Chapter 13 Trustee Duties, Powers, And Limitations

Chapter 13 Trustee Duties, Powers, And Limitations – Part 3

By James J. Robinson, Chief United States Bankruptcy Judge, Northern District of Alabama

Can the trustee challenge the debtor’s attorney’s fee?

In re Rodriguez Perez, 2018 WL 3655656 (Bankr. D.P.R. 2018). In this case, the chapter 13 trustee asked the bankruptcy court to assess the contract between the debtor and counsel under § 526-528. The trustee alleged that the contract did not clearly explain the attorney’s services or fees and was open-ended with no cap on the attorney fees. The debtor’s counsel contested the request . . .

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Rules, Means-Test Amounts and Miscellaneous Fees: Changes Wrap Up 2020

November 15, 2020

By Lawrence R. Ahern, III, Brown & Ahern (Nashville, TN) Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure Amendments Effective December 1, 2020 The Judicial Conference proposed, and Congress has not changed, the amendments to the following Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure: Rules 2002, 2004, 8012, 8013, 8015 and 8021. Absent Congressional action, which is not expected, they will be effective at the...

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When the Trustee Gets Subpoenaed

August 15, 2021

By Karin N. Amyx, Staff Attorney to Chapter 13 Trustee Carl Davis (Wichita, KS) Trustees possess a variety of sensitive information that could be useful to litigants in contract disputes, divorce and child custody matters, insurance litigation or criminal prosecution. Additionally, debtors, creditors or third parties may be interested in the trustee’s internal operating procedures or legal position on disputes...

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How to Pay for Bankruptcy When You’re Flat Broke

June 14, 2020

By Cathy Moran, Esq. (Redwood City, CA) One of the cosmic ironies of our legal system is that it costs money to file bankruptcy. Bankruptcy gets you out of debt only if you have the money to file. The costs of bankruptcy include the filing fee collected by the court; the required credit counseling; and, if you’re smart, an experienced...

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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CFPB Proposes Changes to HMDA Rules

May 5, 2019

The CFPB (Bureau), May 2, 2019, issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), which proposes to raise the coverage thresholds for collecting and reporting data about closed-end mortgage loans and open-end lines of credit under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) rules. The NPRM would provide relief to smaller lenders from HMDA’s data reporting requirements, and would clarify partial exemptions...

Report of the American Bankruptcy Institute’s Commission on Consumer Bankruptcy

April 28, 2019

By William Houston Brown, Co-chair of the Commission and Adviser to the Academy for Consumer Bankruptcy Education The Report of the Commission on Consumer Bankruptcy for improvements to the consumer bankruptcy system was made public on April 11, 2019. The full report is available free by download from the American Bankruptcy Institute’s website, www.abi.org. The following Foreward to the Report...

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Fastest Way to Check Tax Refund Is ‘Where’s My Refund?’ Tool at IRS.Gov

February 17, 2019

Offering time-saving alternatives to a telephone call, the IRS reminds taxpayers they can get fast answers to their refund questions by using the “Where’s My Refund?” tool available on IRS.gov and through the IRS2Go app. The IRS issues nine out of 10 refunds in less than 21 days, and the fastest way to get a refund is to use IRS...

Fraud Imputed to Partner – Bartenwerfer v. Buckley

The Honorable William Houston Brown

February 26, 2023

On February 22, the Supreme Court issued its opinion in Bartenwerfer v. Buckley, 598 U.S. _____, 2023 WL 2023 WL 2144417 (Feb. 22, 2023), affirming the Ninth Circuit’s decision and resolving “confusion in the lower courts on the meaning of § 523(a)(2)(A).”1 Two Justices joined the opinion with the understanding that the Court was only addressing fraud in the context...

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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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Appointment of Deb Miller

The Academy

April 2, 2023

It is our distinct honor to inform you that Acting U.S. Trustee Paul Randolph has selected Debra L. Miller as the next Standing Chapter 13 Trustee for the Eastern District of Tennessee (Northern and Northeastern Divisions). Ms. Miller has served as a Standing Chapter 13 Trustee in the Northern District of Indiana since 2000. Her wealth of experience will allow...