News
California’s Debt Collection Licensing Act Creates Uncertainty
California’s new Debt Collection Licensing Act, Cal. Fin. Code § 100000 et seq., took effect on January 1, 2022. However, the legislature’s inartful and inconsistent draftsmanship has resulted in a great deal of uncertainty over who exactly must be licensed. Section 100001(a) provides that “no person shall engage in the business of debt collection in this state without first obtaining a license . . .”. Section 100005 authorizes the Commissioner of Financial Protection & Innovation to take specified enforcement actions if in her opinion ” a person who is required to be licensed under this division is engaged in business…
US Solicitor General Urges US Supreme Court to Review Constitutionality of the 2018 Increase in U.S. Trustee Fees
On 12/08/21, the U.S. Solicitor General urged the Supreme Court to grant certiorari, resolve a circuit split and decide whether the increase in fees payable to the U.S. Trustee system in 2018 violated the uniformity aspect of the Bankruptcy Clause of the Constitution because it was not immediately applicable in the two states that have bankruptcy administrators rather than U.S. Trustees.
Key Provisions in the Federal CARES Act
A key provisions in the federal CARES Act expires on March 28, 2022. Specifically, the maximum amount of debt a debtor can owe, and still be eligible to file bankruptcy in Subchapter V of Chapter 11, will decrease from $7.5 million, back to the original maximum debt amount of $2,725,625. It is uncertain whether Congress will extend this provision before it expires. The opportunity for a person or entity to file Subchapter V Chapter 11 (the simpler, faster, cheaper, more favorable for debtors kind of Chapter 11 bankruptcy case), where the debtor owes up to 7.5 million dollars of debt,…
In re Moore
As discussed in In re Moore, a recent Bankruptcy Court decision, cases and bankruptcy treatises are split on the question of whether or not a debtor who proposes a Chapter 13 plan which provides to pay 100% of what debtor owes to general unsecured creditors, is NOT entitled to have the Bankruptcy Judge confirm (aka approve) the Chapter 13 Plan, so it goes into effect, binding debtor and creditors, unless the Plan provides to pay general unsecured creditors interest, on their general unsecured claims, over the life of the Chapter 13 Plan,where the Debot is not devoting all the debtor’s…
Bankruptcy Venue Reform Act
The American Bankruptcy Institute 11/10/21 e-newsletter reports that: A Bipartisan Coalition of Attorneys General Support the US Congress passing, and President Biden signing into law, the Bankruptcy Venue Reform Act The National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG) sent a letter yesterday to Congress signed by 43 attorneys general in support of the Bankruptcy Venue Reform Act of 2021. Venue reform has long been needed, to require corporations, LLCs and partnerships to file bankruptcy in the State which is the principal place of business of the corporation, LLC or partnership, instead of having the option of filing bankruptcy in the State…
Mass Evictions Didn’t Result After U.S. Ban Ended, Despite Fears
When the federal moratorium on evictions ended in August, many feared that hundreds of thousands of tenants would soon be out on the streets. More than six weeks later, that hasn’t happened, the Wall Street Journal reported. Instead, a more modest uptick in evictions reflects how renter protections at the city and state levels still remain in parts of the country, housing attorneys and advocates said. Landlords, meanwhile, say the risk of an eviction epidemic was always overstated and that most building owners have been willing to work with cash-strapped tenants. Both groups also think that federal rental assistance, slow…
Debt Collection Licensing Act
The New California Debt Collection Licensing Act (“DCLA”) may require some lawyers to get licensed as debt collectors: California had been one of 16 states that did not require licensing of debt collectors. That changed last year with the enactment of the Debt Collection Licensing Act (“DCLA”). 2020 Cal. Stats. ch. 163 (SB 908). The DCLA will go into effect at the beginning of next year and provides for the licensing and regulation of debt collectors. As defined by the DCLA, a debt collector is “any person who, in the ordinary course of business, regularly, on behalf of that person…
One-Third Of American Families Weren’t Prepared For Financial Emergencies, Even Before The Pandemic
There’s a reason we’re supposed to load our savings accounts with cash for a rainy day. You never know when a catastrophic financial event might occur. And without money in the bank, you could wind up in a dire situation that sends you into debt or even bankruptcy. Now, when we think about financial catastrophes, it’s easy to point to the coronavirus outbreak as a recent example. The pandemic has been a major health crisis that many are still grappling with. But it also upended a lot of people’s finances. And unfortunately, a large number of Americans weren’t prepared to…
Update on Trying to Discharge Student Loan Debt
American Bankruptcy Institute 9/10/21 Update on Trying to Discharge Student Loan Debt: In July 2021, the Second Circuit issued an opinion favoring the dischargeability of certain private student loans in what appears to be a growing circuit trend. This trend correlates with the call for student loan reform, which has been at the forefront of the news in recent months. In Homaidan v. Sallie Mae Inc., the Second Circuit affirmed the bankruptcy court’s denial of lender Navient’s motion to dismiss on the basis that 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(8)(A)(ii) does not except private student loans from discharge. [1] Debtor Homaidan filed…
American Bankruptcy Institute Reports that 44 Percent of U.S. Small Businesses Have Less than 3 Months’ Worth of Cash
[ABI e-newsletter of 9/9/21] More than 18 months into the pandemic, bakery owner Letha Pugh is so low on cash that she’s afraid to spend it on anything other than paying her employees. She’s hardly alone: 44% of U.S. small businesses have less than three months of cash reserves, leaving them vulnerable to another shutdown due to COVID-19 or other financial emergencies, according to a Goldman Sachs survey of more than 1,100 small businesses, CBSNews.com reported. An even greater share — 51% — of Black-owned small businesses have less than three months’ cash on hand, according to the same survey.…