From the Editor – Classification and Cure of Defaults

By The Honorable William Houston Brown (Retired)

Separate classification of student loan debt denied. The debtors’ plan proposed to separately classify student loan debts, on which the debtors were current, paying the ongoing monthly payments directly, and the court discussed the split of authority on whether separate classification and payment under § 1322(b)(5) is subject to the unfair discrimination test of § 1322(b)(1), citing Prof. Susan Hauser, Separate Classification of Student Loan Debt in Chapter 13, 32 Am. Bankr. Inst. J. 38 (2013). The court agreed with the majority view that §§ 1322 . . .

It looks like you are not signed in or registered! This content is only available to members.

Or Sign In Below:

No Author Biography has been linked to this Article.

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...

Members

Preferences: When does the Clock Start Running?

Alan C. Hochheiser

February 19, 2023

Creditors may now be subject to more preference actions, especially for those cases filed in Indiana. The Seventh Circuit recently overturned long-standing precedent that the preference period on garnishment of attachment would no longer run from the date of service or knowledge of the attachment but when the funds were paid over. The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Mark...

Members

Critical Case Comment – Debtor Not Current But May Invoke CARES Remedies

Henry E. Hildebrand, III

March 13, 2022

In order to invoke remedies granted under the CARES Act, Chapter 13 debtor need not have been current on the date of enactment as long as the debtor satisfies the conditions in the CARES Act. (Grabill) In re Gilbert, 622 BR 859 (Bankr. E.D. La. Oct. 6, 2020) Case Summary Chapter 13 Trustee sought dismissal of a number of cases...

Members

From the Editor – Discharge Injunction

May 31, 2020

By The Honorable William Houston Brown (Retired) Only bankruptcy court issuing discharge order can enforce injunction. The Fifth Circuit held that only the bankruptcy court issuing a discharge order has authority to enforce the discharge injunction. The opinion reviews pre-2005 Code provisions and current 28 U.S.C. § 1963, citing other Circuits that “have insisted on a return to the bankruptcy...

Members

TMI: Too Much Information

Marie-Ann Greenberg

August 6, 2023

Practice Point: Just because it is an unsecured claim does not mean that it should be ignored. Review all claims for inappropriate violations and disclosure of personal identifiers! Keep track of serial violators for possible use in future requests for contempt and sanctions. With all of the emphasis these days on transparency and the requirement for more and more information...

Members

From the Editor – Dismissal

August 2, 2020

By The Honorable William Houston Brown (Retired) Chapter 13 debtor had absolute right to dismiss. Facing a contested confirmation hearing, the debtor moved to dismiss the case, and his estranged spouse objected. Concluding that § 1307(b) provides an absolute right to dismiss a case that had not been previously converted, the court posed questions about whether there should be limits...

Members

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...

The Complex World of Interspousal Claims in Bankruptcy

Cathy Moran

May 1, 2022

Traps and grey areas abound when one spouse files bankruptcy during or after a divorce. Inattention by the non-filing spouse can result in the bankruptcy discharge of spousal claims that might actually be nondischargeable. One of those traps involves the differing treatment in bankruptcy of debts to a former spouse incurred in the course of a divorce (Bankruptcy Code §523(a)15))...

Members

Creditors’ Rights and Debtors’ Protections at the Intersection of Consumer Bankruptcy and UCC Article 9

August 30, 2020

By Lawrence R. Ahern III, Brown & Ahern (Nashville, TN) PART II – BASICS OF PERFECTION OF SECURITY INTERESTS Introduction Current circumstances, with a pandemic and a recession, portend a wave of bankruptcy filings. In the consumer bankruptcy field, trustees and debtors' counsel often are uncomfortable with the rules in UCC Article 9. In this space, we have previously looked...

Members

2022 Bankruptcy Procedure Year in Review: Revised Statute and Rules and Selected Cases Part 6 Finality Versus a Residential Mortgagee: Espinosa and Nobelman Clash in the Eleventh Circuit

Lawrence R. Ahern, III

February 26, 2023

This Part 6 continues1 an analysis of judicial developments with a significant decision on finality of a Chapter 13 confirmation order. In re Bozeman Section 1327 of the Bankruptcy Code provides that a confirmed Chapter 13 plan binds the debtor and creditors to its terms.2 In In re Bozeman,3 the Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit looked at a...

Members