News
Bankruptcy and Social Security Income
In In re Welsh, 711 F. 3d 1120, 35 (9th Cir. 2013) the Ninth Circuit Court held: “We conclude that Congress’s adoption of the BAPCPA forecloses a court’s consideration of a debtor’s Social Security income or a debtor’s payments to secured creditors as part of the inquiry into good faith under 11 U.S.C. § 1325(a).” So in the Ninth Circuit social security income, and debtor’s monthly payments owed to secured creditors (on Notes secured by Deeds of Trust, secured vehicle loans, etc) cannot be counted in a Chapter 13 case, to determine whether or not the debtor’s proposed Chapter 13…
Serious Mortgage Delinquencies Soar To a 10-Year High, reports Credit & Collection e-newsletter on 8/24/20
Good News and Bad News – The Black Knight Mortgage Monitor for July has a bit of good news and bad. The Good News: Mortgage delinquencies continued to improve in July, falling 9% from June, with more than 340K fewer past due mortgages than the month prior. Early-stage delinquencies (30 days past due) have fallen below their pre-pandemic norms. This is a good sign that – at least for the time being – the inflow of new COVID-19-related delinquencies has subsided. Though foreclosure starts ticked up slightly for the month, COVID-19 foreclosure moratoriums are keeping both foreclosure starts and completions…
Analysis: Small Firms Die Quietly, Leaving Thousands of Failures Uncounted
American Bankruptcy Institute on 8/12/20 reports that big companies are going bankrupt at a record pace, but that’s only part of the carnage. By some accounts, small businesses are disappearing by the thousands amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and the drag on the economy from these failures could be huge, Bloomberg News reported. “Probably all you need to do is call the utilities and tell them to turn them off and close your door,” said William Dunkelberg, who runs a monthly survey as chief economist for the National Federation of Independent Business. Nevertheless, closures “are going to be well above normal…
Struggling Retailers Use Bankruptcy to Break Leases by the Thousands
Struggling Retailers Use Bankruptcy to Break Leases by the Thousands, reports the American Bankruptcy Institute, on 8/620: With the pandemic intensifying the plight of U.S. retailers, companies ranging from J. Crew Group Inc. to the owner of Ann Taylor are using chapter 11 bankruptcy filings to quickly get out of costly, long-term leases and shutter thousands of stores, Bloomberg News reported. By seeking court protection, firms like Neiman Marcus Group Inc. and the parent company of Men’s Wearhouse avoid the headache of protracted negotiations with individual landlords. But the moves threaten to upend huge swaths of the real estate market…
A New Challenge for Debtors Who Received PPP Loans Under the federal CARES Act
A New Challenge for Debtors Who Received PPP Loans Under the federal CARES Act: if the borrow is in bankruptcy, the borrower may not be able to get the borrower’s PPP loan forgiven, because the borrower filing bankruptcy may be claimed by lender to constitute an act of default, under the PPP loan terms: The CARES Act and corresponding paycheck protection program (PPP) provisions continue to provide fertile ground for discourse concerning policy implications and legislative intent amid an unprecedented pandemic, according to an analysis by David M. Barlow of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Arizona in…
CARES Act Amendment
In two decisions on 7/30/20, by two different bankruptcy judges in two different states, the bankruptcy judges’ decisions agree that the CARES Act Amendment, which allows chapter 13 plans to be extended to last for seven years (instead of the statutory 5 year maximum Chapter 13 plan length stated in 11 USC ……) is applicable only to plans confirmed before March 27, 2020. 3/27/20 is the date the CARES Act went into effect. A Chapter 13 plan confirmed after 3/27/20 can only be maximum length 5 years (60 months), NOT 7 years. No answer yet as how Courts in the…
The United States Senate has unanimously passed legislation protecting stimulus checks from being garnished by creditors
Credit & Collection e-newsletter of 7/28/20 reports:The United States Senate has unanimously passed legislation protecting stimulus checks from being garnished by creditors. The bipartisan bill, co-sponsored by senate finance committee chairman Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), will ensure that coronavirus relief payments go directly to the aid of Americans. “This is a common sense measure that will ensure the $1,200 Economic Impact Payments Congress provided to help individuals meet essential needs during these trying times don’t instead end up in the pockets of creditors and debt collectors,” Grassley said in a statement, according to Newsweek. “The…
American Bankrutpcy Institute E-newsletter of 7/23/20 Reports that Democratic Senators Push Bill Allowing Student Loans to Be Discharged in Bankruptcy, Under Certain Circumstances
Democratic Senators introduced a bill today (7/23/20) that would allow people to cancel student loan debt in bankruptcy if they can show income loss tied to economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic, the Wall Street Journal reported. The measure from Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) and Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) would allow student loan cancellations for people who either racked up large medical bills in the past three years or lost wages because of the coronavirus fallout. Republicans have expressed concerns that widespread student loan cancellations will cause the cost of higher education to rise, and earlier attempts to ease student loan…
Bankruptcy Press reports a 26% increase in Chapter 11 bankruptcy filings so far in 2020, over 2019
A 26% increase in Chapter 11 filings so far in 2020 as compared to last year can largely be blamed on the effects of COVID-19, and restructuring professionals say the spike is mirroring trends seen at the beginning of the 2008 financial crisis. Legal services firm Epiq Global released a report this week with data on the number of bankruptcy filings so far this year, revealing commercial restructuring cases are up 26% over 2019 as of the end of June, while the number of bankruptcy cases of all kinds was actually down by a similar margin over last year. The…
U.S. Weekly Jobless Claims Fall; But a Record 32.9 Million People are receiving Unemployment
Benefits, reports American Bankruptcy Institute’s 7/9/20 e-newsletter: New applications for U.S. jobless benefits fell last week, but a record 32.9 million Americans were collecting unemployment checks in the third week of June, Reuters reported. Economists cautioned against reading too much into the drop in weekly jobless claims reported by the Labor Department on Thursday, noting that the period included the July 4 Independence Day. Claims data are volatile around holidays. Large parts of the country, including densely populated states like Florida, Texas and California, are dealing with record spikes of new COVID-19 cases, which have forced a scaling back or…