By The Honorable William Houston Brown (Retired) Sanctions for including foreclosed property in petition. On creditor’s motion, sanctions for attorney fees and costs were awarded against Chapter 13 debtor’s attorney for scheduling as property of estate real property that had been foreclosed and on which debtor’s redemption period had expired. Under Rule 9011(c), a safe harbor letter from the creditor...

By William H. Brown, Adviser to The Academy d/b/a ConsiderChapter13.org In the most recent opinion on the issue, as of this writing, the Court in In re Rivera, 2019 WL 1430273 (Bankr. D. Ariz. Mar. 28, 2019), in perhaps still a minority view, concluded that debtors’ default in making all direct postpetition mortgage payments was not a failure to complete...

By Michael J. McCormick, Esq., McCalla Raymer Leibert Pierce, LLC (Roswell, GA) Escrow 101 – Part 1 Escrow 101 – Part 2 Escrow 101 – Part 3 Escrow 102 – Part 1

In a recent case out of South Carolina, rather than a debtor seeking sanctions against a creditor, it was the creditor’s counsel who sought sanctions against counsel for a Chapter 13 debtor in an adversary proceeding. Ruling on a Motion for Sanctions in James Defoe v. Winyah Surgical Specialists, P.A. doing business as Winyah Surgical Specialists (In re Defoe), 632...

By William Houston Brown, Adviser, Academy for Consumer Bankruptcy Education, Inc. and Lawrence R. Ahern, III, Brown and Ahern (Nashville, TN) In two February opinions, the Supreme Court addressed issues that appear in bankruptcy cases, one dealing with a common practice of entering nunc pro tunc orders and the other affecting determination of property rights under state law. In a...

By Herbert L. Beskin, Chapter 13 Trustee for the Western District of Virginia (Charlottesville) In a recent case out of the Sixth Circuit, the Appeals Court heard an appeal by the Chapter 13 Trustee concerning direct payments by the debtor on a car loan and the applicable interest rate. The case is In re Chambers, 6th Circuit, # 20-1376, Appeal...

By Cathy Moran, Esq., (Redwood City, CA) Have I got a story for you. A rousing tale of schedules, hearings, frustrations, and ultimately fortunes, traceable to a good story in the fee application. Maybe that's a bit overblown, but I'm telling this story with a purpose. Good stories lead to fair compensation for bankruptcy attorneys. Fee applications aren't hard Filing...

By David Cox,1 Cox Law Group, PLLC (Lynchburg, VA) III. Providing for the Secured Mortgage Claim, as Modified. A. Does the requirement of § 1325(a)(5)(B)(iii) for equal monthly payments permit the Debtor to propose a balloon payment in the payment of the creditor’s claim? Equal Monthly Payments Required By § 1325(a)(5)(B)(iii) Does NOT Permit Debtor To Propose A Balloon Payment....