Bankrupt Attorney Cannot Discharge State Court Sanctions

In a recent opinion, the 9th Circuit BAP affirmed a bankruptcy judge’s decision that sanctions order by a state court were nondischargeable under § 523(a)(6)i and that the state court proceeding precluded litigating the issue in bankruptcy.ii The sanctions originate from a California doctor’s defamation suit against two former patients. The Doctor initiated the action against two women who wrote online reviews accusing the Doctor of sexual assault and harassment. In the case, the Doctor alleged the women posted the false statements shortly after refusing to . . .

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Nicole P. Novak

Sirody & Ruben Bankruptcy Center, LLC

Nicole P. Novak is an attorney with the Sirody & Ruben Bankruptcy Center in Baltimore, Maryland. She is licensed to practice law in Maryland (2018) and Ohio (2006). Ms. Novak has worked for debtors, creditors, and trustees. Her current practice focuses on debtor representation with an emphasis on Chapter 13. Ms. Novak graduated magna cum laude from Cleveland State University College of Law. When practicing in Ohio, Ms. Novak actively volunteered on committees for the Bankruptcy Section of the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association and served as co-chair for The William J. O’Neill Great Lakes Regional Bankruptcy Institute. She serves as contributor to the Maryland section of the Bankruptcy Exemption Manual published by Thomson West and is a frequent author for the NACTT Academy. Ms. Novak is a current member of the National Association of Chapter 13 Trustees, the NACTT Academy, the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys, the Maryland State Bar Association and Consumer Bankruptcy Section, and the Maryland Bankruptcy Bar Association.

Creditors’ Rights and Debtors’ Protections at the Intersection of Consumer Bankruptcy and UCC Article 9

November 29, 2020

By Lawrence R. Ahern III, Brown & Ahern (Nashville, TN) PART VI – CONSUMER FORECLOSURE PROCEDURES (CONCLUSION) Introduction In the consumer bankruptcy field, trustees and debtors' counsel often are uncomfortable with the rules in Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC). In this series for the NACTT Academy, we have looked at numerous topics involving the interplay of Article...

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Tax Projections and the Means Test – Part II

September 22, 2019

By Cathy Moran, Esq. (Redwood City, CA) I wrote earlier about calculating the projected income tax deduction on the means test when the year of filing situation looks much like last year. But what if things aren't the same year over year? Your job as a bankruptcy attorney becomes more complicated. It's suddenly more than figuring the tax refund or...

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Chapter 13 NoLook Fees: The Horns of a Dilemma

Cathy Moran

December 3, 2023

“We’re confronted with a dilemma: if we pay practitioners fairly,we price ourselves out of reach of the very individuals we hope to help.”

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From the Editor – Discharge Injunction

May 31, 2020

By The Honorable William Houston Brown (Retired) Only bankruptcy court issuing discharge order can enforce injunction. The Fifth Circuit held that only the bankruptcy court issuing a discharge order has authority to enforce the discharge injunction. The opinion reviews pre-2005 Code provisions and current 28 U.S.C. § 1963, citing other Circuits that “have insisted on a return to the bankruptcy...

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Critical Case Comment – Debtor’s Counsel’s Fee Reduced to $48k

Henry E. Hildebrand, III

February 4, 2022

Chapter 13 debtor’s counsel’s fee award was reduced to $48,116 from the requested $95,480 due to pre-petition payments, confusing and “lumped” time entries, and excessive hourly rates for some services performed, even though the debtor’s Chapter 13 plan was never even proposed much less confirmed. The debtor never attended a meeting of creditors, but the debtor managed to recover his...

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Another Defeat of Bifurcated Chapter 7 Fees

The Honorable William Houston Brown

February 11, 2024

Recent case authority has not been favorable for consumer debtor attorneys seeking approval of bifurcated fees in Chapter 7 cases.

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Can Good Facts Also Make Bad Law? Finality of Orders in Bankruptcy Revisited after Ritzen Group

Lawrence R. Ahern, III

March 20, 2022

"Finality" in Bankruptcy When is an order within a bankruptcy case "final"? When must a party to the proceeding appeal within 14 days? When may a party either seek interlocutory review or sit back and wait until something more occurs to make the order final? Final orders are appealable. In civil actions, this is a relatively easy proposition to apply...

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Memories of a Chapter XIII Trustee

November 10, 2019

By C. Kenneth Still, Standing Chapter 13 Trustee for the Eastern District of Tennessee, Retired (1968-2015) January 2, 1968, my first day as Trustee for the Eastern District of Tennessee, Southern and Winchester Divisions. I really didn’t know what I was doing or why I wanted the appointment. But there I was, duly appointed and ready to go but where...

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If You’re Gonna Bet the Farm, Maybe Play Against the House

Danielle N. Gueck-Townsend

January 30, 2022

Gambling is inherently risky, but that rings even more true when a bankruptcy is involved. Section 727(a)(5) allows for denial of discharge if “the debtor has failed to explain satisfactorily, …. any loss of assets or deficiency of assets to meet the debtor’s liabilities.” 11 U.S.C. §727(a)(5). Recently, Bankruptcy Judge Timothy A. Barnes in Chicago wrote an opinion in which...

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Generative A.I. – Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid

Naliko Markel

October 22, 2023

“ . . . next leap: Generative A.I. learns everything there is to know about you from your public social media presence and crafts phishing attacks unique to YOU.”

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