Safeguarding the Promise of a Fresh Start: Utilizing RESPA to Challenge Mortgage Servicing Errors Post-Discharge

For many of the consumer debtors my firm represents, the primary purpose of filing bankruptcy is to save their home or other real estate from being foreclosed upon by their mortgage servicer. We help those debtors file and comply with chapter 13 plans that propose to resolve their defaulted mortgages in a variety of ways, which might include curing pre-petition arrears or even modifying the terms of the loan. Other debtors may be current on their mortgage payments at the time of their bankruptcy filing, so they simply propose to maintain ongoing payments on their loan during the . . .

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Stephen F. Relyea

Boleman Law (Richmond, VA)

Stephen F. Relyea is a shareholder with the Boleman Law Firm, P.C., Virginia’s largest consumer bankruptcy practice. His practice focuses on consumer bankruptcy law and consumer protection litigation, with a particular emphasis on credit reporting inaccuracies and mortgage servicing issues. Steve has presented and authored articles on a variety of consumer protection and bankruptcy topics. He is a member of the National Association of Consumer Advocates, the Richmond Bar Association, and the Henrico County Bar Association. Steve received his J.D. from the Wake Forest University School of Law in North Carolina, and his B.A. from George Mason University in Virginia.

ABI Commission on Consumer Bankruptcy – Judicial Estoppel

June 30, 2019

By Henry E. Hildebrand, III, Chapter 13 Standing Trustee (Nashville, TN) Over the past twenty years, the judicial estoppel doctrine has had a significant impact on people who file bankruptcy. Judicial estoppel has grown to be a significant issue within the consumer bankruptcy system. The Commission was asked to address it. Judicial estoppel is a doctrine created to protect the...

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Is This Corporation Really Separate from Its Owners: A Checklist

Cathy Moran

October 1, 2023

In a perfectly executed world, clients who do business via an entity like a corporation or LLC would arrive with their business lives neatly separated from their personal lives. However, that’s not the world I practice in. It’s probably not yours, either. Instead, I have to sleuth out the facts, and compare them to the individual’s version. I see prospective...

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Leaders Must Take Action to Halt Foreclosure Crisis for Minorities

August 23, 2020

NCLC’s Executive Director Rich Dubois and NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson are calling on Congress and federal regulators to take action to prevent an impending foreclosure crisis in communities of color, in an opinion editorial published yesterday in The Hill. The op-ed highlights how the cumulative impact of decades of housing policy discrimination on African American homeownership, coupled with...

Critical Case Comment – Post-Petition/Pre-Conversion Equity

Henry E. Hildebrand, III

July 30, 2023

By Henry E. Hildebrand, III, Chapter 13 Standing Trustee for the Middle District of Tennessee (Nashville) Post-petition, pre-conversion equity that accrues in a debtor’s residence during the pendency of a Chapter 13 plan is property of the estate in the Chapter 7 estate following conversion. (Hastings) Goetz v. Weber (In re Goetz), 651 B.R. 292 (8th Cir. BAP, June 1,...

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From the Editor – Claims

February 9, 2020

By The Honorable William Houston Brown (Retired) Unreasonable fees for proof of claim. $4,000 fee for private mortgagee’s proof of claim and objection to proposed plan was unreasonable, and creditor was denied recovery of $7,500 attorney fee for responding to debtor’s objection to proof of claim. The Court considered Fannie Mae’s guidelines for maximum fees related to proof of claim...

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Chapter 7 Trustee Compensation for Uncovered Equity

Henry E. Hildebrand, III

July 21, 2024

When a Chapter 7 trustee discovers non-exempt, undisclosed equity in the debtor’s property, the Chapter 7 trustee is entitled to be compensated in the case based upon the hours actually performed by the trustee in a lodestar method as an administrative expense when the case is converted to Chapter 13.

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Vesting Victories: Chapter 13 Debtors’ Shielded Against Unlisted Asset Claims

Henry E. Hildebrand, III

August 25, 2024

Once a Chapter 13 case is completed and the debtor receives a discharge, the trustee cannot seek to reopen the case for the purpose of grabbing an undisclosed, prepetition asset and then converting the case to a Chapter 7 so it could be administered.

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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.

Enforcing Chapter 13 Payroll Deductions

Henry E. Hildebrand, III

May 5, 2024

Failure of an employer to comply with the terms of a payroll deduction order justifies a finding of contempt and the award of costs, attorney’s fees, and potential referral for criminal action.

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Sixth Circuit Selects Douglas L. Lutz as Bankruptcy Judge for the Eastern District of Kentucky

The Academy

April 28, 2024

The Circuit Executive for the Sixth Circuit announces that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit has selected Douglas L. Lutz as Bankruptcy Judge for the Eastern District of Kentucky to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Bankruptcy Judge Tracey N. Wise. He took the oath of office on April 19, 2024.