Section in 109(g)(2) of the Bankruptcy Code bars a debtor from filing a new case for 180 days if the Debtor voluntarily dismisses a case “following” a motion for relief. Not surprisingly, courts are split on how they interpret the word “following” as used in § 109(g)(2). After all, the word “following” is not limited to one definition, or even...

Tracy Updike of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, has been named as a Chapter 13 Standing Trustee for the Northern District of Indiana.  Updike will be filling the trusteeship vacated by Debra Miller when she accepted a trusteeship in the Eastern District of Tennessee.

By Lawrence R. Ahern III, Brown & Ahern (Nashville, TN) Introduction – The Taggart Ruling Last year, the Ninth Circuit in In re Taggart1 ruled that an act in violation of the discharge injunction did not empower a court to find a creditor in contempt, if the creditor believed in good faith that the discharge injunction did not apply—even if...

(Reprinted with permission.  Bankruptcy Court Liaison Committee Newsletter – Spring 2023 (Northern District of Illinois)) During her tenure as a bankruptcy judge for nearly 24 years, Judge Carol A. Doyle has presided over countless chapter 7, 11, and 13 cases, leaving a lasting impact on the Chicago bankruptcy landscape.  She has been a dedicated and respected member of the bankruptcy...

IRS issued the 2019 optional standard mileage rates used to calculate the deductible costs of operating an automobile for business, charitable, medical or moving purposes. Beginning on Jan. 1, 2019, the standard mileage rates for the use of a car (also vans, pickups or panel trucks) will be: 58 cents per mile driven for business use, up 3.5 cents from...

It started as a means test question: could emergency medical expenses be deemed non consumer debt. It ended up as a step back to get the bigger picture. Well seasoned bankruptcy counsel brought the fact pattern to a list serve of colleagues. The prospective debtors’ income in a small consulting corporation is declining, his health crisis raises not only income...

By The Honorable John P. Gustafson Can a creditor refuse to do business with a debtor, or is such refusal a violation of the automatic stay? The case of Brown v. Penn State Employees Credit Union, 851 F.2d 81 (3rd Cir. 1988) held that a credit union’s refusal to continue to do business with a debtor who caused a loss...

By The Honorable William Houston Brown (Retired) Section 524(i) applies only to long-term debts not discharged through plan. Whether § 524(i) applied to short-term secured debts that are paid in full and discharged through a Chapter 13 plan was a matter of first impression, with the Court finding no other court had yet decided precise question. Factors used in Supreme...

The bankruptcy rights of an ex-member of anunmarrieddomestic couple, now separated are not the same as those of an ex-spouse; the language of a domestic arbitration can clearly dictate if property is vested in the ex or is a simple money judgment. (Hamilton) In re Harshaw, 2022 WL 533701 (7th Cir. February 23, 2022) Case Summary Donald Harshaw was married...