When is Enough, Enough? Pro Se Dismissed with Extended Prejudice (and Violates Bar)

When do the facts justify a long bar to refiling over the 180-day period in § 109(g)? Sometimes it is Justice Stewart’s infamous words from Jacobellis v. Ohio, 378 U.S. 187 (1964)–“I know it when I see it.” Even so, a Trustee must provide evidence and authority to the Court for a long prejudice period.

In In re Parson 2021 WL 4483124 (September 20, 2021), Chapter 13 Standing Trustee Thomas D. Powers, Northern District of Texas (Dallas Division) did just that. Judge Michelle V. Larson’s opinion provides a . . .

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Jeff LeForce

Staff Attorney to Carey D. Ebert, Standing Chapter 13 Trustee for the Eastern District of Texas (Sherman and Texarkana Divisions)

Jeff LeForce is the Staff Attorney to Carey D. Ebert, Standing Chapter 13 Trustee, Eastern District of Texas in Plano. Before becoming a Staff Attorney, Jeff was a solo practitioner and a partner in an AmLaw 100 law firm with a practice focused on commercial bankruptcy, corporate workouts and restructuring, and complex business transactions. He also clerked for the Hon. Massie Tillman, United States Bankruptcy Court, Northern District of Texas (Fort Worth Division).Jeff received a B.B.A. in Finance and Economics from Baylor University in 1991 and a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center in 1994. He is admitted to the State Bar of Texas, all Federal District Courts in Texas, and the Fourth and Fifth Circuits of the U.S. Courts of Appeal.

Ask Ms. Ps & Qs

Nancy B. Rapoport

November 26, 2023

“ . . . how can I not write about an opinion that begins, “This is a case of sue first and ask questions later”? We all know that Judge Christopher Klein has a way with words and a precise and methodical way of approaching statutory analysis.”

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Topp – Upending Till??

Jody Bledsoe

August 27, 2023

The Eighth Circuit recently released its Topp opinion. At issue was the appropriate starting point for determining the discount rate to be used when paying secured claims under a chapter 12 plan. The debtor, who had gained confirmation of his plan before the bankruptcy court, proposed paying claims to Farm Credit Services over 20 years at a rate based on the...

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Are Monthly Newsletters to Clients Beneficial? Heck Yeah!

November 14, 2021

By Mary Beth Ausbrooks, Rothschild & Ausbrooks PLLC (Nashville, TN) With the prolonged decline in case filings, I found that sending a mass emailed newsletter has been very beneficial. In order to send a mass email to a group of people, it was necessary to find software that would send the emails out in such a fashion that the email...

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Win Now, Wreck Later: A Tale of Bankruptcy and Mortgage Servicing

August 18, 2019

By Cathy Moran, Esq. (Redwood City, CA) My Google Alert popped up a lovely win for a Chapter 13 homeowner, but all I could see was the train wreck that lies ahead. The bankruptcy court ruled that the confirmed (and completed) plan trumped a late-filed mortgage proof of claim. Payment of the amount provided in the plan cured the prepetition...

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From the Editor – Discharge

March 14, 2021

By The Honorable William Houston Brown (Retired) Failure to pay postpetition fees under Rule 3002.1 did not prevent discharge. The debtor had completed payments to the trustee and postpetition mortgage payments to the creditor, but she had not paid $1,370 in postpetition fees that had been asserted by the mortgage creditor and noticed to the debtor under Rule 3002.1. That...

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Inclusion in Bankruptcy Doesn’t Equal “Discharged”

Cathy Moran

February 11, 2024

Communications Practice Pointer! Convincing clients that all of their debts must be included in bankruptcy is one of the hardest parts of being a bankruptcy lawyer. Communicating clearly with our clients, in their language, is a key part of our job. The struggle often seems Herculean.

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May the Chapter 13 Trustee Keep Fees Paid Before Dismissal? – Part 2

Lawrence R. Ahern, III

April 24, 2022

Larry Ahern this week concludes a two-part examination of whether a Chapter 13 trustee may retain fees paid without a confirmed plan before dismissal. Part 1 analyzed McCallister v. Evans, a recent case accepting the trustee's position considering a division in the caselaw and analyzing relevant statutes. In this Part 2, he turns to the debtor's case, which has substantial...

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From the Editor

April 7, 2019

By Wm. Houston Brown, United States Bankruptcy Judge (Retired) Attorney Fees - Chapter 13 debtor’s attorney not entitled to recovery under § 330 of fees that were incurred in defending prior attorneys’ sanctions motion. The debtor’s prior attorneys had sought to impose sanctions on the current attorney, and that attorney successfully defended against sanctions. However, the fees incurred by the...

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Critical Case Comment – Swackhammer Smackdown

Henry E. Hildebrand, III

July 2, 2023

In order to modify a plan confirmed under Chapter 12 pursuant to § 1229, the movant must demonstrate that there was a substantial change in circumstances that is sufficient to justify modification of a plan. (Norton) Farm Credit Services of America PCA v. Swackhammer, 2023 WL 3591920 (8th Cir. BAP May 23, 2023) Case Summary The Swackhammers were farmers who...

From the Editor – Debtor’s Attorney

May 17, 2020

By The Honorable William Houston Brown (Retired) Sanctions for including foreclosed property in petition. On creditor’s motion, sanctions for attorney fees and costs were awarded against Chapter 13 debtor’s attorney for scheduling as property of estate real property that had been foreclosed and on which debtor’s redemption period had expired. Under Rule 9011(c), a safe harbor letter from the creditor...

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