Can a Private Employer Make a Hiring Decision Based on an Applicant’s Bankruptcy?

By Holly Davala, Staff Attorney for Chapter 13 Trustee Craig Shopneck

As staff counsel for a Chapter 13 Trustee I often turn to § 525 of the Bankruptcy Code as support for enforcing our office’s wage order requirement. I often argue this Code section makes it clear that a debtor’s employer cannot terminate a debtor simply because the employee is a debtor in bankruptcy and the debtor should not fear his/her employer being noticed that the debtor has filed for bankruptcy. However, § 525 of the Bankruptcy Code also limits other actions an employer may take depending . . .

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A Look at Setoff and Recoupment as Fourth Circuit Permits IRS to Grab Exempt Overpayment Refund

July 19, 2020

By Lawrence R. Ahern III, Brown & Ahern (Nashville, TN) Introduction In Copley v. United States,1 Chapter 7 debtors attempted to exempt under Virginia law their right to a prepetition federal income tax overpayment refund. After the bankruptcy filing, the IRS set off the overpaid funds to satisfy the debtors' tax liabilities under 26 U.S.C. § 6402. In a matter...

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2022 Bankruptcy Procedure Year in Review: Revised Statute and Rules and Selected Cases Part 10 Once Again: The Supreme Court Hands Down a Procedure Rule in Dupree v. Younger

Lawrence R. Ahern, III

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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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A Salute to the Consumer Litigation Five Star General

Keith D. Slocum

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Consumer law attorney, mentor and educator, Oliver Max Gardner III recently announced that he is retiring. His passion, diligent research and unmatched expertise has served as a north star in consumer law for so many of us. From building a community of like-minded enthusiasts through the renowned Bankruptcy Boot Camp and cultivating an army of consumer litigators to fiercely defending...

Meet One of Our Newest Trustees

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Jason Wilson-Aguilar was appointed as the Chapter 13 Standing Trustee for Western District of Washington, Seattle Division, effective on October 2, 2018. He replaces retiring K. Michael (Mike) Fitzgerald who served as the Standing Trustee for nearly twenty years. During the ten years prior to his appointment as Trustee, Jason was the Senior Staff Attorney and Legal Department Manager in...

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Word to the Wise: Failure to Properly Notice a Creditor Is Bad!

M. Jonathan Hayes

April 7, 2024

When the debtor fails to properly schedule a creditor in an asset case, is the now non-dischargeable debt under § 523(a)(3) limited to the amount the creditor would have received had it filed a proof of claim?

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M. Jonathan Hayes

March 31, 2024

Launching a new feature - Supreme Court Corner - Jon Hayes will periodically share a look at a historical bankruptcy case. As the title indicates, Sturges v. Crowninshield looks at state bankruptcy law in the absence of federal law.

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The New DOJ/DOE Guidance for Student Loan Bankruptcy Litigation: Promising Early Results

Honorable Brian D. Lynch

March 17, 2024

“The problem in the past for student loan borrowers in bankruptcy has been that hardship discharge litigation has been complex, expensive and arbitrary. . . . The new guidance has simplified the process.”

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Critical Case Comment–84 Months: Lifesaver or Anchor?

Henry E. Hildebrand, III

February 12, 2023

Section 1329(c), as it currently exists, forecloses the ability of Chapter 13 debtor to modify a confirmed plan to alter the plan payment amount while maintaining an extended plan, previously approved under the CARES Act. (Hanan) In re Nelson, 2022 WL 6795096 (Bankr. E.D. Wis. October 11, 2022) Case Summary Immediately after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Congress sought...

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ABI Commission on Consumer Bankruptcy – Student Loans – Suggested Statutory Changes

April 21, 2019

By Henry E. Hildebrand, III, Chapter 13 Standing Trustee (Nashville, TN) Section I. Student Loans, Part I Statutory Suggestions When the Commission asked participants to identify the most important issue in consumer bankruptcy, all three committees were told the same thing: the role of bankruptcy in the field of student loans. All three committees looked at the issue and proposed...

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Five More Things Debtors Should Know About the SBRA of 2019

December 22, 2019

By Lawrence R. Ahern, III, Brown & Ahern (Nashville, TN) Part VII Introduction This series focuses on four bankruptcy-related bills that were enacted during the 116th Congress and signed into law on August 23, 2019. One bill, the Small Business Reorganization Act of 2019 (SBRA), will be effective February 19, 2020. It appears in its entirety in Appendix B to...

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