By The Honorable William Houston Brown (Retired) Unreasonable fees for proof of claim. $4,000 fee for private mortgagee’s proof of claim and objection to proposed plan was unreasonable, and creditor was denied recovery of $7,500 attorney fee for responding to debtor’s objection to proof of claim. The Court considered Fannie Mae’s guidelines for maximum fees related to proof of claim...

From their spring edition of The Quarterly our friends at NACTT have shared a timely piece from creditor attorney Thomas Humphries. _____________________ Thomas Humphries is an attorney with the firm of Sirote & Permutt, PC in Birmingham Alabama. Thomas represents the mortgage banking industry and various creditors in bankruptcy proceedings throughout the State of Alabama. Thomas’s practice includes the defense...

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...

July 10, 2020, the CFPB released a report examining recent trends in debt settlement and credit counseling. Many Americans struggle with their debts, especially during times of crisis. Today’s report documents changes over time in how consumers have used these debt relief options for unsecured debt. Using the Bureau’s Consumer Credit Panel (CCP), a nationally representative sample of approximately five...

By Academy Staff Jan P. Johnson served as a Chapter Standing 13 Trustee for the Eastern District of California, Sacramento Division, from 1998 to September 30, 2019. Prior to this appointment, he served as Chapter 13 Standing Trustee for the District of Puerto Rico from 1989 where he was responsible for over 25,000 cases. He was also appointed as Standing...

By The Honorable William Houston Brown (Retired) Disgorgement of fees for nondisclosure. The Tenth Circuit held that the “default sanction” for an attorney’s failure to satisfy disclosure obligation is full disgorgement of fees paid. While full disgorgement may not be required in particular circumstances, the “default sanction” principle required reversal and remand. The bankruptcy court, affirmed by the BAP, had...

By Cathy Moran, Esq. (Redwood City, CA) Mortgage forbearance for homeowners, shout the headlines. No need to make a house payment. Borrowers who can’t make this month’s mortgage payment were thrown a lifeline of sorts in the coronavirus rescue package. Only it’s probably not the help they think it is. And the lifeline may be far more fragile than they...

By Margaret A. Burks, Chapter 13 Standing Trustee for the Southern District of Ohio (Cincinnati) Chapter 13 works. Some people wish to continually criticize Chapter 13. They criticize the success rate. They criticize racial bias. They criticize how Chapter 13 works. They also criticize the fact that Chapter 13 appears less voluntary than it was before access to Chapter 7...

Lawrence R. Ahern, III Brown & Ahern Nashville, Tennessee Appendix B Adjustments to Means Test Amounts (Cases Filed On or After November 1, 2020) The tables on the following page provide median family income adjustments reproduced in a format designed for ease of use in completing Bankruptcy Forms 122A-1 and 122C-1. STATE 1 EARNER FAMILY SIZE 2 PEOPLE 3 PEOPLE...