When Things Don’t Go According to the Plan

The Shifting Sands of Res Judicata in the Fourth Circuit

By Mark C. Leffler and Emily Connor Kennedy
click here for part 2
Recently, the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals heard a case in which an unsecured creditor argued that a debtor could not include the following (seemingly innocuous) language in his Chapter 13 plan: “Confirmation of this plan does not bar a party in interest from objecting to . . .

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I’ve Looked at Clouds from Both Sides Now

April 25, 2021

(Song by Joni Mitchell – first recorded by Judy Collins in 1968) By Merideth Akers, CPA, PHR, Comptroller for Bradford W. Caraway (Birmingham, AL) In the simplest terms, bankruptcy has two sides. The debtor is on one side, and the creditor is on the opposite side. Although there are opposite sides in bankruptcy, the system is designed to be non-adversarial....

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Critical Case Comment – What Does a Tax Return Really Tell Us??

Henry E. Hildebrand, III

May 7, 2023

Chapter 13 debtor has no obligation to voluntarily disclose changes in income or the acquisition of post-petition assets absent a request from a party in interest for such information. (Kendig) In re Poe, 2022 WL 3639415, (Bankr. N.D. Ohio August 22, 2022) Case Summary Mr. Poe filed a Chapter 13 petition in March of 2019. At the time of filing,...

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The Hanging Paragraph – Hanging on Every Word Part 1 of 4

June 14, 2020

By Anthony J. Gomez, CPA, former extern to the Honorable John P. Gustafson, Northern District of Ohio at Toledo I. Cramdown Pursuant to 11 U.S.C. §1325(a)(5)(B) Section 1325(a) sets forth the requirements for a court to confirm a chapter 13 bankruptcy plan. In respect to each secured claim provided for in a plan, 11 U.S.C. §1325(a)(5) provides the following three...

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Why Listening Is a Bankruptcy Lawyer’s Superpower

Cathy Moran

February 18, 2024

The initial meeting with a prospective bankruptcy client is the most important work I do as a bankruptcy lawyer. It’s also the hardest.

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Chapter 13 Practice in the Time of COVID-19

March 22, 2020

By Alex Schmidt, Law Clerk to the Honorable John P. Gustafson., Northern District of Ohio at Toledo As the United States begins the process of coming to grips with COVID-19, those who work in the consumer bankruptcy world are going to have to roll with the punches thrown by a global pandemic that is already creating financial chaos throughout the...

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How CRAs Know to Report an Account as Discharged …and How They Sometimes Don’t

Mark C. Leffler

June 30, 2024

“As they begin applying for new credit, many may find that debts included in their bankruptcy are not being properly reported as discharged. . . . The CRA may correct the reporting as a result of this thorough dispute, making you look like a genius to your client and hopefully generating some future referrals to your law firm.”

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Here’s What Taxpayers Should Know About Making 2019 Estimated Tax Payments

August 18, 2019

Small business owners, self-employed people, and some wage earners should look into whether they should make estimated tax payments this year. Doing so can help them avoid an unexpected tax bill and possibly a penalty when they file next year. Everyone must pay tax as they earn income. Taxpayers who earn a paycheck usually have their employer withhold tax from...

Critical Case Comment

July 7, 2019

By Henry E. Hildebrand, III, Chapter 13 Standing Trustee for the Middle District of Tennessee (Nashville) Where a confirmation order of a debtor’s Chapter 12 plan specifically provided for payments to a creditor and the Chapter 12 trustee had supported confirmation of the plan, the trustee would be precluded from seeking to disallow a late-filed claim. Following the plan, the...

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From the Editor

September 27, 2020

By The Honorable William Houston Brown (Retired) Debtors’ attorney fees not authorized under Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA). Although the Chapter 13 debtors had prevailed before the Ninth Circuit, In re Sisk, 962 F.3d 1133 (9th Cir. 2020), their application for attorney fees as prevailing parties under EAJA was denied. That Act did not authorize awards of attorney fees...

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Consumer Bankruptcy Reform Act of 2020 Introduced

December 13, 2020

By Hon. William Houston Brown, Adviser, Academy for Consumer Bankruptcy Education and Margaret A. Burks, Chapter 13 Trustee (Cincinnati, OH) Senator Elizabeth Warren (D. Mass.) and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D. N.Y.) have introduced the Consumer Bankruptcy Reform Act of 2020. Introduction of the Act is only the beginning of the legislative process, and no action toward enactment...