Is it a violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act for a creditor to file a Proof of Claim in a bankruptcy case on an old debt that is no longer collectible by virtue of a Statute of Limitation? Ever since the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in Crawford vs. LVNV Funding that
I had the pleasure of attending the Nebraska Association of Trial Attorneys seminar held at the Nebraska College of Law a week ago, and it got me thinking about how much trial attorneys need to understand about the bankruptcy process. In a nutshell, here are seven things every trial attorney should understand about bankruptcy.
1. Injury
The 8th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that a homeowner has a private right of action to sue their mortgage lender when the bank fails to properly process the application. Topchain v JPMorgan Chase, No. 13-2128 (8th Cir. 2014). This is a significant case because the HAMP laws do not specifically
Across the State of Nebraska, you could have heard a collective groan of debtor attorneys as the Nebraska Bankruptcy Court issued a new ruling limiting the ability of debtors to avoid liens in motor vehicles. In the case of In re Cardwell, the Court ruled that a debtor may not utilize the “Tool of
A recent ruling by the Nebraska Bankruptcy Court underscores one of the primary differences between the treatment of divorce debts in Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 cases. (See In re Schulz, Nebraska Adversary Case #12-04070).
On August 30, 2011, the District Court for Buffalo County, Nebraska entered a divorce decree that included a division
The 8th Circuit Bankruptcy Appellate Panel has ruled that a Chapter 13 debtor may not create a special class of unsecured creditors for nonpriority, nondischargeable tax debts at the expense of other unsecured creditors. In the case of Shawn & Lauren Copeland v. Richard V. Fink, the debtors sought to create a separate class
Two new court opinions were recently handed down by the 5th and 10th Circuit Court of Appeals on the issue of whether Social Security income is considered “projected disposable income” under the Bankruptcy Code. Projected disposable income is income that must be paid over to creditors during a 3 to 5 year Chapter 13 payment plan.
In the
I had coffee with a great friend of mine who began his own bankruptcy practice a few years ago. He explained that he recently acquired a very difficult case involving a debtor with a high paying job and he expected a brutal Chapter 13 confirmation process—i.e, he expected the Trustee to demand a significant monthly
I recently came across an excellent series of videos on the basics of consumer bankruptcy created by the U.S. Courts. There are nine videos in total, and here is the link to watch them all.
Chapter 13 cases involve a payment plan over 3 to 5 years. No case may be completed in less than 3 years (unless an undue hardship exists), nor may the plan extend beyond 5 years.
Since 2005, the Bankruptcy Code now requires that debtors whose income is above the median family income levels to remain