CRITICAL CASE COMMENT: In re Sykes

In re Sykes, 2011 WL 1330797 (Bankr. S.D. Ill., April 6, 2011) (Grandy)

Nothing authorizes a bankruptcy court to extend a bar date for the filing of a proof of claim by a creditor even when that creditor has failed to receive notice of the bankruptcy filing.

Case Summary

The Court considered several different cases with the same fact pattern. In each case, the debtors filed a Chapter 13 petition and did not list all of their creditors. After the bar date had passed, these unlisted creditors filed proofs of claim and the . . .

It looks like you are not signed in or registered! This content is only available to members.

Or Sign In Below:

No Author Biography has been linked to this Article.

Federal District Court Affirms Decision that Residential Loan Modification Does Not Alter Lien Priority in Pennsylvania

March 15, 2020

By Scott Waterman, Standing Chapter 13 Trustee Eastern District of Pennsylvania (Reading) Citing Pennsylvania law, a Federal District Court in In re Hamilton (Hamilton v. Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency), ___ B.R. ____ (E.D. Pa. 2020) refused to apply the equitable subordination doctrine to reorder the priority of mortgages after the first mortgage lender granted the debtors a loan modification prior...

Members

For Whom Does the Bell Toll?

October 10, 2021

By Angela M. Scolforo, Staff Attorney to Herbert L. Beskin, Chapter 13 Trustee for the Western District of Virginia Since January 2019 alone there have been about 250 student loan discharge cases decided in the federal courts.1 One site reports that student loan debt in the United States totals $1.73 trillion, across 43.2 million borrowers, and the debt is growing6...

Members

Diaz: Is it Really a Tax Refund?

December 20, 2020

By Cathy Moran, Esq., Moran Law Group (Redwood City, CA) On its face, Diaz (Diaz v. Viegelahn, No. 19-50982 (5th Cir. Aug. 26, 2020)) is a pretty straightforward decision that struck down a local form plan as violating a below-median income debtor's right to use her tax refund to finance necessary expenses for maintenance and support. On a deeper level,...

Members

Delinquent Utilities and Disconnection Under New Bankruptcy Provision

January 24, 2021

By Cathy Moran, Esq. (Redwood City, CA) Bankruptcy debtors with delinquent utility bills got a measure of protection from interruption in their service under an amendment to the Bankruptcy Code in the omnibus spending bill enacted December 27,2020. Individual debtors cannot have their utilities disconnected as long as they make some payment for service provided promptly after the commencement of...

Members

Demystifying Bankruptcy Appeals

M. Jonathan Hayes

September 11, 2022

Consumer bankruptcy attorneys in my experience tend to see appeals as a massively expensive undertaking fraught with unfamiliar rules and the threat of sanctions at every turn. That is not the reality. The purpose of this short article is to allay those fears. It’s a fun and satisfying process; dive in says I. Final order You can only appeal a...

Members

Did Congress Mean What It Said in Section 1328(i)?

April 25, 2021

By Pardis Akhavan, Resnik Hayes Moradi LLP (Encino, CA) The bankruptcy court in In re Ritter, 2021 WL 864092 (Bkrtcy C.D. Cal, 2021)(J. Tighe),denied debtors’ motion for an immediate discharge under Section 1328(i) ruling that Congress apparently did not intend that a chapter 13 debtor who obtains a loan modification should also receive a discharge, on that basis alone at...

Members

Fond Farewell to Danny O’Brien

The Academy

September 25, 2022

Dear Danny, We know that you would not want a tribute – it’s simply not who you are. But we couldn’t let this moment pass without acknowledging how admired and respected you are. We will all miss you and are better for having known you. You are a stellar example of what all humanity should strive to be. As a...

Arbitration in Bankruptcy: Reading Opinions & Tea Leaves in Recent Supreme Court & Lower Court Actions

January 20, 2019

By Lawrence R. Ahern III, Brown & Ahern (Nashville, TN) PART I: Statutes, Rules & Supreme Court (In)actions Introduction Click here for Part II Click here for Part III Click here for Part IV What is the effect of an arbitration clause in bankruptcy? When . . . It looks like you are not signed in or registered! This content...

Members

The First Thing a Chapter 13 Debtor’s Attorney Should Know About the Small Business Reorganization Act of 2019

October 13, 2019

By Lawrence R. Ahern, III, Brown & Ahern (Nashville, TN) Click here for Part I, Introduction to the 2019 Legislation Click here for Part II, Five Things a Trustee Should Know About SBRA Part III The Small Business Reorganization Act of 2019 (SBRA)1 is of interest to attorneys whose clients in troubled . . . It looks like you are...

Members

From the Editor – Claims

October 20, 2019

By The Honorable William Houston Brown (Retired) Debtor’s objection to tax claim for being “too low” was rejected. Noting that the debtor could not benefit prior to distribution to creditors, in event trustee found assets for distribution, debtor’s objection to claim filed by tax creditor on basis that claim was “too low” was rejected. “The debtor comes last, not first,...

Members