Whose Hands are Dirtier? A Look at the Unclean Hands Doctrine

By David J. Rashé, Summer Law Clerk for Martha G. Bronitsky, Chapter 13 Trustee in the Northern District of California (Oakland)

In an opinion issued by Judge Friedland on June 5, 2015, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held in Northbay Wellness Group., Inc. v. Beyries,1 that the unclean hands doctrine did not apply to allow the debtor to discharge a debt owed to a California marijuana dispensary. Rather, the debt could not be discharged and the debtor would have to address the debt through bankruptcy.

The debtor, Michael . . .

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Critical Case Comment – Creditor Not Required to Dismiss Prepetition Nonbankruptcy Action

November 14, 2021

By Henry E. Hildebrand, III, Chapter 13 Standing Trustee for the Middle District of TN (Nashville) The automatic stay does not require a creditor pursuing a prepetition nonbankruptcy court action to dismiss that action once a bankruptcy case is filed; requesting continuances and attending status conferences do not constitute “continuation” of the prepetition action for purposes of the automatic stay....

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The Hanging Paragraph – Hanging on Every Word Part 1 of 4

June 14, 2020

By Anthony J. Gomez, CPA, former extern to the Honorable John P. Gustafson, Northern District of Ohio at Toledo I. Cramdown Pursuant to 11 U.S.C. §1325(a)(5)(B) Section 1325(a) sets forth the requirements for a court to confirm a chapter 13 bankruptcy plan. In respect to each secured claim provided for in a plan, 11 U.S.C. §1325(a)(5) provides the following three...

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Substantial Contribution Claims

June 9, 2019

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...

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Critical Case Comment

September 20, 2020

By Henry E. Hildebrand, III, Chapter 13 Standing Trustee for the Middle District of Tennessee (Nashville) A Non-Governmental Private Student Loan Obligation is not always excepted from discharge by § 523(a)(8). (Holmes) McDaniel v. Navient Solutions, LLC, 2020 WL 5104560 (August 31, 2020) Case Summary Bryon and Laura McDaniel filed a Chapter 13 petition in 2009. They acknowledged that, among...

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Did Congress Mean What It Said in Section 1328(i)?

April 25, 2021

By Pardis Akhavan, Resnik Hayes Moradi LLP (Encino, CA) The bankruptcy court in In re Ritter, 2021 WL 864092 (Bkrtcy C.D. Cal, 2021)(J. Tighe),denied debtors’ motion for an immediate discharge under Section 1328(i) ruling that Congress apparently did not intend that a chapter 13 debtor who obtains a loan modification should also receive a discharge, on that basis alone at...

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From the Editor – Lien Issues

September 15, 2019

By The Honorable William Houston Brown (Retired) Chapter 13 debtor had no authority under § 544. Discussing the split of authority, the Court adopted the majority view that the Code gives § 544 avoidance authority exclusively to the trustee, and the Chapter 13 debtor could not use that power to avoid a mortgage lien. In re Dobbs, _________B.R._________, 2019 WL...

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Separately Classifying Student Loans in Chapter 13

The Academy

June 23, 2024

We originally ran this item in May to give you a heads up of what was coming. July is almost here . . . Starting July 1st, Chapter 13 debtors in Federal Student Loan IDR plans will receive IDR credit for each month they make their bankruptcy plan payments, without needing to separately classify their student loans.

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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...

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Critical Case Comment – You Gotta Fix Your Own Screwups, on Your Own Dime

Henry E. Hildebrand, III

December 3, 2023

Debtor’s counsel should not be compensated for work undertaken on behalf of a debtor in order to correct errors.

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Critical Case Comment – Bad Faith to Not Pay Both Tests?

Henry E. Hildebrand, III

February 27, 2022

Chapter 13 debtor is not obligated to pay both the disposable income pool and the best interest of creditors test pool to achieve confirmation, only the larger of the two; it is not a manifestation of bad faith that the debtor does not pay both the disposable income pool and the best interest of creditors test amounts. (Altenberger) In re...

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Whose Hands are Dirtier? A Look at the Unclean Hands Doctrine

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Related Articles

Critical Case Comment – Creditor Not Required to Dismiss Prepetition Nonbankruptcy Action

The Hanging Paragraph – Hanging on Every Word Part 1 of 4

Substantial Contribution Claims

Critical Case Comment

Did Congress Mean What It Said in Section 1328(i)?

From the Editor – Lien Issues

Separately Classifying Student Loans in Chapter 13

Preferences: When does the Clock Start Running?

Critical Case Comment – You Gotta Fix Your Own Screwups, on Your Own Dime

Critical Case Comment – Bad Faith to Not Pay Both Tests?

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