Social Media Scams: Con Artists Target the Vulnerable

Social media and internet dating sites have given rise to romance and confidence schemes. Catfishing and spear phishing are extensively used. Catfishing is faking an identity on the internet. Spear phishing uses more sophisticated and direct messages to trick the victim. New AI programs make it easier to reach and victimize the targets. The fraudsters prey upon the elderly, widowed or divorced men and women. Online profiles are manipulated to include fake photos and biographies. The goal is to exploit the victim who is searching for love and companionship.

A horror story: A debtor who . . .

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Michael B. Joseph

Former Chapter 13 Trustee

Michael B. Joseph was the Chapter 13 Trustee for the District of Delaware (appointed in 1987) and has served as a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Trustee (appointed in 1981) and a Chapter 12 Case Trustee. He also is a partner in the Wilmington, Delaware law firm of Ferry, Joseph, P.A. Mr. Joseph received his B.A. from Rutgers University (1972) and his J.D. from Widener University (1975). He is admitted to practice in Delaware (1976), New Jersey (1977), United States District Court for the District of Delaware (1977) and the Third Circuit Court of Appeals (1990). Mr. Joseph is a Fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy. Mr. Joseph is a Past President of the National Association of Chapter 13 Trustees (2010-2011) He is also has served as a member of the Liaison Committee to the U.S. Department of Justice Executive Office for United States Trustees in Washington, D.C. (2006-2011). He is a member of the Delaware Bankruptcy American Inn of Court, the Bankruptcy Section of the Delaware State Bar Association, the American Bankruptcy Institute, the American Bar Association, and the Local Rules Committee of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.

Why Address Formatting Is So Important for Jurisdiction

October 24, 2021

By Jay S. Jump, CEO, CertificateofService.com (Pasco, WA) My guess is you initially saw the title of this article and promptly pressed right on past it. Who needs to learn how to properly address an envelope? You didn’t spend three years in law school plus all that money in student loans to address an envelope! But, If the purpose of...

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If You’re Gonna Bet the Farm, Maybe Play Against the House

Danielle N. Gueck-Townsend

January 30, 2022

Gambling is inherently risky, but that rings even more true when a bankruptcy is involved. Section 727(a)(5) allows for denial of discharge if “the debtor has failed to explain satisfactorily, …. any loss of assets or deficiency of assets to meet the debtor’s liabilities.” 11 U.S.C. §727(a)(5). Recently, Bankruptcy Judge Timothy A. Barnes in Chicago wrote an opinion in which...

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Bankruptcy Intersecting with Tevis Equals Malpractice Claim

Nicole P. Novak

March 20, 2022

A New Jersey attorney is the subject of a legal malpractice complaint for allegedly failing to properly preserve a marital tort claim as an exception to discharge. Asma J. Warsi v. Adrian J. Johnson (Case No. MID-L-001023-22, Super. Ct. of N.J., Middlesex County); In re Chaundry, 569 B.R. 372 (Bankr. D. N.J. 2017). In Chaundry, Creditor Wife had a marital...

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When the Duty to Provide Tax Returns Collides with Confidentiality

Michael B. Joseph

February 6, 2022

Bankruptcy Code Section 521(e)(2)(A)(i) and (ii) provides that a debtor must supply tax returns to the trustee in a chapter 7 or 13 case, and to a creditor who timely requests such copy. Must the debtor provide copies that contain personal identifying information such as names, addresses and social security numbers of dependents including minor children? Or a redacted version...

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Passive Retention: A Creditor’s Right or an Act to Exercise Control?

April 14, 2019

By John Andreasen and Patrick Lombardi, Law Students at the University of Illinois College of Law and Duberstein Moot Court Team Members Both consumers and businesses often depend on motor vehicles for their livelihood or, for consumers, access to health care, child care, or other essential services. A creditor’s repossession of a motor vehicle can turn into an existential crisis...

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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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Progeny of Taggart: In re Gravel and Newrez, LLC v. Beckhart

September 12, 2021

By Lawrence R. Ahern III, Brown & Ahern (Nashville, TN) Introduction In re Taggart In 2019, the Supreme Court in In re Taggart1 ruled that the acts alleged in that case to be in violation of a discharge injunction did not empower the bankruptcy court to find the creditor in contempt. In so holding, the Court ostensibly attempted to strike...

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Meet a Brand Spankin’ New Trustee

The Academy

August 7, 2022

William F. Jaworski, Jr. - Bill - was appointed Chapter 13 Standing Trustee for the District of Delaware on April 1, 2022. Jaworski has very large shoes to fill as he is taking over for Michael Joseph upon his well-deserved retirement. Jaworski was born and raised in Buffalo, New York. As a hometown boy, he didn’t venture too far away...

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Acquisition of Post-Confirmation Property in Chapter 13: What Remains of the Estate?

February 10, 2019

By Leo G. Spanos, Senior Staff Attorney to Martha G. Bronitsky, Chapter 13 Trustee, Northern District of California (Oakland Division) Courts around the country are split on whether property acquired post-chapter 13 confirmation remains property of the estate or vests in the debtor for all purposes absent contrary language in the plan or confirmation order under 11 U.S.C. § 1327(b).1...

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How My Law Firm Learned to Stop Leaving Money on the Table Part 1 – Looking at Bankruptcy Cases Differently

Mark C. Leffler

April 17, 2022

Mark Leffler, of the Boleman Law Firm in Virginia and also the current President of the Academy for Consumer Bankruptcy Education, begins a series of articles describing his firm’s development of a broader practice on behalf of consumer debtors. Look for subsequent parts of this series over the next few weeks. My fellow self-described consumer bankruptcy lawyers: you wield more...

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