Judicial Estoppel - The Eleventh Circuit Reexamines the Standard for its Application in Bankruptcy Cases • NACTT Academy

Judicial Estoppel – The Eleventh Circuit Reexamines the Standard for its Application in Bankruptcy Cases

By Kathryn Sanchez Kasper, Staff Attorney for Chapter 13 Trustee M. Elaina Massey (Brunswick, GA)

The 11th Circuit recently revisited application of the doctrine of judicial estoppel in cases where a bankruptcy debtor did not disclose a claim as an asset in the bankruptcy estate. The recent holding in Slater v. U. S. Steel, 871 F.3d 1174 (11th Circuit 2017) provides for a more flexible and opened ended approach in determining if judicial estoppel should preclude a debtor’s claim. This new standard may open the window for additional assets in bankruptcy cases to benefit creditors which . . .

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.

Critical Case Comment – 3002.1 and Reverse Mortgages

Henry E. Hildebrand, III

January 23, 2022

Requirements and remedies in Rule 3002.1 apply to reverse mortgages as well as conventional mortgages; while discharge of Chapter 13 plan does not discharge a mortgage obligation treated pursuant to § 1325(b)(5), the court may prohibit prospective use of a nondisclosed obligation as grounds for a default. (Waites) In re Legare-Doctor, 2021 WL 5712149 (Bankr. D. S.C. Dec. 1, 2021)...

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

The Gambling Debtor – What is a Chapter 13 Trustee to Do?

Stacey A. O’Stafy

January 28, 2024

Gambling was one of the earliest forms of entertainment, likely pre-dating recorded human history and before man invented minted currency. . . . gambling alone is not evidence of bad faith! Another article on this topic: If You’re Gonna Bet the Farm, Maybe Play Against the House

Members

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....

Members

Is Your Law Practice Evolving to Incorporate New Technology

October 3, 2021

By Jay Fleischman, Managing Attorney at Money Wise Law (Los Angeles, CA) When the world was forced to adjust to new routines in March 2020 due to the global pandemic, I was instantly struck by how little my professional life changed. I’d worked remotely for over a decade, and my systems and procedures didn’t change. Sadly, the same couldn’t be...

Members

From the Editor

March 24, 2019

By Wm. Houston Brown, United States Bankruptcy Judge (Retired) Discharge - Paying more than original loan balance would be undue hardship. The 59-year old debtor employed in aging and disability services couldn’t maintain a minimal living standard without discharge of substantial portion of student loan debt. The Court identified factors included in “minimal standards” in modern American society and found...

Members

Win Now, Wreck Later: A Tale of Bankruptcy and Mortgage Servicing

August 18, 2019

By Cathy Moran, Esq. (Redwood City, CA) My Google Alert popped up a lovely win for a Chapter 13 homeowner, but all I could see was the train wreck that lies ahead. The bankruptcy court ruled that the confirmed (and completed) plan trumped a late-filed mortgage proof of claim. Payment of the amount provided in the plan cured the prepetition...

Members

Critical Case Comment – How Much Is It Worth – Then/Now?

Henry E. Hildebrand, III

January 22, 2023

On a trustee’s motion to modify a confirmed Chapter 13 plan, Court required debtor to commit funds to unsecured creditors based upon the previously undisclosed equity generated from post-petition sale of property. (Warren) In re Croniser, 2022 WL 3639413 (Bankr. E.D. N.C. August 23, 2022) Case Summary Duane Croniser filed a voluntary petition under Chapter 13 in January of 2020....

Members

Ms. Ps & Qs

Nancy B. Rapoport

May 15, 2022

Dear Readers: There are some basic truths. One is that when someone says, “hey, watch this!,” the result is likely to involve blood or stitches. Another is that, when an author describes something with the leadoff word, “interestingly,” it often isn’t. And a third is that one shouldn’t mislead bankruptcy judges. In two wonderfully written cases, bankruptcy judges made this...

Members

The Chapter 13 Business Model

February 21, 2021

By John M. Hauber, Chapter 13 Standing Trustee (Indianapolis, IN) I have recently written an article for the NACTT Quarterly, that may or may not be published at the time of this writing, which is simply a stream-of-conscious style response to Senator Elizabeth Warren’s desire to modify the Bankruptcy Code based upon her perception that debtors’ attorneys get rich off...