Top Ten Supreme Court Cases on Bankruptcy of All Time (And Four Honorable Mentions)

By M. Jonathan Hayes
click here for part II
I did a program recently with bankruptcy Judge Alan Ahart (Ret) and longtime bankruptcy practitioner David Gould which we called the Top Ten Supreme Court Bankruptcy cases of all time. We agreed early that we would focus on cases that dealt with the foundations of bankruptcy, the fundamental structure of the federal bankruptcy system. We agreed on the following ten cases and four honorable mentions. The cases are discussed below in chronological order.

There are three basic themes that run through . . .

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Bozeman Revisited: The Anti-Modification Clause Chisels Away at Espinosa

Herbert L. Beskin

July 16, 2023

Remember Mort. Corp. of the South v. Bozeman (In re Bozeman), 57 F. 4th 895 (11th Cir. 2023)? That was the recent 11th Circuit case previously reviewed by Lawrence Ahern on this site. It was the Chapter 13 version of The Perfect Storm. The Debtor proposed to pay the principal balance of her mortgage ($17 . . . It looks...

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Recent Study of New Student Loan Discharge Process Shows Increase in Loan Litigation in Bankruptcy

Scott Waterman

February 2, 2025

While you may want to read all 44 pages, Trustee Waterman has done an excellent job of breaking it down.

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Fixing Broke: Consumer Bankruptcy Diary

The Academy

May 4, 2025

Our SIXTH podcast episode just dropped!

Thinking About the “Two-Dismissal Rule”

M. Jonathan Hayes

November 3, 2024

“I had a profound thought - what in the world is the two-dismissal rule? I guess the 9th Circuit wondered the same thing because it affirmed . . . bankruptcy court’s dismissal of a debtor’s declaratory relief complaint against a bank on the basis that the debtor had previously filed three other cases and then voluntarily dismissed them.”

Treatment of Luxury Assets Under Chapter 13

Michael B. Joseph

July 13, 2025

“It is once again time to reexamine debtors who elect to retain and pay for luxury items in Chapter 13.”

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List It or Lose It: When Actual Knowledge Isn’t Enough

June 20, 2021

By Cathy Moran, Esq., (Redwood City, CA) To actually effect abandonment of unadministered assets in a bankruptcy case, the asset in question must appear on Schedule A/B. That’s the hard teaching of Stevens v. Whitmore from the 9th Circuit BAP. A passing reference to an asset in the SOFA isn’t sufficient. Neither was the fact the trustee explicitly knew about...

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Critical Case Comment

March 14, 2021

By Henry E. Hildebrand, III, Chapter 13 Standing Trustee for the Middle District of Tennessee (Nashville) Despite a split in authority, funds held by a Chapter 13 Trustee at the time a case is dismissed prior to confirmation, are subject to the trustee’s commission before any balance is returned to the debtor. In re Doll, 17-20831-MER (Bankr. D.Colo. Feb. 19,...

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Chapter 13 And Death: Discharge or Dismissal?

Michael B. Joseph

December 15, 2024

“It is said that nothing is certain except for death and taxes, but today the Court is asked a question about death and discharge, for which there is some uncertainty in the Chapter 13 context.”

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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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Three-Way Split: Dividing the Cost of Neglected Notices

Henry E. Hildebrand, III

May 31, 2026

The obligations imposed on a mortgage servicer in accordance with Rule 3002.1 applies to a “paid in full” mortgage; failure of the creditor, debtor, and trustee to take any action or follow-up to an ignored notice of mortgage payment change justifies the imposition of sanctions against all three.

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Top Ten Supreme Court Cases on Bankruptcy of All Time (And Four Honorable Mentions)

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Related Articles

Bozeman Revisited: The Anti-Modification Clause Chisels Away at Espinosa

Recent Study of New Student Loan Discharge Process Shows Increase in Loan Litigation in Bankruptcy

Fixing Broke: Consumer Bankruptcy Diary

Thinking About the “Two-Dismissal Rule”

Treatment of Luxury Assets Under Chapter 13

List It or Lose It: When Actual Knowledge Isn’t Enough

Critical Case Comment

Chapter 13 And Death: Discharge or Dismissal?

From the Editor – Confirmation

Three-Way Split: Dividing the Cost of Neglected Notices

Academy

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