials and Qualifications

For YOUR CLIENTS –

• IRS Free File lets taxpayers who earned less than $64k prepare and e-file a return for free.
• For those earning less than $54k, VITA offers in person help filing (although a search by the Academy did not yield very many locations – a few examples: Adrian, MI; Houston, TX; York, PA; Long Island City, NY). Enter your zip code to see if there is a location near you.
• The Newsletter mentions help for those over age 60 through AARP; however, the website was less than helpful – you will need to call the number listed.

For YOU OR YOUR CLIENT – Problems with a tax preparer?

• Click here to Make a Complaint About a Tax Return Preparer

What Loan Servicers Need to Know Now about the CFPB’s New Rule

A must-read for loan servicers and those who work with loan servicers on a daily basis.

Click here for the 901-paged CFPB Amendments to the 2013 Mortgage Rules under the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (Regulation X) and the Truth in Lending Act (Regulation Z)

Issue: FDCPA Case on Filing Bankruptcy Proof of Claim on Out of Statute DebtMore on this issue:

• Critical Case Comment (password protected)

• Student Loan Borrowers Increasingly Turning to Bankruptcy to Alleviate Burden – Student loan borrowers are using vague wording in the definition of a student loan to wipe out the debt using bankruptcy.

• Federal Grand Jury Indicts Four for Running “Foreclosure Rescue Scheme” That Exploited Vulnerabale Homeowners Facing Foreclosures

• U.S. Fines Transunion, Equifax For Deceit Over Credit Scores

• Former GulfSouth Private Bank Executives Charged with Bank, TARP Fraud – Failed bank received $7.5 million from TARP under questionable circumstances

• Gulf Breeze Attorney Pleads Guilty to Bank Fraud, Embezzlement (Same fraud as above; this article is about the attorney)

• Trustee: Boston GP Executive Used Event as ‘Personal Piggy Bank’

• U.S. Marshals Warn of Phone Scam

We start the year off right with an always needed dose of ethics. We know you have a small margins but what do you, as an attorney, HAVE to do for and with your clients and what can you delegate to non-legal staff? As always, Ms. Ps & Qs not only answers our questions but does so in the most entertaining of ways!

Click here for the answer

We start the year off right with an always needed dose of ethics. We know you have a small margins but what do you, as an attorney, HAVE to do for and with your clients and what can you delegate to non-legal staff? As always, Ms. Ps & Qs not only answers our questions but does so in the most entertaining of ways!

Click here for the answer

That a benefit of Academy membership is access to ALL recorded and archived Academy webinars?

AND that there is a staff training webinar library as well??

Chapter 13 Debtors Engaged in Business

This 37-minute training is specifically designed for attorneys who represent Trustees. Chapter 13 Trustees Laurie Williams and Krispen Carroll, along with Staff Attorney to Kathleen Leavitt, Daniele Gueck-Townsend, outline procedures for ascertaining what is a business case, as well as, guidelines for maintaining business cases.

JOIN NOW

Click here to join via PayPal
Click here to pay by check

2017 Webinar Topics include:

• Spokeo and Its Impact on Standing: What’s Next? – January 27th (Save the Date)
• Words for the Web – Content Creation for Lawyers – March 3rd (Save the Date)
• Facebook Ethics
• Attorney Obligations regarding Intake & Client Meetings
• And more . . .
• Click here to send your suggestions

The classification of student loan obligations in a Chapter 13 case is not necessarily prohibited, and it can assist debtors and implement the goals of the bankruptcy system, and thus can work a “fair” discrimination to pay student loans a distribution greater than other unsecured creditors in the plan.“The Engen case is must reading for trustees to encourage them to examine whether their objections to confirmation further the interests of the Chapter 13 program, the interests of the debtors, the interests of the student loan program, or even the interests of all creditors.”

This article has been unlocked for all readers – no password required – Merry Christmas!“It was ill advised policy to take bankruptcy law out of the student loan equation. . . We can fix the problem with no need to expand the court system. There will be no need for additional expenditures of public money to administer a student loan fix.”

• The Disturbing Trend of People Losing Social Security Benefits to Student Debt

• Devry University to Pay $100M to Settle Lawsuit Alleging It Misled Students

• What Do Rising Interest Rates Mean For Graduates With Student Debt?

• Fed Rate Hike Will Boost Costs of Variable-Rate Student Loans

• The Student Loan Crisis Isn’t Just a Millennial Problem

• U.S. Government Collecting Student Loans It Promised to Forgive

• Student Loan Companies’ Post-Election Value Skyrockets

• Student Loan Borrowers Should Be Wary of Defaulting Again

• Lynchburg Man Pleads Guilty to Bankruptcy Fraud

• AG Files Lawsuit Against Alleged Deceptive Foreclosure Consultants

• Top Foreclosure Lawyer Testifies She Sold Her House To Defend Fraud Allegations – Prosecutors say millions were needlessly charged to homeowners, banks and taxpayers

• Deutsche Bank to Pay More Than $40 Million to Settle Dark Pool Cases

• Discriminatory Treatment of Student Loan Debt Not Unfair

• There Are Cracks Forming in the College Education Business

One story, in chronological order . . . wow

• San Antonio Lawyer Pleads the 5th in Bankruptcy Proceeding

• Probate Judge Orders San Antonio Attorney’s Arrest

• Houston Bankruptcy Judge Orders Prins to Turn Over $2.4M; Law License Suspended

• Prins Defies Bankruptcy Judge’s Order By Not Turning Over $2.4M

• Houston Bankruptcy Judge Orders Arrest Of Suspended San Antonio Lawyer

Although a Chapter 11 issue, this may be of interest to you.

On December 7, the Supreme Court heard arguments in Czyzewski v. Jevic Holding Co. At issue was whether a bankruptcy court may authorize, in a “structured dismissal,” the distribution of settlement proceeds in a manner that violates the statutory priority scheme.

Although a Chapter 11 issue, this may be of interest to you.

On December 7, the Supreme Court heard arguments in Czyzewski v. Jevic Holding Co. At issue was whether a bankruptcy court may authorize, in a “structured dismissal,” the distribution of settlement proceeds in a manner that violates the statutory priority scheme.

Reverse Mortgage Firms Fined $799,000 Over Deceptive Consumer Ads

CFPB Takes Up Two New Fights to Force Subpoena Compliance

Additional story on same topic above – Consumer Agency Sues for Files on Home Installment Contracts

We are pleased to announce that Past President and Academy Board member, M. Regina Thomas, Clerk of Court for the Northern District of Georgia (Atlanta), has been selected as the 2016 Louis C. Brown Award Recipient by the Metro Atlanta Consumer Bankruptcy Attorney Group. The award will be presented by Chapter 13 Trustee Nancy Whaley at the MACBAG Holiday Party on December 13, 2016 at 6 P.M. in the Sky Bar at the Five Seasons Brewery, 1000 Marietta Street, NW, Atlanta, Georgia.

CONGRATULATIONS GINA!

That a benefit of Academy membership is access to ALL recorded and archived Academy webinars?

But beyond that, did you know that there is also a STAFF TRAINING LIBRARY?

Topics include:

• Office Security
• Legal Advice vs. Legal Information
• Workplace Ethics and Sound Decision Making
• How the Process Works (for brand new employees)
• The Means Test
• And many more

Join the Academy before the end of the year and receive TWO MONTHS completely free.

Click here to pay by check
Click here to JOIN NOW via PayPal

“The Courier-Journal randomly selected a dozen personal bankruptcy filings during the last year in Louisville and Southern Indiana.”

Additional info: Done In By Debt: Bankruptcy Plagues Kentuckiana

PACE Energy Efficiency Mortgages Still Risky Despite New Department of Energy Guidelines

Stronger, Enforceable Protections Needed to Stop Predatory Loans

“A creditor holding two mortgage claims cannot manipulate one claim to create equity supporting a junior lien, precluding a strip-off of such lien.”

“A creditor holding two mortgage claims cannot manipulate one claim to create equity supporting a junior lien, precluding a strip-off of such lien.”

This is a must-read article . . .

“On December 1, 2016 new rules will go into effect governing who is entitled to overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act. These rules will change the amount an employee can earn before they can be considered exempt and thus not entitled to overtime pay.”

Final Rule to Update the Regulations Defining and Delimiting the Exemption for Executive, Administrative, and Professional Employees

Why No One Can Seem to Agree on What the Gig Economy Actually Is

Who Wins in the Gig Economy, and Who Loses

Number of Workers Joining Gig Economy Slowed Dramatically, Says Study

Is the ‘Uber Economy’ Bad for Society?

Join UST Document Production Committee Members Edward Boltz, Dwayne Murray, Richard Nelson, and Mary Ida Townson, for a one-hour presentation on what documents Trustees (both 7 and 13) typically request prior to each 341 Meetings of Creditors. Additionally, hear directly from Doreen Solomon, Assistant Director for Oversight, Executive Office for United States Trustees, U.S. Department of Justice.

This webinar is directed to trustees, attorneys who represent trustees, and attorneys who represent debtors, although attorneys who represent creditors may also be interested.

• Click here to learn more.

• Congress Could Undo Obama-Era Student Loan Relief

“ . . . the Fourth and Ninth Circuit Courts of Appeals have thrown out that past understanding with the effect of increasing the cost of ‘cure’ or preventing it entirely.”

More from this author (all password protected):

• Germeraad v. Powers – A Plan May Be Modified Based on a Debtor’s Improved Financial Circumstances

• The Marital Adjustment: A Non-Filing Spouse’s Cooperation is Required

• The Expanding Potential Benefits of Remaining Silent on Secured Debts

Attention Everyone, including, Office Managers – this is HUGE – if you haven’t already heard about this, you MUST read this one.

“On December 1, 2016 new rules will go into effect governing who is entitled to overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act. These rules will change the amount an employee can earn before they can be considered exempt and thus not entitled to overtime pay.

Final Rule to Update the Regulations Defining and Delimiting the Exemption for Executive, Administrative, and Professional Employees