Ask Ms. Ps & Qs

By Professor Nancy Rapoport

Dear Readers:

This month, let’s talk about fees. As some of you may know, I’ve served as a fee examiner in some cases and as an expert witness in others.1 You could say that I’m obsessed with fees and with lawyer behavior in general.2 But let’s face it: fees reflect two things. First, professionals should get paid fairly for the work that they do; and second . . .

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A Salute to the Consumer Litigation Five Star General

Keith D. Slocum

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Consumer law attorney, mentor and educator, Oliver Max Gardner III recently announced that he is retiring. His passion, diligent research and unmatched expertise has served as a north star in consumer law for so many of us. From building a community of like-minded enthusiasts through the renowned Bankruptcy Boot Camp and cultivating an army of consumer litigators to fiercely defending...

Critical Case Comment – Discharged Junior in 7 Survives in 13

October 17, 2021

By Henry E. Hildebrand, III, Chapter 13 Standing Trustee for the Middle District of Tennessee (Nashville) While in personam liability of a junior mortgage on the debtor’s residence is discharged by a Chapter 7, the lien survives and constitutes an allowed unsecured claim in the debtor’s subsequent Chapter 13 case. In re Hopper, 2021 WL 3435445 (Bankr. E.D. N.Y. Aug....

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Meet a New Trustee

The Academy

October 15, 2023

(Yep, there are lots of them right now!!) Jennifer K. Cruseturner currently serves as a Chapter 13 Standing Trustee in the Western District of Tennessee, Western Division. After an extended retirement process for George Stevenson (he never could do anything in ‘normal’ fashion!), Jennifer was appointed as Stevenson’s successor on May 1, 2023. Jennifer graduated from Newcomb College of...

Ask Ms. Ps & Qs

December 8, 2019

By Professor Nancy Rapoport Dear Readers: I know, I know—I’ve been absent from this column for a while,1 but I’ve found a set of cases that intrigued me, so here goes. In several cases, bankruptcy courts here in Nevada have made it clear that lawyers should do a better job of proving up their fees (and proofreading them), especially when...

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From the Editor

March 31, 2019

By Wm. Houston Brown, United States Bankruptcy Judge (Retired) Lien Modification - Modification of mortgage on mixed-use property. Reviewing the split of authority on whether a Chapter 13 debtor may modify a mortgage on property used for both business and residential purposes and when the use determination is made, the bankruptcy court adopted the filing date as the appropriate time...

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From the Editor – Plan Modification

June 7, 2020

By The Honorable William Houston Brown (Retired) HAVEN Act applied to modification when plan was confirmed prior to Act becoming law. The debtor proposed a plan modification deleting from disposable income $1,789 monthly VA disability benefits. First concluding that the HAVEN Act was applicable law at time of this decision, nothing in the Act, its legislative history or the Official...

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Critical Case Comment – Present Tense in § 544(b)

Henry E. Hildebrand, III

February 19, 2023

When case converts from Chapter 13 to Chapter 7, the Chapter 7 trustee is not limited to the valuation of the debtor’s home as stated on the original schedules and may capture the increase in equity resulting from the property’s appreciation. (Dales) In re Adams, 2022 WL 2079725 (Bankr. W.D. Mich. June 9, 2022) Case Summary Matthew and Katherine Adams...

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Cyber Security – You Are The Weakest Link

Naliko Markel

February 19, 2023

At the NACTT 2023 Mid-Year Trustee Meeting in January the presentation that resonated the most with me was one about the dark web. The presenter, Mark Lanterman (CTO Computer Forensic Services), said something that haunts me still: your biggest security risk is your people. Mind blown. We spend so much time, energy, and resources on physical security and network security,...

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Making Sense of the Means Test

April 28, 2019

By Leo G. Spanos, Senior Staff Attorney to Martha G. Bronitsky, Chapter 13 Trustee, Northern District of California (Oakland Division) 1. Background & Purpose of Means Test One of the most significant changes introduced BAPCPA is the requirement of a means test to determine whether a debtor qualifies for Chapter 7 relief or, if not, how much a debtor must...

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In re Evans: Disgorging Chapter 13 Trustee Fees in Cases Dismissed Prior to Confirmation

March 15, 2020

By Jen Grondahl Lee, Jen Lee Law, Inc. (San Ramon, CA) When is a collected fee not a collected fee? When the statutes authorizing payment to the standing Chapter 13 trustee do not provide clear guidance on when that fee is paid and/or earned. The most recent case on this issue is In re Evans (Bankr. Idaho 2020).1 In a...

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Related Articles

A Salute to the Consumer Litigation Five Star General

Critical Case Comment – Discharged Junior in 7 Survives in 13

Meet a New Trustee

Ask Ms. Ps & Qs

From the Editor

From the Editor – Plan Modification

Critical Case Comment – Present Tense in § 544(b)

Cyber Security – You Are The Weakest Link

Making Sense of the Means Test

In re Evans: Disgorging Chapter 13 Trustee Fees in Cases Dismissed Prior to Confirmation

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