Sanctions in South Carolina

In a recent case out of South Carolina, rather than a debtor seeking sanctions against a creditor, it was the creditor’s counsel who sought sanctions against counsel for a Chapter 13 debtor in an adversary proceeding.

Ruling on a Motion for Sanctions in James Defoe v. Winyah Surgical Specialists, P.A. doing business as Winyah Surgical Specialists (In re Defoe), 632 B.R. 44 (Bank. D.S.C. 2021), Judge Waites held that two attorneys for the Debtor violated the automatic stay by failing to adequately investigate allegations prior to filing a complaint to . . .

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Ashley Baxter Curry

Staff Attorney for Joseph A. Bledsoe, III, Chapter 13 Standing Trustee for the Eastern District of North Carolina (New Bern, Fayetteville, Greenville & Wilmington Divisions)

Ashley Baxter Curry is a native of New Bern, North Carolina. She received her Bachelor of Arts from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in Economics and Political Science in 2003. She then worked for a statewide political campaign, thereafter serving as a Senate Sergeant-at-Arms in the North Carolina General Assembly. In 2009, she received her J.D. from the Norman Adrian Wiggins School of Law at Campbell University, and began her legal career in bankruptcy with Stubbs & Perdue, P.A. In October, 2014, she joined Joseph A. Bledsoe, III (“Jody”), a Standing Chapter 13 Trustee for the Eastern District of North Carolina, as his Staff Attorney. She has spoken at several seminars for the Eastern Bankruptcy Institute, held in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and currently serves on the Consumer Committee for the Bankruptcy Section of the North Carolina Bar Association. She and her husband, Gary, reside in New Bern with their almost-6-year-old daughter, Evie.

Meet Another New Trustee

January 20, 2019

On October 1, 2018, Dynele L. Schinker-Kuharich was appointed as a Chapter 13 Standing Trustee for the Northern District of Ohio. She maintains her offices in Canton. Ms. Schinker-Kuharich replaces retiring Toby Rosen who served in this position for 30 years. Prior to her appointment as a Standing Chapter 13, Schinker-Kuharich was on the panel of Chapter 7 Trustees for...

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

November 15, 2020

Lawrence R. Ahern, III Brown & Ahern Nashville, Tennessee Appendix B Adjustments to Means Test Amounts (Cases Filed On or After November 1, 2020) The tables on the following page provide median family income adjustments reproduced in a format designed for ease of use in completing Bankruptcy Forms 122A-1 and 122C-1. STATE 1 EARNER FAMILY SIZE 2 PEOPLE 3 PEOPLE...

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Post-Petition Causes of Action, Inheritances and Windfalls Are Property of the Estate and Must Be Reported to the Trustee – Part 5 of 5

August 11, 2019

By John P. Gustafson, United States Bankruptcy Judge, Northern District of Ohio, Western Division Click here for Part 1 Click here for Part 2

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While Chapter 7 Filings Continue to Decline, Chapter 13 Filings are Trending Slightly Upward

Kevin R. Anderson

April 24, 2022

Recent headlines noted that March 2022 saw a 33.5% increase in bankruptcy filings over February. This could suggest the coming swell in bankruptcy cases anticipated since the start of the COVID pandemic. However, bankruptcy professionals recognize that consumer filings always spike in March (see chart). This phenomenon is usually attributed to the tendency to avoid filing in January and February...

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Is a CARES Act Stimulus Payment Exempt?

April 26, 2020

By Lawrence R. Ahern, III, Brown & Ahern (Nashville, TN) Introduction Since April 1, 2020, many unemployed people in the United States have begun to receive "a recovery benefit" in the amount of $1,200.1 These payments, under the CARES Act2 stimulus program, were intended to provide some relief to suffering Americans. However, the most financially distressed Americans, perhaps with existing,...

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In re Kaiser Gypsum Co., Inc., 60 F.4th 73 (4th Cir. 2023), pet. for cert. granted, Truck Ins. Exchange v. Kaiser Gypsum Co., Inc., 2023 WL 6780372, (U.S., October 13, 2023).

The Honorable William Houston Brown

October 29, 2023

The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals held that a plan proposal to create an asbestos trust through Chapter 11 bankruptcy was “insurance neutral,” and the debtor’s insurer was not a party in interest under Code § 1109(b), which contains a noncomprehensive list of parties in interest to a Chapter 11 case. Whether the insurer was a party in interest determined whether...

Chapter 13 Trustees Prosecutorial Discretion

The NACTT Emeritus Trustees

July 30, 2023

While administering cases, Chapter 13 Trustees should carefully exercise their prosecutorial discretion. Trustee discretion is a powerful tool. It should be used wisely and consistently. Trustees should have office policies in place fort heir attorneys and office staff. What matters involve discretion? The UST Chapter 13 Handbook describes some: We asked the NACTT Emeritus Trustees for their thoughts and examples...

Critical Case Comment – Watch for Opportunities to Bifurcate Home Mortgage Claims

Henry E. Hildebrand, III

August 21, 2022

Where a Chapter 13 plan treats a claim as secured only by the debtor’s mobile home under § 506 and not real property, the effect of a notice of fees, costs and charges is irrelevant. (Coleman) In re White, 2022 WL 2826531 (Bankr. S.D. Ga. July 19, 2022) Case Summary Shalonda White filed a Chapter 13 petition in July of...

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In re Lazaro: Non-Monetary Default and § 1322(b)(5)

James M. Davis

June 4, 2023

Can a debtor provide for a non-debtor’s loan under § 1322(b)(5) even if the plan does not address a non-monetary default on the claim? In re Lazaro suggests the answer may be “yes.” In that case, the Court held not only that the Debtor’s plan could provide to cure a monetary default on a loan taken out by the Debtor’s...

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From the Editor – Discharge

June 7, 2020

By The Honorable William Houston Brown (Retired) Hardship discharge denied. Section 1328(b)’s requirements for hardship discharge are conjunctive and failure to satisfy any one of three conditions results in denial. Reviewing judicial decisions on requirements of the statute, the court considered “the extent of a debtor’s accountability and degree of control; the substantiality and foreseeability of the changed circumstances at...

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