By Merideth Akers, CPA, PHR, Comptroller for Bradford W. Caraway (Birmingham, AL) I have taught Compensation and Benefits to candidates preparing to take the Professional in Human Resources certification exam. These two topics include a great amount of employment law. So, I know just enough about employment law to be scared… or maybe cautious is a better term. I am...

In any given year Chapter 13 Trustees administer 400,000 to 500,000 cases and distribute almost $5 billion to creditors.  A critical duty for trustees is to be sure that distributions are correctly delivered to an allowed claimant. 11 USC § 501 governs the filing of a proof of claim and 11 USC § 502 sets forth the requirements for allowance...

By The Honorable William Houston Brown (Retired) Unpaid filing fee in prior case was unsecured claim. The Chapter 13 trustee moved for authority to pay unpaid filing fee from prior case, but Court denied that to the extent the motion sought payment ahead of unsecured creditors. The unpaid filing fee was nothing more than a general unsecured claim in the...

By Herb Beskin, Chapter 13 Trustee and Edward M. Wayland, Esq. (Charlottesville, VA) Trustees are not privy to the struggles of Debtors as they emerge from Chapter 13 and work to re-establish (establish?) their credit worthiness. A crucial factor in this process is the Debtor’s credit report. In this article, we discuss the Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”), the rules...

By William Houston Brown, United States Bankruptcy Judge, Retired; Editor/Adviser, The Academy On April 1, 2019, an increase takes effect in those dollar amounts in the Bankruptcy Code that are subject to adjustment every three years.1 The following increases have significance in everything from the eligibility maximums for filing under Chapters 12 and 13 to the debtor’s exemptions. Relevant Official...

While administering cases, Chapter 13 Trustees should carefully exercise their prosecutorial discretion. Trustee discretion is a powerful tool. It should be used wisely and consistently.  Trustees should have office policies in place fort heir attorneys and office staff.  What matters involve discretion? The UST Chapter 13 Handbook describes some: We asked the NACTT Emeritus Trustees for their thoughts and examples...

Dear Readers: When a judge issues a 28-page opinion sanctioning a lawyer, usually that means that the lawyer has done so many things wrong that he or she has caused the judge to roll up his or her respective sleeves (probably shirt-sleeves, although the image of robe-sleeves also works for me) to deal with the mess. And in Shiheiber v....

Attorney Gueck-Townsend provides readers with a primer on evidence needed to prove losses.

By Lawrence R. Ahern III, Brown & Ahern (Nashville, TN) Introduction On March 20, 2019, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously in Obduskey v. McCarthy & Holthus LLP1 that actions required by state law in a nonjudicial foreclosure are not regulated by the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA).2 The decision resolved a split in the circuits. In addition to the...