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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Some Basics You Always Wanted to Know About the FCRA But Were Too Embarrassed to Ask

October 20, 2019

By Herb Beskin, Chapter 13 Trustee and Edward M. Wayland, Esq. (Charlottesville, VA) Trustees are not privy to the struggles of Debtors as they emerge from Chapter 13 and work to re-establish (establish?) their credit worthiness. A crucial factor in this process is the Debtor’s credit report. In this article, we discuss the Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”), the rules...

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Escrow 102 – Part 1 of 4

September 26, 2021

By Michael J. McCormick, Esq., McCalla Raymer Leibert Pierce, LLC (Roswell, GA) Introduction In the prior articles (i.e., Escrow 101 Part 1, Escrow 101 Part 2, and Escrow 101 Part 3), I outlined the proper steps in conducting an escrow analysis, as well as some of the mortgage servicer’s obligations and options for having a borrower cure an escrow shortage...

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How My Law Firm Learned to Stop Leaving Money on the Table Part 4 – Making Willful Stay Violations Pay Off

Mark C. Leffler

June 12, 2022

In this series of articles, I’ve described how my firm developed a litigation practice area to generate revenue that isn’t dependent on new bankruptcy cases. As debtor attorneys around the country wait for bankruptcy cases to return to pre-COVID levels, I hope these articles might inspire others to create income for themselves while obtaining valuable remedies for their clients. Today,...

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Progeny of Law v. Siegel: Sixth and Ninth Circuits Say Right to Dismiss Chapter 13 Case is Absolute, Not Qualified by Section 105

September 26, 2021

By Lawrence R. Ahern III, Brown & Ahern (Nashville, TN) "Equity is not an old man, with a long grey beard, sitting under a tree. Equity has rules."1 Introduction Section 105 When enacted in 1978, the Bankruptcy Code in section 105 included an "all writs" statute for the Bankruptcy Courts: The court may issue any order, process, or judgment that...

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2020 Vision

February 14, 2021

By Jan Sensenich, Chapter 13 Standing Trustee for the District of Vermont I think it was in junior high school when I first started wearing glasses. I remember not liking the idea of having to wear glasses. I thought I could see just fine. As far as I knew, I was seeing what I needed to see. But I also...

In the Trenches: Secrets to Settlement – Competency in the Courtroom Part 1 of 3

June 9, 2019

By Jan Hamilton, Chapter 13 Trustee (Topeka, KS) Introduction Preliminarily, I recognize that many of those reading this do not need to. There are many fine trial attorneys in the bankruptcy bar. Those folks could well be writing this article. By way of defending myself in advance, this little piece does not consist of a series of war stories or...

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Critical Case Comment–Sex, Lies and the Barton Doctrine

Henry E. Hildebrand, III

March 27, 2022

The issuance of a subpoena to a Chapter 7 trustee by a third party was subject to the Barton Doctrine and could not be permitted without the parties seeking bankruptcy court consent. (Clarkson) In re Eagan Avenatti, LLP, 2022 WL 630332 (Bankr. C.D. Cal. March 3, 2022) Case Summary Eagan Avenatti, LLP, was the California law firm of the somewhat...

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Is Your Law Practice Evolving to Incorporate New Technology

October 3, 2021

By Jay Fleischman, Managing Attorney at Money Wise Law (Los Angeles, CA) When the world was forced to adjust to new routines in March 2020 due to the global pandemic, I was instantly struck by how little my professional life changed. I’d worked remotely for over a decade, and my systems and procedures didn’t change. Sadly, the same couldn’t be...

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Critical Case Comment – The Plan Rules

Henry E. Hildebrand, III

December 4, 2022

Chapter 13 plan which provided a specific amount to be cured on a reverse mortgage under § 1322(b)(5) would be controlled by the specific term of the plan provision and not by the larger proof of claim filed by the creditor. (Baer) In re Edelstein, 2022 WL 16730027 (Bankr. N.D. Ill. November 7, 2022) Case Summary The Edelsteins filed Chapter...

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Ask Ms. Ps and Qs

Nancy B. Rapoport

May 14, 2023

Dear Readers: Want to know why your 1L Civ Pro course is your best friend when it comes to “undue hardship” cases? Because burdens of proof matter. (They matter in other cases, too, but I’m in love with the case of Love v. U.S. Dept. of Education (In re Love), Case No. 19-20532-C-7, United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern...

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