By Nicholas Miller, Third-Year Student, University of Texas School of Law, and Madison Haueisen, Second-Year Student, University of Texas School of Law The second issue at hand in this year’s Duberstein moot court problem involves a matter of statutory interpretation—specifically, whether §503(b) of the Bankruptcy Code allows a creditor to recover costs and expenses incurred in making a substantial contribution...

By Lawrence R. Ahern III, Brown & Ahern (Nashville, TN) PART IV – INTRODUCTION TO CONSUMER FORECLOSURE PROCEDURES 2020 portends a flood of bankruptcy filings. In the consumer bankruptcies, trustees and debtors' counsel often are uncomfortable with the rules in Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC). In this space, we have looked at topics involving the interplay of...

IRS officials announced on 10/8/19 that a new payment option has been added to the private debt collection program to make it easier for those who owe to pay their tax debts. Taxpayers now can choose the convenient option of a preauthorized direct debit to make one payment or a series of payments toward their federal tax debt. With direct...

By The Honorable Kevin R. Anderson, United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Utah Coming off the longest economic expansion in U.S. history, Chapter 13 filings were at their lowest levels since 2007. With the country entering a sudden and unanticipated recession in February of 2020, we expected to see Chapter 13 filing rates increase; however, the opposite occurred....

By Cathy Moran, Esq. (Redwood City, CA) and William J. Purdy, III, Simmons & Purdy (Soquel, CA) Ever guarantee the debt of another? Ever meet anyone who has? Chances are if you’re in business and the business is a C-corporation, an S-corporation, an LLC, or a partnership, when that business borrows money, the lender will require one or more persons...

By William Houston Brown, Editor/Adviser, Academy for Consumer Bankruptcy Education On December 18, 2019, the Supreme Court granted the City of Chicago’s petition for certiorari, 2019 WL 6880702, from the decision of the Seventh Circuit at 926 F.3d 916 (7th Cir. June 19, 2019). The Seventh Circuit’s decision was analyzed in a prior article on this website. In its decision,...

By Jen Grondahl Lee, Jen Lee Law, Inc. (San Ramon, CA) When is a collected fee not a collected fee? When the statutes authorizing payment to the standing Chapter 13 trustee do not provide clear guidance on when that fee is paid and/or earned. The most recent case on this issue is In re Evans (Bankr. Idaho 2020).1 In a...

By Michael J. McCormick, Esq., McCalla Raymer Leibert Pierce, LLC (Roswell, GA) Escrow 101 – Part 1 Escrow 101 – Part 2 Escrow 102 – Part 1 Escrow 102 – Part 2

By Kara L. West, CPA, Chapter 12/13 Standing Trustee for the Eastern District of Tennessee (Chattanooga); Successor Trustee to C. Kenneth Still C. Kenneth Still was a legend. “Always with Barbara at this side, he epitomized qualities I think we all seek—honesty, diligence, kindness, and patience. He was a great mentor and a quick wit, and I miss him already....