For Whom Does the Bell Toll?

By Angela M. Scolforo, Staff Attorney to Herbert L. Beskin, Chapter 13 Trustee for the Western District of Virginia

Since January 2019 alone there have been about 250 student loan discharge cases decided in the federal courts.1 One site reports that student loan debt in the United States totals $1.73 trillion, across 43.2 million borrowers, and the debt is growing6 times faster than the nation’s economy. As the student loan crisis grows, bankruptcy courts have a . . .

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For Shame

The Academy

June 25, 2023

Litigation Practice Group Lawsuits: 4 Cases to Know (This is the only free article we could find on Litigation Practice Group a/k/a Phoenix Law and disbarred Tony Diab. He has been disbarred from both Nevada and California.)

Critical Case Comment – Ignoring 3002.1 Will Cost You

Henry E. Hildebrand, III

February 5, 2023

Mortgagee’s failure to disclose payment changes resulting from escrow adjustments and interest rate modifications compels the Court to order mortgagee to credit all undisclosed increases and subject it to sanctions, including attorney’s fees. (Somers) In re Kinderknecht, 2023 WL 320984 (Bankr. D. Kan. January 19, 2023) Case Summary Kyle and Chasity Kinderknecht filed a Chapter 13 petition in December of...

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Who Is the Person Sitting at That Workstation? Contractor? Employee? Exempt?

Merideth Akers

January 22, 2023

Who is the person sitting at that workstation? Is it Noah Non-exempt? Is it Emma Exempt? Or, is it Connie Contractor? It is vital that I know who the person is sitting at that workstation. Do I have to pay the person sitting at that workstation overtime pay? Can I reduce the person’s pay for leaving an hour early? Do...

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“Jan Hamilton” – Need We Say More?

Teresa L. Arnold

September 25, 2022

Just prior to a confirmation docket in September of 2006, a local creditor attorney asked me if I would be interested in coming to work at his firm. The chapter 13 trustee was in the room and could not help but overhear. After the docket that trustee asked me if I was looking for a job. I wasn’t . ....

Why Address Formatting Is So Important for Jurisdiction

October 24, 2021

By Jay S. Jump, CEO, CertificateofService.com (Pasco, WA) My guess is you initially saw the title of this article and promptly pressed right on past it. Who needs to learn how to properly address an envelope? You didn’t spend three years in law school plus all that money in student loans to address an envelope! But, If the purpose of...

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From the Editor – Curing Default

October 27, 2019

By The Honorable William Houston Brown (Retired) Debtor could cure default beyond 60 months. Agreeing with In re Klaas, 858 F.3d 820 (3d Cir. 2017), bankruptcy court had discretion to permit debtors to cure plan default, allowing a reasonable grace period beyond the 60 months of confirmed plan. Dismissal of the case for plan default was not required under §...

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Critical Case Comment

June 27, 2021

By Henry E. Hildebrand, III, Chapter 13 Standing Trustee (Nashville, TN) It constitutes an unfair discrimination, violative of 11 U.S.C. § 1322(b)(1), for a Chapter 13 plan which would pay more to a student loan than to the remaining general unsecured creditors. (Somers) In re Kane, 603 B.R. 491 (Bankr. C.D. Kan. June 18, 2019) Case Summary Ronald Kane filed...

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Fourth Circuit: Brittner v. Beach Anesthesia

Edward C. Boltz

June 25, 2023

Summary: Brittner filed an adversary proceeding against Beach Anesthesia alleging violations of the automatic stay, but the bankruptcy court (affirmed by the district court) held that she had either failed to establish actual damages or to mitigate damages. The Court of Appeals held that that Brittner needed to satisfy a five-part test to establish a violation of the automatic stay: (1) that a bankruptcy...

The Brunner Student Loan Hardship Test: Alive and Well in The Big Apple

June 23, 2019

By Herbert L. Beskin, Chapter 13 Trustee for the Western District of Virginia (Charlottesville) Let’s take the following set of facts and see how it plays out in the labyrinthian world of hardship discharge of student loan debt. The case is In re Lozada (Lozada v. Educational Credit Management Corporation), 594 B.R. 212 (Bankr. S.D. N.Y. 2018). Years ago (30...

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The Dangers of Extending a Plan Too Long – Or Alternatively, Why Take as Little Time as Possible

April 26, 2020

By Joseph A. Bledsoe, III, Chapter 13 Standing Trustee for the Eastern District of North Carolina (New Bern) Under section 1113(b)(1)(C) of the CARES Act, upon the request of a debtor, and after notice and a hearing, a plan confirmed may be extended up to 7 years from the date the first payment under the original plan came due if...

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