New Bankruptcy Judge Appointment

D. Sims Crawford was appointed as the Chapter 13 Standing Trustee for the United States Bankruptcy Court, Northern District of Alabama, Southern Division in 2004, after serving as the Trustee’s Staff Attorney for 7 years. Before that, he was engaged in the private practice of law in Birmingham, Alabama. He earned his B.A. from the University of Alabama and his J.D. from Cumberland School of Law. He served as Chair for the Bankruptcy & Commercial Law Section of the Birmingham Bar Association in 2007 and served on the Board of the Birmingham Bar Foundation in 2008-2009. Mr. Crawford currently serves as President of the National Association of Chapter 13 Trustees (NACTT), as well as a member of its Due Process Committee and Liaison Committee. He is on the Advisory Board for Epiq Systems, Inc., is certified as a Professional in Human Resources (PHR), is certified in Training and Development, and is a member of the American Bar Association. Mr. Crawford has been selected and approved to serve as a United States Bankruptcy Judge for the Northern District of Alabama beginning September 1, 2016 with a duty station in his home town of Birmingham, Alabama.

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From the Editor – Discharge Injunction

March 14, 2021

By The Honorable William Houston Brown (Retired) Section 524(i) applies only to long-term debts not discharged through plan. Whether § 524(i) applied to short-term secured debts that are paid in full and discharged through a Chapter 13 plan was a matter of first impression, with the Court finding no other court had yet decided precise question. Factors used in Supreme...

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13 documents by Independence Software – Encrypted and Scans for PII

December 6, 2020

13 documents by Independence Software – Identity theft is a real and constant threat when transmitting information through the Internet. For Trusteeships, using e-mail to receive documents from the debtor bar is insecure, placing sensitive debtor information at risk. Founded in 2011, 13 Documents is unlike other filing systems — it is a complete document management solution for your Trusteeship...

Win Now, Wreck Later: A Tale of Bankruptcy and Mortgage Servicing

August 18, 2019

By Cathy Moran, Esq. (Redwood City, CA) My Google Alert popped up a lovely win for a Chapter 13 homeowner, but all I could see was the train wreck that lies ahead. The bankruptcy court ruled that the confirmed (and completed) plan trumped a late-filed mortgage proof of claim. Payment of the amount provided in the plan cured the prepetition...

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Critical Case Comment – Sec. 328 vs. Sec. 327 Not Exactly a Smack Down

Henry E. Hildebrand, III

July 17, 2022

A referral fee by retained special counsel paid to debtor’s attorney violates the prohibition in § 504 in that the referral fee constitutes an unauthorized splitting of attorney’s fees. (Williamson) In re Davis, 638 B.R. 198 (Bankr. M.D. Fla. March 31, 2022) Case Summary Four years after Lisa Davis filed her Chapter 13 petition, she was involved in an auto...

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All Taxpayers Should Plan Ahead for Natural Disasters

June 9, 2019

Floods, wildfires, hurricanes, tornados and other natural disasters happen quickly and often with little warning. No one can prevent these disasters from happening, but people can prepare for them. Here are some things taxpayers can do to help protect their financial safety should a disaster occur. Taxpayers should: Update emergency plans. A disaster can strike any time. Personal and business...

From the Editor – Dismissal

August 2, 2020

By The Honorable William Houston Brown (Retired) Marijuana connection required case dismissal. The Chapter 13 debtors owned interests in an entity that was engaged in litigation to recover damages for breach of contract related to growing and selling marijuana, and this connection required dismissal of the case. Continuing administration of the case “would likely require the trustee or the court...

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Max’s Knowledge Nugget

Max Gardner

November 13, 2022

Question: May a servicer charge to generate a payoff quote? Answer: 1026.36(c)(3) Payoff statements. In connection with a consumer credit transaction secured by a consumer's dwelling, a creditor, assignee or servicer, as applicable, must provide an accurate statement of the total outstanding balance that would be required to pay the consumer's obligation in full as of a specified date. The...

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Disregarding Bankruptcy Protections Can be Costly: How Courts Decide Punitive Damages Awards for Stay Violations

December 15, 2019

By Veronica D. Brown-Moseley and Stephen F. Relyea1 The automatic stay serves as a shield that immediately protects debtors in bankruptcy and their property from a host of creditor collection actions ranging from foreclosure, repossession, and garnishment to collection letters and phone calls. In most instances, the filing of a bankruptcy case forces creditors to cease all collection actions and...

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2022 Bankruptcy Procedure Year in Review: Revised Statute and Rules and Selected Cases Part 9 More from the Supreme Court: MOAC Mall Holdings LLC v. Transform Holdco LLC

Lawrence R. Ahern, III

May 14, 2023

Introduction This series reviews developments in bankruptcy procedure during the past year.One new rule and amendments to 16 rules took effect December 1, 2022. Many reflected changes necessitated by the Small Business Reorganization Act of 2019 (SBRA), and had been in place in the same or similar form on an interim basis since that legislation took effect.

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New Payment Option Available to Taxpayers in Private Debt Collection Program

October 13, 2019

IRS officials announced on 10/8/19 that a new payment option has been added to the private debt collection program to make it easier for those who owe to pay their tax debts. Taxpayers now can choose the convenient option of a preauthorized direct debit to make one payment or a series of payments toward their federal tax debt. With direct...

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