From the Editor – Discharge and Dischargeability

By The Honorable William Houston Brown (Retired)

Sale of counterfeit watches was willful and malicious injury to trademark owner. Debtor’s sale of hundreds of watches that bore counterfeit Rolex trademarks was willful and malicious injury to owner of trademark. Goaz v. Rolex Watch U.S.A., Inc. (In re Goaz), ___ Fed.Appx. ____, 2014 WL 1047020 (5th Cir. March 19, 2014).

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The Honorable William Houston Brown retired in 2006 as a United States Bankruptcy Judge for the Western District of Tennessee, and he had been designated to sit also in the . . .

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Amended Rule 2002(a)(5) – Who Gets Served and Who Petitions the Court for Change?

November 22, 2020

By Phil Lamos, Chief Legal Counsel, Office of the Chapter 13 Trustee Lauren A. Helbling (Cleveland, OH) Bankruptcy Rule 2002(a)(5) directs that 21 days’ notice must be given of the “time fixed to accept or reject a proposed modification of a [Chapter 13] plan.” But to whom must notice be given? Specifically, which creditors need to be given notice? This...

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Critical Case Comment

May 2, 2021

By Henry E. Hildebrand, III, Chapter 13 Standing Trustee for the Middle District of Tennessee (Nashville) In calculating an above-median income debtor’s projected disposable income, the court may deduct from the debtor’s current monthly income only the expenses as listed in the IRS manual and not the debtor’s actual expenses. (Taylor) In re Rodriguez, 520 B.R. 94 (B.A.P. 9th Cir....

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May the Chapter 13 Trustee Keep Fees Paid Before Dismissal?

Lawrence R. Ahern, III

April 10, 2022

Larry Ahern this week begins a two-part examination of whether a Chapter 13 trustee may retain fees paid without a confirmed plan before dismissal. Part 1 is a detailed analysis of McCallister v. Evans, a recent case accepting the trustee's position considering a division in the caselaw and analyzing in detail the relevant statutes. May the Chapter 13 Trustee Keep...

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Federal District Court Affirms Decision that Residential Loan Modification Does Not Alter Lien Priority in Pennsylvania

March 15, 2020

By Scott Waterman, Standing Chapter 13 Trustee Eastern District of Pennsylvania (Reading) Citing Pennsylvania law, a Federal District Court in In re Hamilton (Hamilton v. Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency), ___ B.R. ____ (E.D. Pa. 2020) refused to apply the equitable subordination doctrine to reorder the priority of mortgages after the first mortgage lender granted the debtors a loan modification prior...

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ABI Commission on Consumer Bankruptcy – Definition of “Tax Return” for Purposes of Nondischargeability

June 2, 2019

By Henry E. Hildebrand, III and Sloan Hastings Section 523(a)(1) excepts from discharge taxes that are priority claims under § 507(a)(8). One of § 507(a)(8)’s provisions makes debts not dischargeable for income taxes requiring the filing of a tax return due during the three years prior to filing bankruptcy. It is this “recent years taxes nondischargeable” moniker that leads many...

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Leading a Winning Team

Merideth Akers

February 13, 2022

Bowl games… playoff games… championship games… Super Bowls. We start each New Year with a football craze. So what organizational lessons can we learn from football… other than do not spike the ball on fourth down to stop the clock? First, football is played as a team. Highly functioning teams win championships, while dysfunctional teams lose games and the coach...

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From the Editor – Lien Modification

March 28, 2021

By The Honorable William Houston Brown (Retired) Junior mortgage lienholder not affected by modifications of senior mortgage. Under Pennsylvania law, the prepetition modification of terms of the senior mortgage had recapitalized interest and costs already owed but had not created new liabilities. As a result, the junior mortgage holder was not materially prejudiced. The Chapter 13 debtors could avoid the...

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Here’s What People Should Know About Taking Early Withdrawals from Retirement Plans

April 21, 2019

Taxpayers may need to take money out of their individual retirement account or retirement plan early. However, this can trigger an additional tax on top of other income tax they may owe. Here are a few key things for taxpayers to know: Early Withdrawals. An early withdrawal normally is taking cash out of a retirement plan before the taxpayer is...

Ask Ms. Ps & Qs

Nancy B. Rapoport

October 9, 2022

Dear Readers: We are all working at what feels like the speed of light these days. (And if we’re not, then we’re upset that work is too slow. Yes, we feel like Goldilocks—work’s either too busy or not busy enough.) But the wonderful Regina has asked me a question that often relates to someone hitting “send” too soon: “When opposing...

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From the Editor – Claims

February 9, 2020

By The Honorable William Houston Brown (Retired) Failure to include creditor on matrix not grounds to extend time for proof of claim. The Chapter 13 debtor had timely filed her list of creditors, pursuant to Rule 1007(a), but she failed to include a creditor either on that list or in the schedules, resulting in the creditor not receiving notice of...

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