Discharging Post-Petition Association Dues

By Mark C. Leffler, Boleman Law Firm, P.C., Richmond, Hampton, and Va. Beach, Virginia

High rates of foreclosures and even higher rates of abandoned homes in recent years have contributed to ever-increasing delinquency rates in homeowner and condominium community association dues. Homeowners who resort to bankruptcy to discharge their debts, especially those who surrender their homes through bankruptcy, are frequently dumbfounded when their community associations continue to pursue collection of post-bankruptcy dues. This situation is usually brought on because the mortgage company delays in foreclosing. Homeowner and condominium associations struggle to collect necessary dues and . . .

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.

On More Effective Writing

Erik P. Kimball

January 9, 2022

(Used with permission. First published in the Southern District of Florida Courthouse Beacon, December 2021) Imagine this is an article entitled Wiley Champion, Esq. Instructs How To Win Your Case Every Time. Enticing for sure. You start reading. The opening paragraph needlessly re-states the title, needlessly names the author, who is already mentioned in the title, and then defines the...

Members

Important Research Survey

The Academy

December 10, 2023

As a professional in an occupation that may often interface with people handling life disruptions (e.g., divorce/separation, unemployment, mortgage foreclosure) you are being asked to participate in a study being conducted by the University of Southern California.

Can a Secured Claim Still “Ride-Through” Bankruptcy Despite BAPCPA? – Part 1 In re Rhodes Says, “Let Me Count the Ways”

Lawrence R. Ahern, III

January 30, 2022

Background A recent Chapter 7 case out of the Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of California, In re Rhodes,1 addresses reaffirmation in a context that is very significant and should be of interest to all debtor's attorneys. It points out that the "ride-through" of a debtor's secured debt in Chapter 7—which Congress tried to eliminate in 2005—still exists. In...

Members

Critical Case Comment – Stay Violation: Repossession No, Sale Yes

Henry E. Hildebrand, III

November 6, 2022

Although the retention of collateral validly repossessed prior to the filing of the petition does not violate the stay, the sale of that property does violate the stay and the sale is void. (Bonapfel) In re Rakestraw, 2022 WL 4085881 (Bankr. N.D. Ga. Sept. 6, 2022) Case Summary Ms. Rakestraw filed Chapter 13 on August 12, 2022, listing her ownership...

Members

Passing of James J. Barta, Sr.

The Academy

November 12, 2023

It is with sadness that we announce the death of retired U.S. Bankruptcy Judge, James J. Barta, Sr. on Tuesday, November 7, 2023. Judge Barta served as a Bankruptcy Referee in the Eastern District of Missouri beginning in 1978, then a Bankruptcy Judge from 1986 through 2006, including three stints as Chief Judge. Before serving with the Court, Judge Barta...

Critical Case Comment – No Such Thing as “Technical” Violation of the Stay

Henry E. Hildebrand, III

February 20, 2022

Bankruptcy Court found violation of automatic stay to be “technical”, thus no damages. Ninth Circuit BAP did not agree. Continuing to pursue state court fraudulent transfer action after transfer or filed for Chapter 7 relief violated the automatic stay; even if the violation of the stay is “technical”, damages, including attorneys’ fees and costs, should be assessed against the violator....

Members

Small Business Reorganization Act…(“SBRA”) H.R. 3311 – PART ONE

September 15, 2019

By Jan Hamilton, Chapter 13 Standing Trustee (Topeka, KS) “I do not suggest my thoughts here are anywhere close to exhaustive. . . . Of course, my thoughts may be off mark on one or more items, but the discussions need to start somewhere, so here we go…” See also: 2019 Legislation Affecting Bankruptcy Practice – Overview

Members

Ask Ms. Ps and Qs

Nancy B. Rapoport

May 14, 2023

Dear Readers: Want to know why your 1L Civ Pro course is your best friend when it comes to “undue hardship” cases? Because burdens of proof matter. (They matter in other cases, too, but I’m in love with the case of Love v. U.S. Dept. of Education (In re Love), Case No. 19-20532-C-7, United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern...

Members

In re Kaiser Gypsum Co., Inc., 60 F.4th 73 (4th Cir. 2023), pet. for cert. granted, Truck Ins. Exchange v. Kaiser Gypsum Co., Inc., 2023 WL 6780372, (U.S., October 13, 2023).

The Honorable William Houston Brown

October 29, 2023

The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals held that a plan proposal to create an asbestos trust through Chapter 11 bankruptcy was “insurance neutral,” and the debtor’s insurer was not a party in interest under Code § 1109(b), which contains a noncomprehensive list of parties in interest to a Chapter 11 case. Whether the insurer was a party in interest determined whether...

United Student Aid Funds, Inc. v. Espinosa Ten Years After

May 3, 2020

By Hon. Brian Lynch, United States Bankruptcy Judge, Western District of Washington, Tacoma Division When the Supreme Court issued United Student Aid Funds, Inc. v. Espinosa1 on March 23, 2010, commentators were perplexed.2 On the one hand, the Court upheld the 9th Circuit’s ruling allowing a hardship discharge of student loans in a chapter 13 plan. The Court held that...

Members