Special Counsel 101: Getting Paid and Protecting Clients

The Bankruptcy Code imposes many duties on attorneys. One such duty requires attorneys to disclose compensation for services in contemplation of, or in connection with a bankruptcy case.1 Debtor attorneys know to disclose their fees at the start of the case. Attorneys that forget to timely file a compensation disclosure typically receive a gentle reminder to do so. However, in In re Smith,2 a Georgia personal injury attorney received a not so gentle reminder of this duty when his fees were disgorged.

In November of . . .

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Nicole P. Novak

Sirody & Ruben Bankruptcy Center, LLC

Nicole P. Novak is an attorney with the Sirody & Ruben Bankruptcy Center in Baltimore, Maryland. She is licensed to practice law in Maryland (2018) and Ohio (2006). Ms. Novak has worked for debtors, creditors, and trustees. Her current practice focuses on debtor representation with an emphasis on Chapter 13. Ms. Novak graduated magna cum laude from Cleveland State University College of Law. When practicing in Ohio, Ms. Novak actively volunteered on committees for the Bankruptcy Section of the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association and served as co-chair for The William J. O’Neill Great Lakes Regional Bankruptcy Institute. She serves as contributor to the Maryland section of the Bankruptcy Exemption Manual published by Thomson West and is a frequent author for the NACTT Academy. Ms. Novak is a current member of the National Association of Chapter 13 Trustees, the NACTT Academy, the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys, the Maryland State Bar Association and Consumer Bankruptcy Section, and the Maryland Bankruptcy Bar Association.

SCOTUS Rules Insurer Is Party in Interest, Reversing Fourth Circuit

The Academy

June 9, 2024

Reversing the Fourth Circuit, SCOTUS rules insurer is Party in Interest. Although an 11 there are possible implications in the context of Chapter 13.

The Continuing Saga of Chapter 13 Trustee Fees in Pre-Confirmation Dismissals

Thomas D. DeCarlo

June 25, 2023

Courts continue to wrestle with the issue of trustee fees in pre-confirmation dismissals. The Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Illinois has now weighed in in In re Johnson, 2023 WL 3406597 (Bankr. N.D. Il. 2023). The facts are pretty typical. Debtor filed for Chapter 13. After 8 months and 8 confirmation hearings, the Court granted Trustee’s request for...

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Chapter 13 Trustee Duties, Powers, And Limitations – Part 4

October 25, 2020

By James J. Robinson, Chief United States Bankruptcy Judge, Northern District of Alabama Exactly whose interests does the trustee represent, and when should the trustee object or move to modify? Hope v. Acorn Financial, Inc., 731 F.3d 1189 (11th Cir. 2013). The Eleventh Circuit held that a chapter 13 trustee who was aware of defects with a secured claim before...

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Changes to Form 410A Effective December 1st

Debra L. Miller

November 12, 2023

Just a few more weeks ‘til principal and interest gotta be listed separately on a POC.

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Critical Case Comment – Service Counts

Henry E. Hildebrand, III

October 2, 2022

Debtor’s filing application to extend or impose the automatic stay must comply with the service requirements of Rule 7004 as to all creditors or the stay cannot be imposed or extended. (Johnson) In re Hardy, 2022 WL 1196963 (C.D. Cal. April 21, 2022) Case Summary Kimberly Hardy had a long history in consumer bankruptcy. She had filed eight cases, including...

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Diaz: Is it Really a Tax Refund?

December 20, 2020

By Cathy Moran, Esq., Moran Law Group (Redwood City, CA) On its face, Diaz (Diaz v. Viegelahn, No. 19-50982 (5th Cir. Aug. 26, 2020)) is a pretty straightforward decision that struck down a local form plan as violating a below-median income debtor's right to use her tax refund to finance necessary expenses for maintenance and support. On a deeper level,...

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Retirement of the Honorable John E. Hoffman, Jr., Chief Judge

The Academy

February 18, 2024

Retirement of the Honorable John E. Hoffman, Jr., Chief Judge

Best Practices in Bankruptcy: Power of Attorney or Guardian

Michael B. Joseph

June 12, 2022

It is always troublesome when an individual bankruptcy petition is filed by power of attorney. It may be less of a concern in a chapter 7 case when the debtor is in the military, incarcerated, or temporarily disabled. More worrisome is the incompetent or advanced aged debtor who has been placed in a chapter 13 by someone holding a power...

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Memories of a Chapter XIII Trustee

November 10, 2019

By C. Kenneth Still, Standing Chapter 13 Trustee for the Eastern District of Tennessee, Retired (1968-2015) January 2, 1968, my first day as Trustee for the Eastern District of Tennessee, Southern and Winchester Divisions. I really didn’t know what I was doing or why I wanted the appointment. But there I was, duly appointed and ready to go but where...

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Critical Case Comment

February 3, 2019

By Henry E. Hildebrand, III, Chapter 13 Trustee for the Middle District of TN (Nashville) Where a Chapter 13 plan provides that a mortgage payment will be paid “outside the plan,” the plan does not “provide for” the mortgage payment and, accordingly, the discharge under § 1328 is not applicable to the mortgage obligation. Dukes v. Suncoast Credit Union, 909...

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