Bozeman Revisited: The Anti-Modification Clause Chisels Away at Espinosa

Remember Mort. Corp. of the South v. Bozeman (In re Bozeman), 57 F. 4th 895 (11th Cir. 2023)? That was the recent 11th Circuit case previously reviewed by Lawrence Ahern on this site. It was the Chapter 13 version of The Perfect Storm. The Debtor proposed to pay the principal balance of her mortgage ($17 . . .

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Herbert L. Beskin

Chapter 13 Standing Trustee for the Western District of Virginia (Retired) (Charlottesville)

Herbert L. Beskin practiced consumer bankruptcy law for 25 years in Charlottesville before being appointed a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Trustee for the Western District of Virginia in 2003. He has been a Virginia CLE lecturer since 1993, has written articles for The Virginia Lawyer and The NACTT Academy’s website ConsiderChapter13.org, and has taught law related courses at both the University of Virginia and Piedmont Virginia Community College. From 1991 to 1997 he served on the Board of Governors of the Bankruptcy Law Section of the Virginia State Bar. He has co-authored two chapters of the Virginia CLE publication Bankruptcy Practice in Virginia: Chapter 7 practice in the 1st edition with Douglas Little, and Chapter 13 practice in the 2nd and 3rd editions with Judge Rebecca Connelly. Herb retired in 2023.

Hot Off the Press

The Academy

July 21, 2024

Selection of Kyu Young (Mike) Paek to Serve as Bankruptcy Judge in the Southern District of New York. See also: ABI 40 Under 40

Critical Case Comment

July 11, 2021

By Henry E. Hildebrand, III, Chapter 13 Standing Trustee (Nashville, TN) A prior servicer of a mortgage claim subsequently transferred to another servicer could be held liable if the transferor servicer provided inadequate or incorrect information to the transferee. (Aron) In re Bivens vs. NewRez LLC (In re Bivens), 625 B.R. 843 (Bankr. M.D. N.C., March 25, 2021) Case Summary...

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Judge Appointed

The Academy

October 27, 2024

Seventh Circuit Announces the Appointment of Michael B. Slade to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Illinois

From the Editor – Fair Debt Collection Practices Act

February 2, 2020

By The Honorable William Houston Brown (Retired) Punitive damages reduced for FDCPA and RESPA violations. The mortgage servicer violated FDCPA, RESPA and the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act by treating account as delinquent after Chapter 13 debtor had cured arrears, brought account current and obtained discharge. The servicer mistakenly marked the Chapter 13 case as dismissed rather...

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BEWARE: Troubling Scam Perpetrated on New Debtors

The Academy

November 3, 2024

Everyone needs to read this . . . ‘they’ are getting pertinent information from Voluntary Petitions.

Tracking Down the Illusive Mortgage Interest Deduction

Cathy Moran

March 10, 2024

Are your clients curing mortgage arrears through their Chapter 13 plan? If so, I’m convinced a mortgage interest tax deduction lurks, unclaimed, in the trustee’s records.

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Constitutional Interpretation and State Bankruptcy Laws: Chief Justice Marshall on Sturges v. Crowninshield (1819)

M. Jonathan Hayes

March 31, 2024

Launching a new feature - Supreme Court Corner - Jon Hayes will periodically share a look at a historical bankruptcy case. As the title indicates, Sturges v. Crowninshield looks at state bankruptcy law in the absence of federal law.

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Critical Case Comment – Pre to Pre and Post to Post

Henry E. Hildebrand, III

March 5, 2023

Mortgage loan servicer violated mortgage agreement with debtor, the automatic stay, the confirmation order and Rule 3002.1 by applying debtor’s post-petition monthly mortgage payments pursuant to the contractual terms of the loan, thereby applying post-petition payments to the debtor’s pre-petition mortgage arrearage. (Cary) In re Pope, 647 B.R. 597 (Bankr. D. N.H. August 15, 2022) Case Summary In November of...

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From the Editor – Lien Issues

September 15, 2019

By The Honorable William Houston Brown (Retired) Manufactured home did not become accession to real property. The creditor holding security interest in a manufactured home objected to confirmation, on the basis that § 1322(b)(2)’s anti-modification provision prevented bifurcation of its claim into secured and unsecured parts. The Eighth Circuit noted that the Bankruptcy Code does not resolve the issue of...

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Critical Case Comment – You Gotta Fix Your Own Screwups, on Your Own Dime

Henry E. Hildebrand, III

December 3, 2023

Debtor’s counsel should not be compensated for work undertaken on behalf of a debtor in order to correct errors.

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