DOMA and Non-Traditional Family Obligations

By Professor Michaela White, NACTT Academy Editor & Advisor

The bankruptcy court’s opinion in In re Balas, 449 B.R. 567 (Bankr. C. D. Calif. 2011), in which twenty bankruptcy judges joined, held that the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) violates the Fifth Amendment equal protection rights of same-sex debtors who seek to file a joint Chapter 13 petition. The trustee moved to dismiss the case arguing that DOMA supplies the definition “spouse” and that because the same-sex debtor couple could not meet this definition, they could not file a joint petition. This . . .

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Declining Cases and Increasing Judicial Vacancies

Kevin R. Anderson

February 18, 2024

With facts and graphs, Judge Anderson discusses lowest filing levels since ’85, the impact of filings on judgeships, weighted caseloads, judicial vacancies, and recall judges.

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Is 1328(i) Ultimately Terrible for Debtors?

February 7, 2021

By Ken Siomos, Staff Attorney for Marsha L. Combs-Skinner (Newman, IL) The December 2020 Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, more commonly known as the second covid-19 stimulus bill, contains a few bankruptcy related provisions, but none stood out more with respect to Chapter 13 than the newly created § 1328(i). This provision provides that a court may grant a full 1328(a)...

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The Importance of Using the Latest Master Mailing List for Serving Your Bankruptcy Documents

July 18, 2021

By Jay S. Jump, CEO, CertificateofService.com (Pasco, WA) One of the most important issues in serving your Chapter 13 Plans, Motions to Modify, Motions to Incur, Fee Applications, and other necessary documents served or noticed under the bankruptcy rules is using the most recent Master Mailing List (“MML”) from the Court. Your Court Clerk maintains and updates, on a regular...

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2019 Legislation Affecting Bankruptcy Practice

August 18, 2019

By Lawrence R. Ahern, III, Brown & Ahern (Nashville, TN) PART I Overview Introduction Four bankruptcy-related bills have been passed by both the House and the Senate this term. The legislation was sent to the President for signature on August 13, 2019.1 The bills were not controversial and had bipartisan support. The legislation affects both business and consumer cases. One...

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From the Editor – Dismissal

August 2, 2020

By The Honorable William Houston Brown (Retired) Marijuana connection required case dismissal. The Chapter 13 debtors owned interests in an entity that was engaged in litigation to recover damages for breach of contract related to growing and selling marijuana, and this connection required dismissal of the case. Continuing administration of the case “would likely require the trustee or the court...

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From the Editor – Claims

June 21, 2020

By The Honorable William Houston Brown (Retired) Objection to proof of claim barred by preclusion. The Chapter 13 debtor objected to Wells Fargo’s proof of claim in an adversary proceeding that alleged the note had been procured by fraud and was unenforceable; but the debtor had previously litigated those and other issues in the state court. Preclusive effect of the...

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Meet the Newest Trustee

December 6, 2020

By Academy Staff On October 1, 2020, Jonathan W. DeLoach was appointed as a Chapter 13 Standing Trustee for the Middle District of Georgia. He inherited a razor-sharp trusteeship vacated by retiring Kristin Hurst. Jon, as he prefers to be called, received his Bachelor of Arts in History in 1988 from Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. He is a National...

Applying the Principles of “Lady Justice”

Beverly M. Burden

June 16, 2024

“I recently had the opportunity to consider the symbolism of the well-known “Lady Justice” emblem or statue and pondered how the principles attributed to that icon apply to our present bankruptcy system.”

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Meet Another New’ish Trustee

The Academy

September 1, 2024

Gregory D. Stefan was appointed as a Chapter 13 Standing Trustee for the Eastern District of Virginia effective May 1, 2023. He follows in the footsteps of Michael P. Cotter upon his retirement.

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ABI Commission on Consumer Bankruptcy – Collateral Repossessed Pre-Petition

October 6, 2019

By Henry E. Hildebrand, III, Chapter 13 Standing Trustee (Nashville, TN) One of the most difficult situations faced by a debtor and debtors’ counsel is the repossession of important collateral securing a debt owed to a creditor. These items, such as automobiles, furniture, boats, and mowers which have been pledged to a creditor are important – often critical – to...

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