Top Ten Supreme Court Cases on Bankruptcy of All Time (And Four Honorable Mentions) Part IV of IV

By M. Jonathan Hayes

Butner v. United States, 440 U.S. 48 (1979)

Issue: When determining the rights of lienholders, should the bankruptcy court look to state law or may it use a “federal rule of equity”?

Holding: State law governs “unless some federal interest requires a different result.”
Justice John Paul Stevens for the unanimous court.

Comment: The dispute here was between a chapter 7 trustee and a lienholder over who had the right to the rent collected on a certain piece of real property. The Supreme Court ignored all of the state law issues . . .

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Critical Case Comment–Tardy Filed Stay Extension: Too Bad Too Sad

Henry E. Hildebrand, III

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Court lacks authority to extend stay in a case with a one-time repeat filer within a year of the previous case especially where the matter is tardily raised.

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Meet New Trustee Brian Tucci

Nicole P. Novak

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In April, Brian Tucci started his appointment as the Chapter 13 Standing Trustee for Baltimore, Maryland. He is a native Marylander with deep roots in the Maryland bankruptcy community. Brian succeeded the late Robert S. Thomas, II and Robert’s predecessor, the late Ellen Crosby. Brian earned his undergraduate degree at the University of Maryland and his J.D. at Western Michigan...

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From the Editor – Lien Issues

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By The Honorable William Houston Brown (Retired) Chapter 13 debtor had no authority under § 544. Discussing the split of authority, the Court adopted the majority view that the Code gives § 544 avoidance authority exclusively to the trustee, and the Chapter 13 debtor could not use that power to avoid a mortgage lien. In re Dobbs, _________B.R._________, 2019 WL...

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The Collector

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Bankruptcy Judge (E.D. Washington) serves up classics with wooden tennis racket collection.

Passing of James J. Barta, Sr.

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It is with sadness that we announce the death of retired U.S. Bankruptcy Judge, James J. Barta, Sr. on Tuesday, November 7, 2023. Judge Barta served as a Bankruptcy Referee in the Eastern District of Missouri beginning in 1978, then a Bankruptcy Judge from 1986 through 2006, including three stints as Chief Judge. Before serving with the Court, Judge Barta...

From the Editor

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Critical Case Comment – And There is Also Blanco

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By Henry E. Hildebrand, III, Chapter 13 Standing Trustee for the Middle District of Tennessee (Nashville) Rule 3002.1 gives the Bankruptcy Court authority to impose sanctions, including punitive sanctions, as part of the rules-granted authority to award “other appropriate relief.” (Rodriguez) Blanco v. Bayview Loan Servicing LLC (In re Blanco), 2021 WL 4190170 (Bankr. S.D. Tex. September 14, 2021) Case...

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Meet A Newish Trustee

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Tiffany M. Cornejo was appointed as the Chapter 13 Standing Trustee for the District of New Mexico on December 1, 2017. She took the reins from retiring Kelley Skehen. Ms. Cornejo received her Bachelor of Science in Journalism (B.S.J.) degree at the University of Kansas in Lawrence in 2002 and remained there to obtain her Juris Doctor in 2005. She...

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By Cathy Moran, Esq. (Redwood City, CA) Once again, I sat in a 341 meeting where the trustee’s representative purported to deliver vital information to the assembled debtors. She had a captive audience of anxious listeners. She had ostensible power of life and death over their financial future. They needed to know what she had to say. But as communication,...

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From the Supreme Court

The Academy

June 18, 2023

Lac Du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians et al. v. Coughlin Supreme Court rules in favor of borrower of tribal loan –Chapter 13 stay applies. Justices reject tribal immunity from bankruptcy stay.