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 – Confirmation

March 8, 2020

By The Honorable William Houston Brown (Retired) Equal monthly payments and attorney fees. The secured creditor objected to confirmation on basis that the plan improperly deferred its payments until debtor’s attorney fees were paid, and the District Court affirmed confirmation that delayed start of secured equal monthly payments for 21 months. The opinion examines three approaches to the issue: 1)...

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Brace & Beyond: Joint Tenancy & Transmutation

November 8, 2020

By Cathy Moran, Esq., Moran Law Group (Redwood City, CA) For Californians, the CA Supreme Court’s decision in Brace this summer upended our understanding of joint tenancy and community property. For decades, we “knew” that a property couldn’t be . . . It looks like you are not signed in or registered! This content is only available to members. Join...

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Cui Pro Bono?

The Honorable John P. Gustafson

April 17, 2022

Judge Gustafson and Daniel Tavera explore “Who Benefits” from work done in a Chapter 13 case, and they suggest that the title of this piece comes from an old-time radio show – “Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar” – one of the most popular radio shows in its day. It was a five-part show called “The Cui Bono Matter.” To hear a...

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Can a Secured Claim Still “Ride-Through” Bankruptcy Despite BAPCPA? Part 2: Looking Beyond In re Rhodes

Lawrence R. Ahern, III

February 27, 2022

Background A recent Chapter 7 case out of the Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of California, In re Rhodes,1 addressed reaffirmation in a context that should be of interest to debtor's attorneys. As explained in Part 1, Rhodes points out that the "ride-through" of a debtor's secured debt after a Chapter 7 — which Congress . . . It...

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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...

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Critical Case Comment

June 27, 2021

By Henry E. Hildebrand, III, Chapter 13 Standing Trustee (Nashville, TN) It constitutes an unfair discrimination, violative of 11 U.S.C. § 1322(b)(1), for a Chapter 13 plan which would pay more to a student loan than to the remaining general unsecured creditors. (Somers) In re Kane, 603 B.R. 491 (Bankr. C.D. Kan. June 18, 2019) Case Summary Ronald Kane filed...

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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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Meet Another Trustee

February 10, 2019

In June of 2017 Michele T. Hatcher was appointed Chapter 13 Standing Trustee for the Northern District of Alabama, Northern Division. Ms. Hatcher replaces retiring Trustee Michael Ford. She maintains her office in the quaint Southern town of Decatur which is nicknamed “The River City” because it is on the banks of Wheeler Lake, along the Tennessee River. Prior to...

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Critical Case Comment – Pay the TAXES!

Henry E. Hildebrand, III

July 10, 2022

Failure of Chapter 13 debtors to satisfy post-petition property tax payments to the county, specifically required in the debtors’ Chapter 13 plan, renders the debtors ineligible for a discharge, even where the debtors proposed a loan modification to repay the mortgage creditor which had advanced the post-petition taxes. (Rodriguez) In re Villarreal, 2022 WL 1102223 (Bankr. S.D. Tex. April 12,...

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Critical Case Comment – Debtor Bears Burden of Proof to Be Ones Own Disbursing Agent

Henry E. Hildebrand, III

January 21, 2024

There is a presumption that the trustee will make disbursements under a confirmed Chapter 13 plan and the debtor bears the burden of demonstrating sufficient grounds to justify acting as her own disbursing agent.

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