From the Editor’s Desk - Debtor’s Attorney and Other Professionals • NACTT Academy

From the Editor’s Desk – Debtor’s Attorney and Other Professionals

By The Honorable William Houston Brown (Retired)

Attorney not entitled to fees for time reviewing monthly monitoring of cases by other staff. In eleven Chapter 13 cases, the trustee objected to the debtors’ attorney billing for time spent reviewing other staff members’ monthly monitoring of cases. While case-monitoring may be reasonable in some cases, the attorney did not provide case-specific evidence of the need for routine monitoring of case reviews performed by an associate attorney. Also, the attorney was not entitled to compensation at attorney rates for services that could be performed by clerical . . .

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Supreme Court Corner: Does Equitable Estoppel Apply in a Fraudulent Conveyance Action?

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Bailey v. Glover 1874 - When the trustee is required to bring an action to avoid a fraudulent conveyance within two years of the bankruptcy filing, does the active concealment of the transfer by the debtor and the transferees toll the running of the two-year statute of limitations to bring the action?

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Henry E. Hildebrand, III

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Critical Case Comment – Fourth Circuit Says Easy-Peasy

Henry E. Hildebrand, III

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Courts Continue to Fill in the Gaps on the Interplay of Bankruptcy and the FDCPA

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By Chris Hawkins, Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP (Birmingham, AL) The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) published its debt collection final rule in the Federal Register on November 30, 2020, revamping the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) for the first time since its enactment in 1977. Despite written comments submitted by several industry groups requesting clarity in areas where...

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By The Honorable John P. Gustafson Can a creditor refuse to do business with a debtor, or is such refusal a violation of the automatic stay? The case of Brown v. Penn State Employees Credit Union, 851 F.2d 81 (3rd Cir. 1988) held that a credit union’s refusal to continue to do business with a debtor who caused a loss...

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By Academy Staff Those who have been around consumer bankruptcy for a while remember the halcyon days when a Debtor surrendered property in the Plan; Plan was confirmed; lender would foreclosure and file its deficiency claim; Debtor would complete the Plan; and obtain a discharge of all unsecured debts including the deficiency balance. Lenders were able to realize on the...

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FFIEC Issues Statement on Examination Principles Related to Valuation Discrimination and Bias in Residential Lending

The Academy

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FFIEC Issues Statement on Examination Principles Related to Valuation Discrimination and Bias in Residential Lending

From the Supreme Court – Miller v. US

The Honorable William Houston Brown

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In bankruptcy cases, creditors are usually required to return payments made shortly before the debtor's filing. On Monday, in United States v. Miller, the justices considered whether this rule also applies to the IRS.

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The Academy

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(Yep, there are lots of them right now!!) Jennifer K. Cruseturner currently serves as a Chapter 13 Standing Trustee in the Western District of Tennessee, Western Division. After an extended retirement process for George Stevenson (he never could do anything in ‘normal’ fashion!), Jennifer was appointed as Stevenson’s successor on May 1, 2023. Jennifer graduated from Newcomb College of...

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Ms. Ps & Qs on ‘Wet Signatures’ – Yep, they are important and nope, you can’t blame others for your mistakes.

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