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US Supreme Court has Recently Granted Petitions for Certiorari on Two Cases
The US Supreme Court has recently granted petitions for certiorari on two cases–Bank of America v. Calukett and Bank of America v. Toledo-Cardona–involving mortgage lien-stripping in bankruptcy. The fact that the US Supreme Court granted certiorari, regarding these two cases, means that the US Supreme Court will review, and could either affirm or reverse, the two US Courts of Appeal decisions. If the US Supreme Court were to reverse present law, which is that lienstripping is NOT allowed in Chapter 7, and is only allowed (under specific, limited, circumstances in Chapter 11, 12 and 13), that would be a HUGE…
Bankruptcy Judge’s Ruling in City of Stockton Chapter 9 (Municipality) bankruptcy case, which allowed Stockton to reduce its pension debt owed to present and retired City Employees, Is Not a Free Pass for Cities to Cut Pensions, say Experts
Bankruptcy Judge’s Ruling in City of Stockton Chapter 9 (Municipality) bankruptcy case, which allowed Stockton to reduce its pension debt owed to present and retired City Employees, Is Not a Free Pass for Cities to Cut Pensions, say Experts Although Judge Christopher M. Klein ruled on Wednesday in the Stockton, Calif., chapter 9 case that the city could use bankruptcy to wipe away its pension debt, experts do not view the bankruptcy judge’s oral statement as a free pass for other California cities struggling with rising pension costs, the New York Times reported on Friday. “He did give us a…
US Supreme Court has granted certiorari, to hear appeal on Baker Botts LLP v. ASARCO LLC
On Oct. 2, 2014, the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari in Baker Botts LLP v. ASARCO LLC, No. 14-103. Baker Botts, which represented debtor-in-possession ASARCO LLC in one of the largest and most complex chapter 11 bankruptcy cases ever, obtained a fee award from the bankruptcy court of $113 million for fees and costs, $4.1 million as an enhancement, and $5 million for defending its fee application. On appeal, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the $5 million award for defense of the fee application. Citing In re Pro-Snax Distributors Inc., 157 F.3d 414 (5th Cir. 1998), and Bankruptcy…
Secondary Debt Collectors Must Give Notice, Judge Says
The fair Debt Collection Practices Act requires subsequent debt collectors to notify consumers in writing, even if the prior holder or debt collector had already given notice, a federal judge has ruled. Deciding an issue that has divided courts, Southern District Judge William Pauley III said secondary collectors still must send a validation notice to avoid confusion by consumers over who holds the debt and whether they have the right to contest it. In Tocco v. Real Time Resolutions, 14-cv-810, Pauley said the requirement of a validation notice in 15 U.S.C. &1692g “applies to initial communications from each successive debt…
IN ASARCO CASE, SUPREME COURT WILL DECIDE WHETHER FEES AND COSTS INCURRED DEFENDING FEE APPLICATIONS ARE COMPENSABLE US
IN ASARCO CASE, SUPREME COURT WILL DECIDE WHETHER FEES AND COSTS INCURRED DEFENDING FEE APPLICATIONS ARE COMPENSABLE US Supreme Court has granted certiorari, to review the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals decision in Baker Botts L.L.P., et al. v. Asarco, LLC. The US Supreme Court will review and decide whether the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals was correct, or in error, in ruling that 11 USC §330(a) of the Bankruptcy Code does not authorize compensation for the fees and costs that counsel incur while defending their fee applications in bankruptcy court. The Supreme Court’s decision should provide much-needed guidance on…
US Supreme Court has Granted Certiorari, regarding Wellness Int’l Network, Limited v. Sharif, 727 F.3d 751 (7th Cir. 2013), cert. granted, 134 S.Ct. 2901 (2014)
US Supreme Court has Granted Certiorari, regarding Wellness Int’l Network, Limited v. Sharif, 727 F.3d 751 (7th Cir. 2013), cert. granted, 134 S.Ct. 2901 (2014), meaning that US Supreme Court, in its fall 2014 term, will hear and decide the issue raised by the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals decision, which is: Whether the presence of a subsidiary state property law issue in a 11 U.S.C. § 541 action brought against a debtor to determine whether property in the debtor’s possession is property of the bankruptcy estate means that such action does not "stem[] from the bankruptcy itself" and therefore,…
New Bankruptcy Filing Fee Increases to Take Effect June 1
The Judicial Conference of the United States has approved several bankruptcy related fee increases to take effect starting June 1. Based on the chapter, the cost to file will be: Chapter7: $335 Chapter13: $310 Chapter9,11and15: $1,717 Chapter 12: $275 The fee schedule changes project to raise about $35 million per year for the courts, based on current case loads.
Analysis: Supreme Court Hears Arguments on Whether an Inherited IRA is Exempt
By Charles J. Tabb Mildred Van Voorhis Jones Chair in Law, University of Illinois, and Resident Scholar for the American Bankruptcy Institute The United States Supreme Court yesterday heard oral arguments in the case of Clark v. Rameker, on the issue of whether an inherited IRA is exempt. The Seventh Circuit had denied the debtor’s exemption, disagreeing with the Fifth Circuit in the Chilton case, as well as the clear majority of lower courts, which had held that an inherited IRA is exempt under section 522(b)(3)(C) or 522(d)(12) (depending on whether the debtor elects the state or federal exemptions). On…
Preview: Scope of Protections for Retirement Funds in Bankruptcy at Issue in Case Before Supreme Court on Monday
Scheduled for oral argument on Monday, Clark v. Rameker presents the Supreme Court with a case that has a clean and straightforward question of statutory interpretation, with no looming shadow of oppressive media scrutiny, according to a SCOTUSBlog preview of the argument. Among the assets exempt from the estate of a debtor in bankruptcy, Congress has with steadily increasing generosity included a wide variety of retirement funds. The specific question in this case is whether those provisions exempt the $450,000 IRA that petitioner Heidi Clark inherited upon the death of her mother. If the IRA is exempt, she can keep…
Public Comment Period Ending Soon for Proposed Amendments to the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure
The Judicial Conference Advisory Committee on Bankruptcy Rules has proposed amendments to the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure and Official Forms, and requested that the proposals be circulated to the bench, bar, and public for comment. On August 15, 2013, the public comment period opened for the proposed amendments to Bankruptcy Rules 2002, 3002, 3007, 3012, 3015, 4003, 5005, 5009, 7001, 9006, and 9009, and Official Forms 17A, 17B, 17C, 22A-1, 22A-1Supp, 22A-2, 22B, 22C-1, 22C-2, 101, 101A, 101B, 104, 105, 106Sum, 106A/B, 106C, 106D, 106E/F, 106G, 106H, 106Dec, 107, 112, 113, 119, 121, 318, 423, and 427. The public…