Archived - January 2016 - December 2016

Attention Everyone, including, Office Managers – this is HUGE – if you haven’t already heard about this, you MUST read this one.“On December 1, 2016 new rules will go into effect governing who is entitled to overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act. These rules will change the amount an employee can earn before they can be considered exempt and thus not entitled to overtime pay.

Final Rule to Update the Regulations Defining and Delimiting the Exemption for Executive, Administrative, and Professional Employees

• Bankruptcy Court Judge Rejects Docusign Signatures as Authentic Sources, Sanctions Attorney

• Blog Fight Ends with Attorney’s Reprimand (not bankruptcy related)

• Embezzlement Scheme Nets Attorney 2-Year Prison Sentence (not bankruptcy related)

• Woman Accused of $655K Tax-Return Scheme, Indictment Says (not bankruptcy related)

• Special Tax Breaks for U.S. Armed Forces

• Conn. Firms Fight Pay Gap With Sunshine

• Obama Administration Champions Pay Equity, But Some Allege Overreach

• Law Firms a ‘Petri Dish’ for Bias, Gender Inequity

• States Look to Give Teeth to National Pay Equity Legislation

• New Law Sets Jan. 31 W-2 Filing Deadline; Taxpayers Should Keep Copy of Return
  • Employers normally had until the end of February, if filing on paper, or the end of March, if filing electronically, to send in copies of these forms; but are now DUE January 31st.
  • Taxpayers should keep a copy of their tax return. Beginning in 2017, taxpayers may need their Adjusted Gross Income amount from a prior tax return to verify their identity.

• IRS Announces 2017 Pension Plan Limitations; 401(k) Contribution Limit Remains Unchanged at $18,000 for 2017

• It’s About to Get Harder to Seek Student Debt Relief – A new rule costs defrauded borrowers some longstanding rights.

• Defrauded Student Loan Borrowers to Receive Relief With New Regulations – Department of Education published the final borrower defense to repayment regulations for defrauded student loan borrowers.

• Students who attended a school who believe they were defrauded or that their school otherwise violated applicable state law may be eligible for discharge (loan forgiveness).

• CFPB: Student Loan Companies Are Illegally Denying Borrowers Right To Make Lower Payments

• Supreme Court Takes on Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Mess Created by FDCPA Ruling

• Legal Scholarship Highlight: When Lower Courts Don’t Follow Supreme Court Precedent

• Jevic Could Be the Most Consequential Chapter 11 Decision in Many Years

• Student Loan Debt Hits Another Record High

• Four Student Loan Myths You Might Believe

• Panel: College students need improved ‘financial literacy’

• Black College Grads Have Twice as Much Student Debt as Whites

• Students Face Limited Options With ITT Losing Accreditation As It Closes

• Yes: Tough Oversight Protects Students From Predatory Schools

• Young Scholar, Now Lawyer, Says Clarence Thomas Groped Her in 1999

• Jury Finds Madison Man Guilty of Bankruptcy Fraud

• Family Facing Foreclosure Says Lawyer Stole Mortgage Payoff

Judge Brown looked at three distinct topics: discharge, leases, and fee-only plans:

• Post-assessment returns filed by debtors did not qualify as “returns” under § 523(a)(1)(B)

• Nonresidential lease deemed rejected when not timely assumed by trustee

• Below-median debtor unable to afford upfront fees could file fee-only plan

IRS Gives Expanded Tax Relief to Victims of Hurricane Matthew; Parts of Four States Eligible; Extension Filers Have Until March 15 to File

• North Carolina: Beaufort, Bertie, Bladen, Brunswick, Camden, Carteret, Chowan, Columbus, Craven, Cumberland, Currituck, Dare, Duplin, Edgecombe, Gates, Greene, Harnett, Hoke, Hyde, Johnston, Jones, Lenoir, Martin, Nash, New Hanover, Onslow, Pamlico, Pasquotank, Pender, Perquimans, Pitt, Robeson, Sampson, Tyrrell, Washington, Wayne and Wilson counties.

• South Carolina: Beaufort, Berkeley, Charleston, Colleton, Darlington, Dillon, Dorchester, Florence, Georgetown, Horry, Jasper, Marion, Orangeburg and Williamsburg counties.

• Georgia: Bryan, Camden, Chatham, Glynn, Liberty and McIntosh counties.

• Florida: Brevard, Duval, Flagler, Indian River, Nassau, St. Johns, St. Lucie and Volusia counties.

• Student Loan Programs Fail Those Who Need Them Most, Consumer Watchdog Charges – New government report suggests policymakers scrap parts of the present system and start fresh.

CFPB Consent Order Against PHH Vacated; Judges Say Bureau Structure ‘Unconstitutional’Court to CFPB: Unconstitutional and Wrong on RESPAFrom Credit Slips: PHH v. CFPB: A Blessing in Disguise for the CFPB

Click here for Order

It is with great sadness that we report the passing of Chapter 13 Standing Trustee for the Middle District of Alabama (Montgomery) Cleve Reding. Any positive adjective one can use to describe a human being fits Cleve. He was kind and wise and he was my friend. Most, I think, would describe Cleve as a quiet man. I didn’t see him as quiet because we could talk endlessly. There was no end to his bragging about his wife or providing updates on the ‘kids’ or his Christian service. We often solved the world’s problems, well, at least as we saw things.David Peake, Chapter 13 Trustee in Houston, remembered fondly, “Cleve was simply a good, kind, and decent man. I will always remember his warm smile and that camera. He seemed like a quiet man compared to some of the characters in our group; but he made a huge wonderful footprint in our organization and he will be missed.”“Cleve was the consummate gentleman. Many in the bankruptcy community knew Cleve as our volunteer photographer for so many of our events,” mused NACTT President Mary Ida Townson. “Many knew him as so much more than that. He was a wonderful Trustee, employer, husband, father, and grandfather. Cleve will be missed by everyone.”

“The overwhelming sense of loss which accompanies the passing of Cleve cannot really be expressed in only a few words. Some trustees are known as aggressive litigators, some are educators, some are numbers geeks. And, while Cleve was all of these when he needed to be, all will remember him as a truly nice guy – a gentle soul that worked with financially troubled people to help them rather than fight with them. He worked to assist creditors in collecting their just debts rather than pick a quarrel with them. He was an example for all of us; a trustee who set the standard high and who taught all of us the power of a gentle word. We will follow in his footsteps, hoping that we can show just some of the attributes he carried so well.” Henry E. Hildebrand, III.

I will truly miss you, Cleve. My friend.

Click here for an additional story: Curtis “Cleve” Reding, Jr. Has Passed Away

Judge Brown looked at two cases this week, both on curing defaults:

• Cure of defaults did not include reinstatement of pre-default interest rate.

• Delaying payment of mortgage to pay debtor’s attorney is not permitted.

Today (October 17th) is the Filing Extension Deadline Deadline

• IRS Grants Tax Relief Extension to Drought-Stricken Farmers, Ranchers; 37 States and Puerto Rico Affected

• IRS Gives Tax Relief to Victims of Hurricane Matthew; Many Extension Filers in North Carolina Now Affected; Relief for Other States Expected Soon

• IRS Phone Scam Takes More Than $73,000 in Fort Worth

• Rate of Student Loan Defaults Slows in Michigan

• The ‘No-Brainer’ Fix To America’s Student Loan Mess – More people are falling behind on paying their debt because the IRS won’t make one small change.

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Creative Options for Student Loans in Chapter 13

Did you know that the Academy archives, for the benefit of Academy members, all of the webinars that we produce? And that we have an excellent 90-minute presentation discussing creative options regarding student loans: Chapter 20, mediation, separate classification, and MORE. Experts John E. Waites, Judge United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of South Carolina; practitioner Lewis Roberts from Altamonte Springs, Florida; and Chapter 13 Standing Trustee Laurie Weatherford bring this not-to-be missed presentation.

• Debt-Collection Dispute Faces High Court Hearing

• Why the Wells Fargo Scandal Really Matters (Hint: It’s Not Just the Fraud)

• Firm Accused of Filing Collection Suits Without Review by Lawyer

This week we are honored to have SIX case synopsis from Judge Brown – Rule 3002.1, Discharge Injunction, Dismissal, Post-Petition Debt, and Surrender.

• Mortgage creditor entitled to post-petition fees and costs but amount reduced

• Condominium association subject to Rule 3002.1

• Post-discharge collection attempts of domestic support obligation did not violate discharge injunction

• Trustee must recoup confirmed plan payments distributed after case dismissal

• Debtor not engaged in business nor self-employed were not required to obtain court’s permission to incur post-petition debt

• Plan provision to vest property in mortgagee was incompatible with surrender

IRS Advises Taxpayers to Prepare for Hurricanes, Floods and Other Natural Disasters

• Back copies of previously-filed tax returns and all attachments, including Forms W-2, can be requested by filing Form 4506, Request for Copy of Tax Return

Drought-Stricken Farmers and Ranchers Have More Time to Replace Livestock; 37 States and Puerto Rico Affected

• Details on this relief, including a list of NDMC-designated counties, is available at Notice 2016-60

IRS Now Accepting ITIN Renewal Applications; Taxpayers Encouraged to Act Soon to Avoid Processing Delays in 2017

• ITINs are used by people who have tax filing/payment obligations who are not eligible for a Social Security Number
• Any ITIN not used on a federal tax return at least once in the last three years will not be valid as of Jan. 1, 2017

• Senator: Education Dept. Mishandling Corinthian Student Debt

• Student Loans: What to Do When You Owe More than Your Annual Salary

• Student Loan Defaults Drop, but the Numbers Are Rigged – College debt is crushing more graduates than the data show

• For-Profit College Students Account for 35% of All Loan Defaults

• Inside The Supreme Court’s Little-Known Revision Process

• Supreme Court to Resolve Circuit Split Over Structured Dismissals

• Justices to Referee States’ Dispute Over Uncashed Checks

• Argument Analysis: Something for Both Sides in Bank Fraud Argument

• Cert. Petitions Filed in FDCPA Cases

• 5 Facts About the Supreme Court

• Ruth Bader Ginsburg Can Do More Push-ups Than You

• CFPB Concerned by Some Student Loan Servicers’ Practices

• Judge Orders Former Real Estate Mogul to Pay Creditors $286m

• Alabama Election Official Is Disbarred Bankruptcy Attorney

• Payday Loan Group Slapped with Record $1.3B Fine for 700 Percent Lending Rates

• Click here to learn more.

• IRS Reminds Extension Filers of the Oct. 17 Deadline
  Millions of taxpayers ask for an extra six months to file their taxes every year. If you are one of them, then you should know that Monday, Oct. 17 is the extension deadline in 2016.

• IRS Begins Privatization of Long-Term Tax Debt Collection

• CFPB Takes Action Against Six Loan Companies

• CFPB Files Lawsuit Against Credit Repair Company Prime Marketing Holdings

• Payday Loan Alternative Lendup Fined $6.3 Million For Misleading Customers

• The Gift That Doesn’t Give Back: Why ‘Gift Card Draining’ is on the Rise (Another form of digital theft. Really? Now scammers can get my grandkids’ Christmas presents?)

• Mortgage-Servicer Faces Allegations Of Foreclosure Fraud

• ‘Wells Fargo Isn’t The Only One’: Other Bank Workers Describe Intense Sales Tactics

• Wells Fargo CEO Resigns from Federal Reserve Advisory Panel Following Fake-Accounts Scandal

• Hundreds of Suspiciously Similar Letters Praise The Payday Loan Industry Ahead Of Crackdown – Unclear Who’s Behind Them

• What Yahoo Users Should Do

*Hack actually took place in 2014.

• Chapter 7 Debtor’s Case Dismissed After Court Finds that She is Judicially Estopped from Arguing that Student Loan Debts are Non-Consumer in Nature

• Government’s Plan to Reduce Student-Loan Defaults Helps Borrowers Who Need It Least

• As Student Loan Defaults Increase, So Do Scams

• Feds Lodge Child Porn Charge Against Shelton Attorney
  Peter Kruzynski, 50, was arrested and charged with production and possession of child pornography. Kruzynski billed himself as a mediator. Check out his area of practice.

• West Monroe Woman Pleads Guilty To Embezzling Money From Bankruptcy Clients

• Las Vegas Realtor Sentenced for Bankruptcy Fraud Scheme

• One of the Biggest Ways College Students Are Ripped Off Is Getting Out of Control

• Why We Should All Be Terrified of Student Loans

• New Voices Call For Student Loan Reform

• ‘PLUS’ College Loans Can Be a Big Minus For Parents

• A Radical Idea For Reducing Student Loan Debt

• Do You Repay Student Loans From Shut-Down Schools?

• ITT Tech Students Refuse to Repay Loans in Protest Over Government Policy

• CFPB Penalizes Bridgepoint Over Private Loans

• Student Loan Forgiveness Can Come With A Tax Bomb

• Short-Term Fixes For Long-Term Student Loan Problems

• How One Woman Faked Her Death To Escape Student Loan Debt

• How One Woman Faked Her Death To Escape Student Loan Debt

• Failed Clay County Ky. factory Leads to Second Guilty Plea in Fraud Case

• DOJ Seeks $14B From Deutsche Bank