Max’s Knowledge Nugget

Question: May a servicer charge to generate a payoff quote?

Answer: 1026.36(c)(3) Payoff statements. In connection with a consumer credit transaction secured by a consumer's dwelling, a creditor, assignee or servicer, as applicable, must provide an accurate statement of the total outstanding balance that would be required to pay the consumer's obligation in full as of a specified date. The statement shall be sent within a reasonable time, but in no case more than seven business days, after receiving a written request from the consumer or any person acting on behalf of . . .

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O. Max Gardner, III

Attorney

O. Max Gardner, III, currently limits his practice to consumer bankruptcy cases and all consumer claims arising with respect to those cases. He has been widely recognized as the leading consumer attorney in America on “predatory mortgage servicing” in Chapter 13 bankruptcy cases. The National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Lawyers (NACBA) recognized Mr. Gardner as a Champion of Consumer Rights in 2003; named him the Outstanding Consumer Lawyer of 2004 and awarded him The Distinguished Service Award in April of 2013. Gardner has been elected five times as a member of the “Legal Elite” of North Carolina lawyers by his fellow attorneys in a state-wide poll conducted by Business North Carolina magazine. He is the only consumer lawyer who has been named as a North Carolina “Super Lawyer” in the field of consumer law for five consecutive years by Law & Politics and the Charlotte Magazine. Mr. Gardner was named a Top Lawyer in N.C. in 2013 by The Legal Network. Gardner has received the AV Preeminent Award from Martindale Hubbell for the past 22 years, the highest ethical rating for lawyers. He is a long-time member of NACBA and the National Association of Consumer Advocates (NACA) and a frequent national speaker on bankruptcy law, mortgage servicer abuses, and consumer representation. Gardner has also trained thousands of consumer lawyers and legal professionals since 2005, and is the Chief Executive Officer of Max Gardner’s Consumer Defense Academy (pka Max Gardner’s Bankruptcy Boot Camps). Gardner is also “Of Counsel” to the Dallas, Texas firm of Kellett and Bartholow. The firm focuses on major cases against mortgage servicers in consumer bankruptcy cases and on discharge violations by original creditors and the debt-buying industry.

Taxes, Offset, and Mutuality

October 13, 2019

By Cathy Moran, Esq. (Redwood City, CA) Bankruptcy lawyers are accustomed to evaluating the dischargeability of taxes when deciding when to file a client's bankruptcy case. But as we approach the end of the tax year, a client’s current year tax situation becomes another moving part in the “when do we file” analysis. In the simplest situation, the client owes...

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Consumer Foreclosure Procedures

October 23, 2020

From the Editor – Lien Issues

September 15, 2019

By The Honorable William Houston Brown (Retired) Legal rate of interest applies after foreclosure judgment. Applying New Jersey common law on merger, the mortgage was merged into a final order of judgment of foreclosure; therefore, the mortgage was no longer the basis for determining post- judgment interest. The debtor obtained a sale from which the mortgage creditor would be paid,...

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Critical Case Comment – What Does a Tax Return Really Tell Us??

Henry E. Hildebrand, III

May 7, 2023

Chapter 13 debtor has no obligation to voluntarily disclose changes in income or the acquisition of post-petition assets absent a request from a party in interest for such information. (Kendig) In re Poe, 2022 WL 3639415, (Bankr. N.D. Ohio August 22, 2022) Case Summary Mr. Poe filed a Chapter 13 petition in March of 2019. At the time of filing,...

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Critical Case Comment – “Extraordinary” Key to Set Aside Dismissal

Henry E. Hildebrand, III

November 13, 2022

Chapter 13 debtor must demonstrate extraordinary circumstances to justify the extraordinary relief of setting aside or “reconsidering” an order dismissing a Chapter 13 case. (Cary) In re Canas, 2022 WL 10707000 (Bankr. D. Ma. October 18, 2022) Case Summary Nelson and Annemarie Canas filed a Chapter 13 petition in August of 2019. The debtors immediately fell behind on their proposed...

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A Look at Setoff and Recoupment as Fourth Circuit Permits IRS to Grab Exempt Overpayment Refund

July 19, 2020

By Lawrence R. Ahern III, Brown & Ahern (Nashville, TN) Introduction In Copley v. United States,1 Chapter 7 debtors attempted to exempt under Virginia law their right to a prepetition federal income tax overpayment refund. After the bankruptcy filing, the IRS set off the overpaid funds to satisfy the debtors' tax liabilities under 26 U.S.C. § 6402. In a matter...

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Today’s AI Stands to Create Work for Lawyers

Cathy Moran

June 25, 2023

Most lawyers were torn between wincing and laughing when a lawyer filed a brief packed with case authority created out of whole cloth by an AI bot. Meanwhile, a segment of the bar is fretting that we will be replaced by powerful artificial intelligence. My concern, based on a couple of casual forays into AI, is not that I will...

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Critical Case Comment

June 13, 2021

By Henry E. Hildebrand, III, Chapter 13 Standing Trustee for the Middle District of TN (Nashville) In awarding attorneys’ fees in a Chapter 13 case, a court is not limited to establishing the fee by use of the lodestar method; fees for services rendered should be based on the reasonable and customary fees charged by other attorneys performing the same...

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What About Conditional Confirmation?

Henry E. Hildebrand, III

April 14, 2024

It is appropriate to convert a Chapter 13 case to one under Chapter 7 when the debtor makes no attempt to cure defaults that arise in the case or take any steps to propose a feasible plan.

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There is NO MORE Form 1040A or 1040EZ – Six New Schedules Some Taxpayers Will File with New Form 1040

March 17, 2019

The 2018 Form 1040 replaces prior year Forms 1040, 1040A and 1040EZ. The 2018 Form 1040 uses a building-block approach that allows individuals to file only the schedules they need with their federal tax return. Many people will only need to file Form 1040 and no schedules. Electronic filers may not notice these changes as the tax software will automatically...