Welcome New Academy Member

Fresh out of law school, Samuel J. Dart found and joined the Academy. His father, also a consumer bankruptcy practitioner, pointed him toward ConsiderChapter13.org. Sam graduated in June with honors from Gonzaga University School of Law in Spokane, Washington. Along with a partner and as a second-year law student, Sam won the 78th Annual Linden Cup Appellate Advocacy Competition. “In a round that all seven justices commented was one of the best appellate moot court competition rounds they had judged.”

Sam completed his undergraduate, receiving a B.A. in English Literature, from Western Washington University. He graduated in 2010 manga cum laude which helped earn him the honor of commencement speaking.

In his short career, he has amassed quite a resume – serving as law clerk to Winston & Cashatt Lawyers P.S. in Spokane, WA; intern to the Law Firm of Shoemaker & Dart in Tacoma; and extern to The Honorable Frederick P. Corbitt at the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Washington.

In addition to his academic career, Sam is an avid outdoorsman, with a love for hiking and fly fishing. Prior to entering law school, he spent three months volunteering with the Southwest Conservation Corps on a wilderness trail crew. During this time he worked to build and maintain trails in Chaco Canyon and the San Juan wilderness.

Sam is also an avid cook with a passion for mastering the age-old art of charcoal barbequing. Indoors he is particular to Dutch oven cooking.

Next month Sam will begin serving Standing Chapter 13 Trustee David Howe in Tacoma, Washington, as a staff attorney. Welcome Sam!

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The Hanging Paragraph – Hanging on Every Word Part 1 of 4

June 14, 2020

By Anthony J. Gomez, CPA, former extern to the Honorable John P. Gustafson, Northern District of Ohio at Toledo I. Cramdown Pursuant to 11 U.S.C. §1325(a)(5)(B) Section 1325(a) sets forth the requirements for a court to confirm a chapter 13 bankruptcy plan. In respect to each secured claim provided for in a plan, 11 U.S.C. §1325(a)(5) provides the following three...

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Bankruptcy Courts Grapple with the “COVID-19 Discharge” – Appendix A

April 18, 2021

Bankruptcy Courts Grapple with the “COVID-19 Discharge” APPENDIX A 11 U.S.C. § 1328 Discharge (Text added by CAA, effective: December 27, 2020 and subject to one-year sunset, appears in italics.) (Mandatory and precatory directions to the court, critical to the statutory analysis in In re Ritter, appears in bold.) (a) Subject to subsection (d), as soon as practicable after completion...

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“Lien Stripping” Based on Claim Disallowance by Default: Ninth Circuit Clarifies its Rule

June 7, 2020

By Lawrence R. Ahern III, Brown & Ahern (Nashville, TN) Introduction Chapter 13 practitioners certainly do not need to be told that a lender with a mortgage1 on the debtor's principal residence has a special position in a Chapter 13 case. A chapter 13 plan may "modify the rights of holders of secured claims, other than a claim secured only...

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Who Gets the Trustee’s Fee and When?

August 8, 2021

By Henry E. Hildebrand, III, Chapter 13 Trustee, Middle District of TN (Nashville) Chapter 13 trustee is not compelled to return the percentage fee taken from a Chapter 13 case when the case is dismissed prior to confirmation. Harmon v. McCallister, 2021 WL 3087744 (9th Cir. BAP July 20, 2021) (Gan) Case Summary Douglas and Christine Harmon filed a Chapter...

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When the Trustee Gets Subpoenaed

August 15, 2021

By Karin N. Amyx, Staff Attorney to Chapter 13 Trustee Carl Davis (Wichita, KS) Trustees possess a variety of sensitive information that could be useful to litigants in contract disputes, divorce and child custody matters, insurance litigation or criminal prosecution. Additionally, debtors, creditors or third parties may be interested in the trustee’s internal operating procedures or legal position on disputes...

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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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William E. Heitkamp (44)

David G. Peake

December 17, 2023

At the end of this calendar year, after 44 years, the Southern District of Texas and the bankruptcy community will lose one of our standard bearers. William E. Heitkamp, “Bill” was appointed Chapter 13 Trustee in 1979. His appointment came shortly after the Bankruptcy Reform Act of 1978 became law.

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Rebecca Rogers Garcia

February 10, 2019

Rebecca Rogers Garcia was a staff attorney for Mary B. Grossman, the Chapter 13 Trustee in Milwaukee from 2002 until November 2014. Prior to her employment with the Chapter 13 Trustee; she represented debtors in consumer cases. Ms. Garcia is on the board of the Bankruptcy, Insolvency and Creditors Rights Section of the State Bar of Wisconsin and a member...

Word to the Wise: Failure to Properly Notice a Creditor Is Bad!

M. Jonathan Hayes

April 7, 2024

When the debtor fails to properly schedule a creditor in an asset case, is the now non-dischargeable debt under § 523(a)(3) limited to the amount the creditor would have received had it filed a proof of claim?

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