By Herbert L. Beskin, Chapter 13 Trustee for the Western District of Virginia (Charlottesville) In a recent case out of the Sixth Circuit, the Appeals Court heard an appeal by the Chapter 13 Trustee concerning direct payments by the debtor on a car loan and the applicable interest rate. The case is In re Chambers, 6th Circuit, # 20-1376, Appeal...

By Hon. Brian Lynch, United States Bankruptcy Judge, Western District of Washington, Tacoma Division When the Supreme Court issued United Student Aid Funds, Inc. v. Espinosa1 on March 23, 2010, commentators were perplexed.2 On the one hand, the Court upheld the 9th Circuit’s ruling allowing a hardship discharge of student loans in a chapter 13 plan. The Court held that...

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...

Community property works differently in bankruptcy. I probably don’t have to tell you that. On the issue of assets and debts, community property is pretty straightforward. All of the community property comes into the estate upon the commencement of a bankruptcy case, even when only one spouse files. §541(a)(2). Every creditor with a right to be paid from the community...

By Lawrence R. Ahern III, Brown & Ahern (Nashville, TN) Introduction to this Series Current pandemic circumstances and economic conditions portend an onslaught of bankruptcy filings. In the consumer bankruptcy field, trustees and debtors' counsel often are uncomfortable with the rules in UCC Article 9. Here, we look at a couple of topics that touch on the interplay of Article...

Lawrence R. Ahern, III Brown & Ahern Nashville, Tennessee Appendix C Bankruptcy Court Miscellaneous Fee Schedule (28 U.S.C § 1930) Effective December 1, 2020 Description Current Fee Adjusted Fee Exemplification $22 $23 Reproduction of audio recording of court proceeding $31 $32 Filing amendment to debtor's schedules $31 $32 Search fee $31 $32 Filing any document that is not related to...

By Leo G. Spanos, Senior Staff Attorney to Martha G. Bronitsky, Chapter 13 Trustee, Northern District of California (Oakland Division) Courts around the country are split on whether property acquired post-chapter 13 confirmation remains property of the estate or vests in the debtor for all purposes absent contrary language in the plan or confirmation order under 11 U.S.C. § 1327(b).1...

By Henry E. Hildebrand, III, Chapter 13 Standing Trustee (Nashville, TN) A prior servicer of a mortgage claim subsequently transferred to another servicer could be held liable if the transferor servicer provided inadequate or incorrect information to the transferee. (Aron) In re Bivens vs. NewRez LLC (In re Bivens), 625 B.R. 843 (Bankr. M.D. N.C., March 25, 2021) Case Summary...

In determining the appropriate “present value” factor to be added to the payment of a secured claim in a Chapter 12, the Court should look at the “riskless” treasury rate rather than the “prime rate” before enhancing it with a risk factor.  (Ebinger) Farm Credit Services of America v. Topp, 2022 WL 2981590 (S.D. Iowa, July 19, 2022) Case Summary...

By Edward C. Boltz, The Law Offices of John T. Orcutt (Durham, NC) (Originally published in pertinent part at ncbarblog.com, December 19, 2018) With the publication of Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City, author Matthew Desmond has brought increasing attention both nationwide and in North Carolina to the growing eviction crisis. With . . . It looks like...