Post-Petition Causes Of Action, Inheritances And Windfalls Are Property Of The Estate And Must Be Reported To The Trustee – Part 2 of 6

By James J. Robinson, Chief United States Bankruptcy Judge, Northern District of Alabama What are the statutory duties of the standing chapter 13 trustee? Bankruptcy Code §§ 1302 and 704 provide the statutory framework for the trustee’s duties, and provide as follows: 11 U.S.C. § 1302. Trustee (a) If the United States trustee appoints an individual under section 586(b) of...

By John M. Hauber, Chapter 13 Standing Trustee (Indianapolis, IN) I have recently written an article for the NACTT Quarterly, that may or may not be published at the time of this writing, which is simply a stream-of-conscious style response to Senator Elizabeth Warren’s desire to modify the Bankruptcy Code based upon her perception that debtors’ attorneys get rich off...

By Hon. Brian Lynch, Bankruptcy Judge, WAWB “[T]he bankruptcy court has a duty to review fee applications, notwithstanding the absence of objections by the United States trustee (“UST”), creditors, or any other interested party….” In re Busy Beaver Bldg. Ctrs., Inc., 19 F.3d 833, 841 (3d Cir. 1994). In Chapter 13 cases this role is critical because in this judge’s...

By Cathy Moran, Esq. (Redwood City, CA) Bankruptcy debtors with delinquent utility bills got a measure of protection from interruption in their service under an amendment to the Bankruptcy Code in the omnibus spending bill enacted December 27,2020. Individual debtors cannot have their utilities disconnected as long as they make some payment for service provided promptly after the commencement of...

By The Honorable William Houston Brown (Retired) Chapter 13 debtor lacked “person aggrieved” standing to appeal objection to trustee’s final report. The bankruptcy court had overruled the debtor’s objection to the trustee’s final report, and debtor’s appeal was dismissed, with the Bankruptcy Appellate Panel finding that debtor lacked “person aggrieved” standing to appeal. Debtor’s objection had not included amount of...

The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals held that a plan proposal to create an asbestos trust through Chapter 11 bankruptcy was “insurance neutral,” and the debtor’s insurer was not a party in interest under Code § 1109(b), which contains a noncomprehensive list of parties in interest to a Chapter 11 case. Whether the insurer was a party in interest determined whether...

By Scott F. Waterman, Chapter 13 Standing Trustee for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania (Reading) Modifying a first mortgage is one of the most common loss mitigation tools available to bring a loan current to prevent foreclosure. In this case the first mortgage was modified twice by capitalizing the unpaid interest, reducing the interest rate, and reducing the monthly payments...