The Bankruptcy Law Firm, Prof. Corp.
SB 1099
Description: On August 30th, California Senate Bill 1099 was delivered to Governor Newsom’s desk for signature. NACBA is very proud to be the official sponsor of SB 1099. Join NACBA’s California working group as they walk you through the significant improvements to CA’s bankruptcy exemption laws & how you can apply them for your clients. WHY YOU SHOULD ATTEND: NACBA’s California working group assisted Senator Bob Wieckowski, the bill’s author, in getting these significant improvements to California’s bankruptcy laws. Highlights of SB 1099 that will be discussed include: “Ride through” option restored for vehicles (no more repos for failure to…
In re Klein, ___BR___ (US Bankruptcy Court D. Colo. Aug. 23, 2022) bky case No.17-19106: holds Debtor Retains Appreciation in Nonexempt Property Sold During Chapter 13
Judge Rosania answered a question left open by the Tenth Circuit in Barrera. Answering a question left open by the Tenth Circuit in Rodriguez v. Barrera (In re Barrera), 22 F.4th 1217 (10th Cir. Jan. 19, 2022), Bankruptcy Judge Joseph G. Rosania, Jr., of Denver decided that a chapter 13 debtor retains appreciation in the value of nonexempt property that the debtor owned on the filing date but sold in the course of the chapter 13 case. In Barrera, the Tenth Circuit held that nonexempt appreciation in the value of a home sold after confirmation of a chapter 13 plan…
The federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) Adds New Debt Collection Rule FAQs
Last week, the CFPB published additional frequently asked questions on Regulation F, its debt collection rule. The new FAQs address third-party communications, electronic communications, and unusual or inconvenient time and place provisions. Prohibitions on Third-Party Communications. The FAQs address the following questions: What is the Debt Collection Rule’s general prohibition on third-party communications? Are there exceptions to the general prohibition against third-party communications? Does the general prohibition on third-party communications apply to electronic communications from a debt collector about a debt? Electronic Communications. The FAQs address the following questions: Does the Debt Collection Rule require debt collectors to communicate electronically…
In re Castleman
In re Castleman, (US District Court W.D. Wash. July 1, 2022), appeal to District Court from Bankruptcy Court, DC case no. 21-00829: US District Court Affirms that when a Chapter 13 Debtor’s bankruptcy case is converted from Chapter 13 to Chapter 7, that appreciation in the value of debtor’s residence/real property from when the Chapter 13 case was filed, onward, belongs to the Chapter 7 bankruptcy estate, not to the debtor; whereas if the debtor had remained in Chapter 13, the appreciation in the value of the residence/real property, during the Chapter 13 case, belongs to the Chapter 13 bankruptcy…
Commentary: The Aging Student Debtors of America
Americans aged 62 and older are the fastest-growing demographic of student borrowers, according to a commentary in the New Yorker. Of the 45 million Americans who hold student debt, one in five are more than 50 years old. Between 2004 and 2018, student loan balances for borrowers over 50 increased by 512 percent. Perhaps because policymakers have considered student debt as the burden of upwardly mobile young people, inaction has seemed a reasonable response, as if time itself will solve the problem. But in an era of declining wages and rising debt, Americans are not aging out of their student…
Stark v. Pryor (In re Stark), 20-4766 (E.D.N.Y. June 28, 2022): US District Court Judge Bars a “Short Sale”, Unless the bankruptcy debtor’s Homestead Exemption is paid in full
Reversing, a Long Island district judge credits value to a homeowner’s ability to delay foreclosure, taking a position contrary to a recent decision from a Ninth Circuit B.A.P. On an issue where the lower courts are split, a district judge on Long Island, N.Y., reversed the bankruptcy court by holding that a debtor is entitled to a homestead exemption in sale proceeds when the mortgage lender offers to buy the home and voluntarily takes a haircut designed to create an estate for unsecured creditors and the trustee’s commission. The debtor’s mortgage was long in default. After judgment of foreclosure, the…
MOAC Mall Holdings LLC v. Transform Holdco LLC (In re Sears Holdings Corp.) 20-1846 (US Supreme Court), and Bartenwerfer v. Buckley, 21-908 (US Supreme Court)
The US Supreme Court now has two bankruptcy cases on the calendar for argument in the term to begin in October, 2022. These are MOAC Mall Holdings LLC v. Transform Holdco LLC (In re Sears Holdings Corp.) 20-1846 (US Supreme Court), and Bartenwerfer v. Buckley, 21-908 (US Supreme Court). On 6/27/22, the US Supreme Court granted a petition for certiorari, ithe MOAC case, to decide whether the failure to obtain the stay of a sale approval order erects a jurisdictional bar to appeal under Section 363(m). The courts of appeals are split 6-2. Led by the Second Circuit, the minority…
President Biden Signed Into Law the Bill Raising the Debt Limit for Subchapter V of Chapter 11 and Chapter 13
On 6/21/22, President Biden signed into law the bill raising the debt limit for Subchapter V of Chapter 11 back to 7.5 million dollars, permanently, and raising the debt limit for ch13 to $2.75 million (total 2.75 million secured and unsecured debt, together). This is a beneficial and necessary change, including because the 2.75 million debt limit for Subchapter V of Chapter 11 was too low, and the debt limit for Chapter 13 (the individual wage earner repayment plan chapter of bankruptcy) was also too low, including because of high inflation.
In Older Americans, Rising Debt May Adversely Affect Health
The New York Times Newspaper reported on 6/5/22, updated 6/6/22, that research shows that debt has risen among older people, and those who owe are more likely to have multiple diagnosed illnesses. Denise Revel had a history of developing blood clots, so in 2011, when her leg grew painfully swollen and hot to the touch, she knew what to do. She headed for the emergency room. She recovered from the clot but could not pay the medical bill. Working as a fitness instructor, she had no health insurance. “I’ve always been financially challenged,” said Ms. Revel, 62, who lives with…
$5.8 Billion in Loans Will Be Forgiven for Corinthian Colleges Students
In its largest student loan forgiveness action ever, the Education Department said on Wednesday, 6/1/22, that it will wipe out $5.8 billion owed by 560,000 borrowers who attended Corinthian Colleges, one of the nation’s biggest for-profit college chains before Corinthian College collapsed in 2015, the New York Times reported.