Litigating the Personal Use Question under § 1325(a)’s Hanging Paragraph: The Parol Evidence Rule, Totality of Circumstances Test, and Burden of Proof

Judge Colleen A. Brown has served as the U.S. Bankruptcy Judge for the District of Vermont since April, 2000. She holds a B.A., cum laude, with honors in philosophy, from Colgate University (1979) and a J.D., cum laude, from Buffalo Law School (1983). She is the recipient of the New York State Bar Association's President's Pro Bono Service Award in 1992 and of the Vermont Bar Association’s Pro Bono Service Award in 2006, and is an author for Collier on Bankruptcy 15th edition.It looks like you are not signed in or registered! This content is only available to members.

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Critical Case Comment – Free Parking

Henry E. Hildebrand, III

January 29, 2023

Percentage fees collected by a Chapter 13 trustee prior to confirmation of a Chapter 13 plan must be returned to the debtor by the trustee if Chapter 13 plan is not confirmed. (Ebel) Goodman v. Doll, 2023 WL 216778 (10th Cir. January 18, 2023) Case Summary Daniel Doll filed Chapter 13 in November of 2017. The debtor complied with 11...

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Tips and Traps: Issuing A Subpoena for Bank Records

March 10, 2019

By Beverly M. Burden, Chapter 13 Trustee (Lexington, KY) I recently had to issue subpoenas to banks to get the records of a non-debtor (long story involving an attorney’s mishandling of escrowed funds held on behalf of a chapter 13 debtor). Here are some tips for others like me who do not often need to use subpoenas. These tips apply...

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Disregarding Bankruptcy Protections Can be Costly: How Courts Decide Punitive Damages Awards for Stay Violations

December 15, 2019

By Veronica D. Brown-Moseley and Stephen F. Relyea1 The automatic stay serves as a shield that immediately protects debtors in bankruptcy and their property from a host of creditor collection actions ranging from foreclosure, repossession, and garnishment to collection letters and phone calls. In most instances, the filing of a bankruptcy case forces creditors to cease all collection actions and...

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From the Editor – Curing Default

October 27, 2019

By The Honorable William Houston Brown (Retired) Debtor could cure default beyond 60 months. Agreeing with In re Klaas, 858 F.3d 820 (3d Cir. 2017), bankruptcy court had discretion to permit debtors to cure plan default, allowing a reasonable grace period beyond the 60 months of confirmed plan. Dismissal of the case for plan default was not required under §...

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Ms. Ps & Qs

August 15, 2021

By Nancy B. Rapoport, Garman Turner Gordon Professor of Law, Boyd School of Law, and Affiliate Professor of Business Law & Ethics, Lee Business School, William S. Boyd School of Law, University of Nevada, Las Vegas Dear Readers: My guardian angel, Regina Logsdon has asked a great question:what should you do when your “Spidey sense” tells you that your client...

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Critical Case Comment

June 27, 2021

By Henry E. Hildebrand, III, Chapter 13 Standing Trustee (Nashville, TN) It constitutes an unfair discrimination, violative of 11 U.S.C. § 1322(b)(1), for a Chapter 13 plan which would pay more to a student loan than to the remaining general unsecured creditors. (Somers) In re Kane, 603 B.R. 491 (Bankr. C.D. Kan. June 18, 2019) Case Summary Ronald Kane filed...

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Fraud Imputed to Partner – Bartenwerfer v. Buckley

The Honorable William Houston Brown

February 26, 2023

On February 22, the Supreme Court issued its opinion in Bartenwerfer v. Buckley, 598 U.S. _____, 2023 WL 2023 WL 2144417 (Feb. 22, 2023), affirming the Ninth Circuit’s decision and resolving “confusion in the lower courts on the meaning of § 523(a)(2)(A).”1 Two Justices joined the opinion with the understanding that the Court was only addressing fraud in the context...

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Kristina Stanger and Jessica Hopton Youngberg

November 3, 2019

Kristina Stanger is an attorney and shareholder at Iowa’s Nyemaster Goode, P.C. She is also a combat-experienced Lieutenant Colonel in the Iowa Army National Guard. She is currently one of Iowa’s highest ranking females and is the Chief of Plans and Operations for the Iowa Army National Guard. Jessica Hopton Youngberg is Senior Staff Attorney for Veterans Legal Services in...

Bankruptcy Court Broadly Interprets “Engaged in Business” Requirement for Subchapter V Eligibility

May 23, 2021

By Lawrence R. Ahern, III, Brown & Ahern (Nashville, TN) Introduction The Bankruptcy Court for the District of Colorado ruled recently, in a case styled In re Ikalowych,1 that while eligibility for subchapter V of Chapter 112 requires that 50% of a debtor's debt must arise from commercial or business activities, the debtor was not required to be directly involved...

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Critical Case Comment

June 16, 2019

By Henry E. Hildebrand, III, Chapter 13 Standing Trustee for the Middle District of Tennessee Mortgage creditor may not withdraw a notice of fees, costs, and charges filed in a case after the supplement to the claim has been challenged without court approval; the allowance of such a notice will not be permitted where a state statute forbids it. Quicken...

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