Whose Hands are Dirtier? A Look at the Unclean Hands Doctrine

By David J. Rashé, Summer Law Clerk for Martha G. Bronitsky, Chapter 13 Trustee in the Northern District of California (Oakland)

In an opinion issued by Judge Friedland on June 5, 2015, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held in Northbay Wellness Group., Inc. v. Beyries,1 that the unclean hands doctrine did not apply to allow the debtor to discharge a debt owed to a California marijuana dispensary. Rather, the debt could not be discharged and the debtor would have to address the debt through bankruptcy.

The debtor, Michael . . .

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.

Ensure You Understand Insurance in Bankruptcy

March 17, 2019

By Cathy Moran, Esq. (Redwood City, CA) Because its treatment varies so, we need to be asking more pointed questions of clients about both insurance policies and the debtor as beneficiary. Unmatured life insurance Starting with exemptions, §522(d)(7) makes an unmatured life insurance policy exempt without limit. So, the insurance element of a policy owned by the debtor is exempt...

Members

Kristina Stanger and Jessica Hopton Youngberg

November 3, 2019

Kristina Stanger is an attorney and shareholder at Iowa’s Nyemaster Goode, P.C. She is also a combat-experienced Lieutenant Colonel in the Iowa Army National Guard. She is currently one of Iowa’s highest ranking females and is the Chief of Plans and Operations for the Iowa Army National Guard. Jessica Hopton Youngberg is Senior Staff Attorney for Veterans Legal Services in...

Who Is Stupid Here?

Cathy Moran

February 25, 2024

“The headline was ‘Are your clients really stupid?’ . . .The answer isn’t what you’re tempted to respond.” The second in a 3-part series on treating clients as we would want to be treated. More on this topic: Why Listening Is a Bankruptcy Lawyer’s Superpower

Members

More Federal Student Loan Debt Relief is Coming

Scott Waterman

March 24, 2024

An ordinary title for a very NON-ordinary article! A computer program which will accurately predict whether a borrower will default and relief extended based on the data. WHAAAT???

Keep Calm and Carry On – Observations Regarding CBRA

Henry E. Hildebrand, III

October 9, 2022

First, breathe deep and try to relax. The Antitrust, Commercial and Administrative House Subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee, with minimal notice, set an oversight hearing for September 29, 2022. The subcommittee is charged to deal with matters relating to bankruptcy. The subject of the hearing was to be the “Oversight of the Bankruptcy Code, Part 2: Ensuring a Fresh...

From the Editor – Discharge Injunction

May 31, 2020

By The Honorable William Houston Brown (Retired) Application of Taggart to lien avoidance. When the Chapter 13 confirmed plan bifurcated the secured creditor’s claim and the secured portion had been paid in full with interest, the completion of payments voided any lien, and the creditor violated the discharge injunction by commencing foreclosure. The Panel found the plan’s language, although “inartful,”...

Members

May the Chapter 13 Trustee Keep Fees Paid Before Dismissal?

Lawrence R. Ahern, III

April 10, 2022

Larry Ahern this week begins a two-part examination of whether a Chapter 13 trustee may retain fees paid without a confirmed plan before dismissal. Part 1 is a detailed analysis of McCallister v. Evans, a recent case accepting the trustee's position considering a division in the caselaw and analyzing in detail the relevant statutes. May the Chapter 13 Trustee Keep...

Members

Critical Case Comment – New Bankruptcy Term – “Sale Plan”

Henry E. Hildebrand, III

January 1, 2023

Confirmation of a “sale” plan (proposing the sale of the debtor’s principal residence) depends upon how quickly the sale will be consummated, milestones established, and consequences for failing to meet those deadlines; a plan that makes payments to the mortgage company under a “sale” plan may not modify the rights of the mortgagee but if care is taken to comply...

Members

ABI Commission on Consumer Bankruptcy – Introduction

April 21, 2019

By Henry E. Hildebrand, III, Chapter 13 Standing Trustee (Nashville, TN) Introduction In 2016, the American Bankruptcy Institute’s president, Eugene Wedoff, retired bankruptcy judge from the Northern District of Illinois, proposed to the ABI Board that a commission be established to examine the current status of consumer bankruptcy laws, rules, and cases with the goal of its making general suggestions...

Members

District of South Carolina

The Academy

May 28, 2023

Retirement of Judge David Robert Duncan