By Mary Viegelahn, Chapter 13 Trustee San Antonio, Texas Although Trustee Viegelahn first produced this list for an ethics panel in 2019, it is a timely heads-up now. This list was gathered from Trustees across the country. Providing ECF credentials to an outside “firm” to allow them to file a bankruptcy for a debtor the attorney has never met or...

By William J. Purdy III (Soquel, CA) Got an EDD tax form 1099 but no benefits? At this moment, POTENTIALLY hundreds of thousands of California taxpayers are enjoying the ghastly experience of receiving a Form 1099G courtesy of the California EDD for unemployment benefits the taxpayer never received. The problem is not confined to California; it’s so prevalent, the IRS...

On 6/14/19, the CFPB (Bureau) announced a settlement with Student CU Connect CUSO, LLC (CUSO), a company set up to hold and manage private loans for students at ITT Technical Institute. The Bureau filed a complaint and a proposed stipulated judgment in federal district court for the Southern District of Indiana alleging that CUSO provided substantial assistance to ITT Educational...

Judge Gustafson and Daniel Tavera explore “Who Benefits” from work done in a Chapter 13 case, and they suggest that the title of this piece comes from an old-time radio show – “Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar” – one of the most popular radio shows in its day. It was a five-part show called “The Cui Bono Matter.” To hear a...

By Lawrence R. Ahern III, Brown & Ahern (Nashville, TN) Introduction – The Taggart Ruling Last year, the Ninth Circuit in In re Taggart1 ruled that an act in violation of the discharge injunction did not empower a court to find a creditor in contempt, if the creditor believed in good faith that the discharge injunction did not apply—even if...

By Henry E. Hildebrand, III, Chapter 13 Standing Trustee (Nashville, TN) Chapter 13 debtor cannot submit missed payments to the trustee after the 60-month term of the plan has ended in an effort to cure defaults in the plan. (Bacharach) Kinney v. HSBC Bank USA, N.A., 5 F.4th 1136 (10th Cir. July 23, 2021) Case Summary Margaret Kinney filed a...

Previously the Emeritus Trustees (“ETC”) were asked to comment on “How to Manage Unprofessional and Discourteous Attorneys”. We now turn to ETC to share their collective wisdom when addressing the issues raised by incompetent, unprepared, and negligent bankruptcy counsel. Chapter 13 Trustees are required to administer cases in accordance with the duties set forth in 11 U.S.C. Sec. 1302 and...

If all the children in Lake Woebegon are above average, all the small businesses our clients run are quite valuable.If the Chapter 13 trustee is asking the question, anyway. I rail when the Chapter 13 trustee’s business questionnaire asks, “how much would you sell your business for.” Phrased that way, the question implicates all kinds of facts that aren’t in...

(Song by Joni Mitchell – first recorded by Judy Collins in 1968) By Merideth Akers, CPA, PHR, Comptroller for Bradford W. Caraway (Birmingham, AL) In the simplest terms, bankruptcy has two sides. The debtor is on one side, and the creditor is on the opposite side. Although there are opposite sides in bankruptcy, the system is designed to be non-adversarial....

By Anthony J. Gomez, CPA, former extern to the Honorable John P. Gustafson, Northern District of Ohio at Toledo I. Cramdown Pursuant to 11 U.S.C. §1325(a)(5)(B) Section 1325(a) sets forth the requirements for a court to confirm a chapter 13 bankruptcy plan. In respect to each secured claim provided for in a plan, 11 U.S.C. §1325(a)(5) provides the following three...