The Kill Switch and The Stay

Kara K. Gendron, Esquire, Mott & Gendron Law (Harrisburg, PA)

A “kill switch” is a device which can be used to disable a machine or program. They have been used for years in a myriad of safety measures, such as shutting down machinery in the event of an emergency, or to prevent the theft of a machine or data. Some car lenders and dealerships, particularly those in the subprime lending industry, are using these kill switches increasingly as a means to aid in the collection of financed automobile payments. The so-called “kill switches,” also known in the car . . .

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Critical Case Comment–Tardy Filed Stay Extension: Too Bad Too Sad

Henry E. Hildebrand, III

January 7, 2024

Court lacks authority to extend stay in a case with a one-time repeat filer within a year of the previous case especially where the matter is tardily raised.

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For You, What Is the Best Part About Retirement

The NACTT Emeritus Trustees

March 3, 2024

We were curious about what our NACTT Emeritus Trustees have been doing in retirement. How have they been spending their time since making the decision to retire and moving on from the daily challenges as a Chapter 13 Trustee. Here are their replies to our inquiry:

After Chicago v Fulton: Not Only Cars – A Survey of Fulton Rulings and a Weakened Automatic Stay

Hale Andrew Antico

December 11, 2022

Intro: What is a Fulton ruling? When Chicago v Fulton (In re Fulton), 141 S Ct. 585 (Sup Ct, 2021) was first decided by the Supreme Court, there was a consensus among bankruptcy attorneys that the erosion of the automatic stay with regard to turnover was only about cars. That is, Fulton was a narrow ruling that was only about...

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First Principles for First Meetings

October 11, 2020

By Cathy Moran, Esq. (Redwood City, CA) Once again, I sat in a 341 meeting where the trustee’s representative purported to deliver vital information to the assembled debtors. She had a captive audience of anxious listeners. She had ostensible power of life and death over their financial future. They needed to know what she had to say. But as communication,...

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Critical Case Comment – Stay Violation: Repossession No, Sale Yes

Henry E. Hildebrand, III

November 6, 2022

Although the retention of collateral validly repossessed prior to the filing of the petition does not violate the stay, the sale of that property does violate the stay and the sale is void. (Bonapfel) In re Rakestraw, 2022 WL 4085881 (Bankr. N.D. Ga. Sept. 6, 2022) Case Summary Ms. Rakestraw filed Chapter 13 on August 12, 2022, listing her ownership...

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Thoughts on the Law: Stay at the Crossroads – The Code of the Wild, Wild West?

February 23, 2020

By The Honorable John P. Gustafson, United States Bankruptcy Judge, Northern District of Ohio (Toledo) There are two legal battles going on that may end up being dysfunctionally related…. 1. What Happens If The Automatic Stay Is Not Extended In A “Second Case Pending Within One Year”? A split of authority has been percolating since 2005, involving the all too...

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Passing of the Honorable Randall L. Dunn

The Academy

June 25, 2023

Retired United States Bankruptcy Judge Randall (Randy) Lawson Dunn, District of Oregon, died at home on June 7, 2023.

From the Editor

March 17, 2019

By Wm. Houston Brown, United States Bankruptcy Judge (Retired) Confirmation - Bankruptcy court could not sua sponte object to confirmation. Distinguishing between “self-executing” provisions of the Code and those sections that were not “self-executing,” and discussing Espinosa’s impact on that distinction, District Court held that the bankruptcy court could not sua sponte object to confirmation based on the above- median...

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The “Snapshot” Rule – Part 1: The Circuits Begin to Line Up

March 14, 2021

By Lawrence R. Ahern III, Brown & Ahern (Nashville, TN) Exemptions are determined at the time the debtor files for bankruptcy. … This maxim is called the "snapshot" rule because the debtor's financial situation is frozen in time, as if someone had taken a snapshot of it.1 Recent Caselaw The First and Ninth Circuits On March 1, the Ninth Circuit...

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Drummond Receives Professionalism Award

August 18, 2019

By Regina Logsdon, Executive Director, The Academy d/b/a ConsiderChapter13.org Robert (“Bob”) G. Drummond has been the only standing Chapter 13 Trustee for the District of Montana since 1992. Originally from Montana, Mr. Drummond graduated from Montana State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Agricultural Business, and received a Juris Doctorate in Law with Honors from the University of...