By Stacey A. O’Stafy, Staff Attorney, Office of the Chapter 13 Trustee Faye D. English (Columbus, OH) An above median Chapter 13 debtor settles a workers’ compensation claim and wants to use the exempt settlement proceeds1 to pay off her 100% dividend plan in month 38 – can she? In this simple scenario, the answer is yes. Pursuant to 11...

By The Honorable William Houston Brown (Retired) Punitive damages reduced for FDCPA and RESPA violations. The mortgage servicer violated FDCPA, RESPA and the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act by treating account as delinquent after Chapter 13 debtor had cured arrears, brought account current and obtained discharge. The servicer mistakenly marked the Chapter 13 case as dismissed rather...

A referral fee by retained special counsel paid to debtor’s attorney violates the prohibition in § 504 in that the referral fee constitutes an unauthorized splitting of attorney’s fees. (Williamson) In re Davis, 638 B.R. 198 (Bankr. M.D. Fla. March 31, 2022) Case Summary Four years after Lisa Davis filed her Chapter 13 petition, she was involved in an auto...

Although she steps into very large shoes, Julie Philippi is a welcome addition to the Chapter 13 Trustee fraternity. Ms. Philippi was appointed as the Chapter 13 Standing Trustee for the Western District of New York on January 1, 2020. Those large shoes were left by retiring NACTT icon, Albert Mogavero. “Al” served as Standing Trustee for 42 years (yep,...

Chapter 13 debtor is not obligated to pay both the disposable income pool and the best interest of creditors test pool to achieve confirmation, only the larger of the two; it is not a manifestation of bad faith that the debtor does not pay both the disposable income pool and the best interest of creditors test amounts. (Altenberger) In re...

____________________________ Prior to his appointment as a bankruptcy judge for the District of Utah in September of 2015, Judge Anderson served for seventeen years as the Standing Chapter 13 Trustee for the District of Utah. During this time, he administered over 70,000 Chapter 13 cases. Judge Anderson was elected president of the National Association of Chapter 13 Trustees (NACTT), and...

Recently, news stories, political pundits, social media outlets and the talking heads have become keenly aware of the growing danger imposed by burgeoning student loan debt and the economic chaos it has caused and will continue to cause. Although the crisis appears to dominate our cell phones and news feeds, bankruptcy professionals involved in consumer bankruptcy matters are fully aware...

By Academy Staff Section 1307(b) provides: On request of the debtor at any time, if the case has not been converted under Section 706, Section 1112, or Section 1208, the court shall dismiss a case under this chapter. This seemingly straightforward provision has generated significant litigation and produced multiple conflicting decisions. Does a Debtor have a right to dismiss a...

By Henry E. Hildebrand, III, Chapter 13 Standing Trustee for the Middle District of Tennessee (Nashville) Despite a split in authority, funds held by a Chapter 13 Trustee at the time a case is dismissed prior to confirmation, are subject to the trustee’s commission before any balance is returned to the debtor. In re Doll, 17-20831-MER (Bankr. D.Colo. Feb. 19,...

In order for a debtor to succeed in setting aside a dismissal in a motion filed under Rule 9024, F.R.B.P., the debtor must prove specific grounds as outlined in Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b). (Oxholm) In re Gardner, 2022 WL 654410 (Bankr. E.D. Mich. May 24, 2022) Case Summary Carl and Taisha Gardner filed Chapter 13 in September of...