Barriers to Entry: How the Bankruptcy Bar Guarantees Poorly Filed Petitions

By Justin Lawrence, Florence, KY

Since 2007, the influx of consumer debtors from the real estate and employment crises has not only swollen the caseloads of experienced debtors’ counsel but also created a surge of novice debtors’ attorneys. In conventions and seminars, trustees and judges often complain about poorly educated attorneys filing petitions that fail to conform to basic bankruptcy law and procedure. Poorly conceived Chapter 13s fail. Unintentionally un-exempted assets are seized in Chapter 7s. The unspoken consensus of these complaints is that the fault lies in the attorneys themselves.

The unspoken consensus is only partly right. By . . .

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Passing of James J. Barta, Sr.

The Academy

November 12, 2023

It is with sadness that we announce the death of retired U.S. Bankruptcy Judge, James J. Barta, Sr. on Tuesday, November 7, 2023. Judge Barta served as a Bankruptcy Referee in the Eastern District of Missouri beginning in 1978, then a Bankruptcy Judge from 1986 through 2006, including three stints as Chief Judge. Before serving with the Court, Judge Barta...

Measuring Success in Chapter 13: Five Years Later

June 6, 2021

By Brian D. Lynch, Bankruptcy Judge, Western District of Washington Five years ago, I wrote an article for this publication, “Measuring Success in Chapter 13,”1 where I criticized some media and academics for repeating an outdated and misleading statistic about the success of chapter 13 cases. So it was disconcerting to see John Oliver recently on Comedy Central’s Last Week...

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Some Federal Protections are Stronger Than Others – Sovereign Immunity, Criminal Restitution, and the Automatic Stay

Jeffrey S. Fraser

August 13, 2023

In this brief synopsis, Fraser compares Lac du Flambeauto a case from the Middle District Court of North Carolina and its connection to the automatic stay.

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Chapter 13 Discharge Expanded by COVID Relief Legislation

January 3, 2021

By Cathy Moran, Esq., Moran Law Group (Redwood City, CA) Chapter 13 debtors got a huge “gift” among the COVID relief provisions of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, signed December 27, 2020 by the president. Debtors may get a full -compliance discharge of dischargeable debts if they have a residential mortgage and have not made all the payments required...

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Parker, HOA, and Sanctions – Multiple Thrills to a Bankruptcy Lawyer’s Heart

May 2, 2021

By Cathy Moran, Esq., (Redwood City, CA) I don't know just what makes Parker such a treat for me, but it delivers multiple thrills to my bankruptcy lawyer heart. It's a stay violation case with a BIG sanctions award. It's a clearly, simply written opinion that lays out the circuit law on multiple issues. It hits hard at HOA hubris....

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Arbitration in Bankruptcy: Reading Opinions & Tea Leaves in Recent Supreme Court & Lower Court Actions

January 20, 2019

By Lawrence R. Ahern III, Brown & Ahern (Nashville, TN) PART I: Statutes, Rules & Supreme Court (In)actions Introduction Click here for Part II Click here for Part III Click here for Part IV What is the effect of an arbitration clause in bankruptcy? When . . . It looks like you are not signed in or registered! This content...

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Chapter 13 Trustee Duties, Powers, And Limitations – Part 6

November 8, 2020

By James J. Robinson, Chief United States Bankruptcy Judge, Northern District of Alabama When do the trustee’s duties end, and who gets the money? Harris v. Viegelahn, 135 S. Ct. 1829 (2015). This opinion of the unanimous Court requires the trustee to return to the debtor undistributed plan payments—originating from wages earned postpetition—on hand at a good-faith, post-confirmation conversion rather...

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Are Direct Payments by Debtor on Mortgage Considered Payments “Under the Plan” for Purposes of Discharge?

April 28, 2019

By William H. Brown, Adviser to The Academy d/b/a ConsiderChapter13.org In the most recent opinion on the issue, as of this writing, the Court in In re Rivera, 2019 WL 1430273 (Bankr. D. Ariz. Mar. 28, 2019), in perhaps still a minority view, concluded that debtors’ default in making all direct postpetition mortgage payments was not a failure to complete...

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Why Your Bankruptcy Client Doesn’t Understand You (And How to Fix the Problem)

Cathy Moran

August 1, 2023

By Cathy Moran, Moran Law Group (Redwood City, CA) Bankruptcy attorneys and their clients often seem to be a pair, divided by their common language. Even without legal jargon, we talk past each other. How do we misunderstand each other? Let me count the ways: Property: I don’t have any property, lost the house to foreclosure last year. Property 2:...

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Critical Case Comment–Tardy Filed Stay Extension: Too Bad Too Sad

Henry E. Hildebrand, III

January 7, 2024

Court lacks authority to extend stay in a case with a one-time repeat filer within a year of the previous case especially where the matter is tardily raised.

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