Ask Ms. Ps & Qs

By Professor Nancy Rapoport

Dear Readers:

Let’s talk a little bit about persuasive arguments. I’m teaching Professional Responsibility here at Boyd Law School right now, and this week’s reading has raised a great question: why do lawyers use “sure loser” arguments? (If you want to follow along, the opinion in our course materials is Liapis v. Dist. Ct., 282 P.3d 733 (Nev. 2012).)

The Liapis case involved the issue of whether a child (an attorney)1 could represent one parent against the other in a divorce . . .

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Fourth Circuit Overrules Own Precedent, Holds Certain Primary Residence Claims Can be Crammed Down in Chapter 13 Bankruptcies

October 20, 2019

(First published here on August 19, 2019. Used with permission.) By Daniel Cohn, Esq., Legal Department, Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. General Rule: No Primary Residence Mortgage Changes The general rule in bankruptcy is that debtors cannot cram down loans secured only by mortgages on their primary residences. But wait, “what’s a cram down?” you ask. For non-bankruptcy folks, a cram...

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Legal Aid and Who Are Our Chapter 13 “Customers”

January 31, 2021

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...

From the Editor – Claims

October 20, 2019

By The Honorable William Houston Brown (Retired) Debtor’s objection to tax claim for being “too low” was rejected. Noting that the debtor could not benefit prior to distribution to creditors, in event trustee found assets for distribution, debtor’s objection to claim filed by tax creditor on basis that claim was “too low” was rejected. “The debtor comes last, not first,...

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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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How My Law Firm Learned to Stop Leaving Money on the Table Part 2 – The “Other Appropriate Relief” of Rule 3001

Mark C. Leffler

May 8, 2022

At my firm, we see a lot of consumers who have some combination of high debt and low income. Many of them arrive for their consultations after having been abused by debt collectors and predatory lenders, harmed by mortgage servicing errors, or subjected to inaccurate and derogatory credit reporting. Until fairly recently, after filing bankruptcies for these folks, we usually...

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Article: Reported Recent Decisions on Rule 3002.1

The Honorable William Houston Brown

July 19, 2026

Federal Rule of Bankruptcy Procedure 3002.1 was amended, effective December 1, 2025, and judicial decisions on the amended Rule are being reported. This article summarizes several significant decisions that have been reported since the first of 2026.

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From the Editor – Confirmation

March 8, 2020

By The Honorable William Houston Brown (Retired) Equal monthly payments and attorney fees. The secured creditor objected to confirmation on basis that the plan improperly deferred its payments until debtor’s attorney fees were paid, and the District Court affirmed confirmation that delayed start of secured equal monthly payments for 21 months. The opinion examines three approaches to the issue: 1)...

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Critical Case Comment – No POC, No Money

Henry E. Hildebrand, III

April 30, 2023

A secured creditor would not be granted relief from the stay because the motion was based on the creditor’s failure to file a timely proof of claim. (Grant) In re Flores, 2023 WL 2787514 (Bankr. N.D. Ind. March 8, 2023) Case Summary Mr. Flores filed a petition under Chapter 13 proposing to pay Gaeta Auto Sales in full, with interest,via...

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Admissions by a Party Opponent Usually Saves the Day but Not Always

Judge Corali Lopez-Castro

February 9, 2025

“. . . Rules of Evidence can be confusing . . . , particularly the rules about hearsay. Is a statement hearsay but admissible under an exception? Or, is the statement non-hearsay and, therefore, admissible under another rule?” Judge Lopez-Castro takes a look at admissions you will want to read!

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Spoofing and the Legal Profession: No One is Immune

Ryan Bourgeois, Jeffrey Fleming, Lauren O’Neil Funseth

September 8, 2024

Spoofing scams hit with $10.5 trillion warning! If it were measured as a country, cybercrime would be the world’s third-largest economy after the United States and China. As its frequent mention in the news cycle demonstrates, no industry is immune – including the legal profession.

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Related Articles

Fourth Circuit Overrules Own Precedent, Holds Certain Primary Residence Claims Can be Crammed Down in Chapter 13 Bankruptcies

Legal Aid and Who Are Our Chapter 13 “Customers”

From the Editor – Claims

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

How My Law Firm Learned to Stop Leaving Money on the Table Part 2 – The “Other Appropriate Relief” of Rule 3001

Article: Reported Recent Decisions on Rule 3002.1

From the Editor – Confirmation

Critical Case Comment – No POC, No Money

Admissions by a Party Opponent Usually Saves the Day but Not Always

Spoofing and the Legal Profession: No One is Immune

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