From the Editor

From the Editor – Discharge Injunction

By The Honorable William Houston Brown (Retired)

Attorney fees recovered by creditor after stay relief not prepetition claim covered by discharge. In a Chapter 7 case, the automatic stay had been lifted to permit state court litigation to continue, and a creditor obtained judgment, including attorney fees. The issue was when those attorney fees arose—prepetition or postpetition for purposes of the debtor’s discharge. The Bankruptcy Appellate Panel construed the test found in In re Ybarra, 424 F.3d 1018 (9th Cir. 2005), concluding that the debtor “returned to the fray” with the . . .

It looks like you are not signed in or registered! This content is only available to members.

Or Sign In Below:

No Author Biography has been linked to this Article.

When Wishes Come True

September 19, 2021

By Helen M. Morris, Chapter 13 Standing Trustee for the Northern and Southern Districts of West Virginia Like most trustees, my case load is down, and I’ve been actively encouraging new filings. Perhaps too enthusiastically as certain new cases reflect. A bankruptcy filer who has been dormant for months filed a new case recently. Schedule A is clearly marked with...

Members

Pump the Brakes: Bad Faith Debtors Are Not Gaming the System (Part II)

January 27, 2019

By Kathryne M. Shaw1 Boleman Law Firm, P.C. (Virginia Beach, VA) Click here for Part 1 In Part I of this article, we reviewed In re Holman, in which the debtors violated their confirmation order and exhibited bad faith . . . It looks like you are not signed in or registered! This content is only available to members. Join...

Members

Comparison of Annual Change in Chapter 13 Case Filings During the Beginnings of the 2008 and the 2020 Recessions

March 21, 2021

By The Honorable Kevin R. Anderson, United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Utah Coming off the longest economic expansion in U.S. history, Chapter 13 filings were at their lowest levels since 2007. With the country entering a sudden and unanticipated recession in February of 2020, we expected to see Chapter 13 filing rates increase; however, the opposite occurred....

Members

In the Trenches: Secrets to Settlement – Competency in the Courtroom Part 1 of 3

June 9, 2019

By Jan Hamilton, Chapter 13 Trustee (Topeka, KS) Introduction Preliminarily, I recognize that many of those reading this do not need to. There are many fine trial attorneys in the bankruptcy bar. Those folks could well be writing this article. By way of defending myself in advance, this little piece does not consist of a series of war stories or...

Members

Are Your Loyalties Divided?

August 22, 2021

By Cathy Moran, Esq., (Redwood City, CA) When a married couple books a bankruptcy consultation, you have an immediate problem: There be dragons, as early map makers helpfully provided. Because, as a lawyer friend of mine says: Anytime there are two people sitting across from you, you have a conflict of interest. That pithy expression has stuck with me and...

Members

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.

Members

Finding Your Village: An Introductory Guide to Bringing Fair Credit Reporting Act Claims for Clients Post-Bankruptcy

Emily Connor Kennedy

July 24, 2022

I hope that you’ve enjoyed the articles from Mark Leffler and Steve Relyea discussing how our firm began litigating against creditors in bankruptcy court and mortgage servicers in federal district court. In this (final) installment, I will discuss our entry into Fair Credit Reporting Act litigation. Our firm’s history with Fair Credit Reporting Act litigation is intertwined with the relationships...

Members

March 31, 2019

By Wm. Houston Brown, United States Bankruptcy Judge (Retired) Debtor’s Attorney - Chapter 13 debtors not required to seek approval to employ special counsel. The Chapter 13 debtors moved to employ special counsel for representation in state-court litigation, but § 327(e) did not apply to Chapter 13 debtors when no request was being made to pay the special counsel from...

Members

Special Counsel 101: Getting Paid and Protecting Clients

Nicole P. Novak

May 1, 2022

The Bankruptcy Code imposes many duties on attorneys. One such duty requires attorneys to disclose compensation for services in contemplation of, or in connection with a bankruptcy case.1 Debtor attorneys know to disclose their fees at the start of the case. Attorneys that forget to timely file a compensation disclosure typically receive a gentle reminder to do so. However, in...

Members

Representing Elderly Clients in Bankruptcy – Part 2 of 3

January 12, 2020

By David Cox,1 Cox Law Group, PLLC (Lynchburg, VA) Click here for Part 1 of 3 C. Determining whether to file. Collection considerations outside of bankruptcy. Is the debtor judgment-proof? Are assets and income exempt? How active are creditors? Is the current situation likely to change? Has there been a previous filing, and if so, are there stay or exhausted...

Members

From the Editor – Discharge Injunction

Link to Post:

It looks like you are not signed in or registered! This content is only available to members.

Or Sign In Below:

Related Articles

When Wishes Come True

Pump the Brakes: Bad Faith Debtors Are Not Gaming the System (Part II)

Comparison of Annual Change in Chapter 13 Case Filings During the Beginnings of the 2008 and the 2020 Recessions

In the Trenches: Secrets to Settlement – Competency in the Courtroom Part 1 of 3

Are Your Loyalties Divided?

Tracking Down the Illusive Mortgage Interest Deduction

Finding Your Village: An Introductory Guide to Bringing Fair Credit Reporting Act Claims for Clients Post-Bankruptcy

From the Editor

Special Counsel 101: Getting Paid and Protecting Clients

Representing Elderly Clients in Bankruptcy – Part 2 of 3

Academy

Members

Website

Legal

Looking to Become a Member?

Webinars

Member Articles

Industry News

To get started, please let us know which of these best fits your current position: