Stripping With A Discharge: As Sexy As Bankruptcy Gets – The Status of Stripping Junior Mortgages Secured Only By Debtor’s Residence in Chapter 13 When the Debtor is Eligible for a Discharge

By: John Gustafson, Standing Chapter 13 Trustee, Northern District of Ohio, Western Division

The United States Supreme Court has held that mortgages on a debtor’s primary residence cannot be modified in a Chapter 13, even if they are undersecured. Nobelman v. American Savings Bank, 508 U.S. 324, 124 L. Ed. 2d 228, 113 S. Ct. 2106 (1993). The question, after Nobelman, was whether the holding, interpreting §1322(b)(2) as prohibiting the cramdown of under-secured liens, should be extended to protect junior liens that are wholly unsecured by any . . .

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2022 Bankruptcy Procedure Year in Review: Revised Statute and Rules and Selected Cases Part 10 Once Again: The Supreme Court Hands Down a Procedure Rule in Dupree v. Younger

Lawrence R. Ahern, III

June 11, 2023

Introduction This series reviews developments in bankruptcy procedure during the past year. One new rule and amendments to 16 rules took effect December 1, 2022. Many reflected changes necessitated by the Small Business Reorganization Act of 2019 (SBRA), and had been in place in the same or similar form on an interim basis since that legislation took effect.

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New Payment Option Available to Taxpayers in Private Debt Collection Program

October 13, 2019

IRS officials announced on 10/8/19 that a new payment option has been added to the private debt collection program to make it easier for those who owe to pay their tax debts. Taxpayers now can choose the convenient option of a preauthorized direct debit to make one payment or a series of payments toward their federal tax debt. With direct...

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Delaware Trustee Michael Joseph to Retire

Paul Chael

March 13, 2022

The debtors will miss him. The creditors will miss him. Even more, his colleagues will miss him. Michael Joseph has served as the Chapter 13 Trustee in Delaware since 1987. He is retiring March 31, 2022. He has served with competence and excellence. The debtors will miss him because he treated them with dignity and compassion. The creditors knew they...

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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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Fourth Circuit Overrules Own Precedent, Holds Certain Primary Residence Claims Can be Crammed Down in Chapter 13 Bankruptcies

October 20, 2019

(First published here on August 19, 2019. Used with permission.) By Daniel Cohn, Esq., Legal Department, Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. General Rule: No Primary Residence Mortgage Changes The general rule in bankruptcy is that debtors cannot cram down loans secured only by mortgages on their primary residences. But wait, “what’s a cram down?” you ask. For non-bankruptcy folks, a cram...

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Critical Case Comment – Debtor Not Current But May Invoke CARES Remedies

Henry E. Hildebrand, III

March 13, 2022

In order to invoke remedies granted under the CARES Act, Chapter 13 debtor need not have been current on the date of enactment as long as the debtor satisfies the conditions in the CARES Act. (Grabill) In re Gilbert, 622 BR 859 (Bankr. E.D. La. Oct. 6, 2020) Case Summary Chapter 13 Trustee sought dismissal of a number of cases...

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Critical Case Comment – Time is of the Essence

Henry E. Hildebrand, III

May 21, 2023

Chapter 13 plan cannot be modified to treat a priority claim as general unsecured after the time for reconsideration of the order has passed. (Easterbrook) Matter of Terrell, 39 F.4th 888 (7th Cir. July 12, 2022) Case Summary The Terrells’ Chapter 13 plan proposed a classification to pay the State of Wisconsin in full as a priority claim because, they...

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From the Editor – Debtor’s Attorney

May 17, 2020

By The Honorable William Houston Brown (Retired) Sanctions for including foreclosed property in petition. On creditor’s motion, sanctions for attorney fees and costs were awarded against Chapter 13 debtor’s attorney for scheduling as property of estate real property that had been foreclosed and on which debtor’s redemption period had expired. Under Rule 9011(c), a safe harbor letter from the creditor...

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The Extent of 362(c)(3)’s Stay Termination: Bankruptcy Court Adds an Argument to the Debate

June 28, 2020

By Lawrence R. Ahern III, Brown & Ahern (Nashville, TN) Introduction In In re Dao,1 Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Klein on May 11 ruled on an issue on which the circuits are split and certiorari is pending.2 Judge Klein agreed with the majority view that, under paragraph 362(c)(3) of the Bankruptcy Code, the automatic stay terminated 30 days after the order...

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Diane Cipollone

The Academy

March 6, 2022

Diane Cipollone is an attorney and a qualified expert on mortgage servicing and loan origination matters. While Diane no longer provides expert testimony, she continues to consult with consumer attorneys; trains attorneys, court mediators, housing counselors and fair housing advocates on foreclosure prevention guidelines and federal mortgage regulations; and mentors pro bono attorneys and non-profit housing counselors. She has presented...