Supreme Court Corner: Re Wood and Henderson, 210 U.S. 246 (1908)

By M. Jonathan Hayes

Issue: Where the Bankruptcy Code gives “the court” power to re-examine (and avoid) prepetition transactions between the debtor and his attorneys, may the bankruptcy referee do that in a summary proceeding even when the attorneys are outside of the state and not subject to personal jurisdiction in the state?

Holding: Yes.
Justice William R. Day, 6-3
Brewer dissenting, joined by Peckham and Moody

The debtor gave his attorneys $9,775 “in contemplation of the filing of a petition in bankruptcy against him, within four months of the filing thereof, for legal services to be . . .

It looks like you are not signed in or registered! This content is only available to members.

Or Sign In Below:

No Author Biography has been linked to this Article.

From the Editor – Plan Modification

March 21, 2021

By The Honorable William Houston Brown (Retired) For modification purposes, best interests test remains at petition date. In an examination of post-confirmation sale of the debtor’s home that yielded excess of homestead exemption, the Court concluded that the best-interests of creditors’ calculation was performed as of the petition date, rather than time of modification. Section 1329 does not provide a...

Members

Creditors’ Rights and Debtors’ Protections at the Intersection of Consumer Bankruptcy and UCC Article 9

January 17, 2021

By Lawrence R. Ahern III, Brown & Ahern (Nashville, TN) PART VII – CONSUMER CREDITORS' PENALTIES FOR VIOLATIONS OF FORECLOSURE AND OTHER ARTICLE 9 RULES Introduction In this space, we have looked at numerous topics involving the operation of Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) in bankruptcy; in the current series, we are reviewing Article 9's important rules...

Members

In the Trenches: Secrets to Settlement – Competency in the Courtroom Part 2 of 3

June 16, 2019

By Jan Hamilton, Chapter 13 Trustee (Topeka, KS) Click here for Part 1 of 3 8. Early Preparation for Trial As suggested, the best way to settle a case is to be willing to try that case, which means you must prepare from the get go. That preparation begins a long time before the eve of trial, namely, at the...

Members

Why Address Formatting Is So Important for Jurisdiction

October 24, 2021

By Jay S. Jump, CEO, CertificateofService.com (Pasco, WA) My guess is you initially saw the title of this article and promptly pressed right on past it. Who needs to learn how to properly address an envelope? You didn’t spend three years in law school plus all that money in student loans to address an envelope! But, If the purpose of...

Members

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.

Members

Annulment of the Automatic Stay: A Concept Whose Time Has Come – And Gone

June 21, 2020

By Academy Staff The Automatic Stay is one of the most fundamental aspects of the Bankruptcy Code, providing a Chapter 7 Trustee “breathing room” to investigate Debtor’s financial affairs; and providing Debtors in Chapter 13 time to formulate and confirm a Chapter 13 Plan without facing the imminent loss of assets. Equally important, most Courts have concluded that actions in...

Members

Critical Case Comment – Gotta’ Be Purchase Money to Get the Deduction

Henry E. Hildebrand, III

October 15, 2023

A little bit for everyone in this case . . .In calculating above-median income debtor’s projected disposable income, Chapter 13 debtor may not deduct the “ownership allowance” for transportation expenses if the secured debt in question is secured by a nonpurchase money security interest in a motor vehicle.

Members

Is Nunc Pro Tunc Really Sunk?

December 20, 2020

By James M. Davis, Staff Attorney to Chapter 13 Standing Trustee Henry E. Hildebrand, III (Nashville, TN) Bankruptcy Courts take determinations from the Supreme Court seriously. And rightfully so. But sometimes, some bankruptcy courts are guilty of reading too much into the Court’s statements. The latest example is the soul searching around “nunc pro tunc” (“now for then”) orders. Earlier...

Members

From the Supreme Court

The Academy

June 18, 2023

Lac Du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians et al. v. Coughlin Supreme Court rules in favor of borrower of tribal loan –Chapter 13 stay applies. Justices reject tribal immunity from bankruptcy stay.

Critical Case Comment – In the Windfalls Category

Henry E. Hildebrand, III

August 28, 2022

Unanticipated post-petition acquisitions, constituting property of the estate, can be captured for the purpose of repaying creditors. In re Powell, 2022 WL 1043502 (Bankr. C.D. Ill. April 7, 2022)(Perkins) Case Summary Clarence and Betty Powell filed a Chapter 13 petition in February of 2020 and their plan was confirmed that October. The plan required the Powells to make monthly payments...

Members