By Lawrence R. Ahern III, Brown & Ahern (Nashville, TN) Introduction to this Series Current pandemic circumstances and economic conditions portend an onslaught of bankruptcy filings. In the consumer bankruptcy field, trustees and debtors' counsel often are uncomfortable with the rules in UCC Article 9. Here, we look at a couple of topics that touch on the interplay of Article...

By Rachel Jones, Staff Attorney to Chapter 13 Standing Trustee Chris Micale, Western District of Virginia (Roanoke) The events of 2020 have had a devastating impact on the very low-income population. The working poor are struggling, particularly those working in sectors such as hospitality and tourism. State and Federal funding and local programs such as food banks and community action...

By Cathy Moran, Esq. (Redwood City, CA) I wrote earlier about calculating the projected income tax deduction on the means test when the year of filing situation looks much like last year. But what if things aren't the same year over year? Your job as a bankruptcy attorney becomes more complicated. It's suddenly more than figuring the tax refund or...

These virtual 341 meetings via Zoom will be implemented on a rolling basis through early 2024. YEP, this means you, y’all, all y’all, you guys, and yoos guys. Doesn’t matter if you have been doing 341’s via telephone for 100 years . . . it’s ZOOM as soon as implemented in your district. For Debtor Atty’s, this may require having clients...

By Alexander E. Schmidt, Law Clerk to the Honorable John P. Gustafson (Toledo, OH) As any attorney with an eye for case law can tell you, circuit-level opinions that decide matters of first impression deserve extra attention from practitioners. Not only do these opinions oftentimes illuminate the dark corners of the law, they can also raise or provide answers to...

By Lawrence R. Ahern III, Brown & Ahern (Nashville, TN) Introduction In re Taggart In 2019, the Supreme Court in In re Taggart1 ruled that the acts alleged in that case to be in violation of a discharge injunction did not empower the bankruptcy court to find the creditor in contempt. In so holding, the Court ostensibly attempted to strike...

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has released an updated Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) Minimum Wage Poster that covers employers’ new lactation accommodation obligations under the recently passed Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers (PUMP) Act.   The PUMP Act went into effect on December 29, 2022 and requires employers to provide nursing employees with reasonable accommodations, such as...

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...

By Mark C. Leffler, Boleman Law Firm, PC, Richmond, Hampton, and Va. Beach, Virginia In order to “eliminate abusive debt collection practices by debt collectors . . .”, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”) bars debt collectors from using any “false, deceptive, or misleading representation or means in connection with the collection of any debt . . .” 15...