Benchnotes By Aaron M. Kaufman, Bradley D. Pack and Christina Sanfelippo 1 Ninth Circuit: Section 1322(c)(2) Allows Bifurcation of Short-Term Loans Secured Against Debtors’ Primary Residences In Mission Hen LLC v. Lee, 2 the Ninth Circuit c…

The Case for Standing Chapter 13 Trustee Fee Retention in Pre-Confirmation Dismissals By Daryl J. Smith Chapter 13 is an essential component of the U.S. consumer bankruptcy system, offering debtors an opportunity to reorganize their finance…

President’s Column As I have often said, being a judge is a privilege. In a job full of privileges, two of the happiest — and most meaningful — things that I ever got to do is preside over naturalization ceremonies for new American citizens…

In a Chapter 7 Conversion, Where the Debtor Resides Determines Who Keeps an Asset’s Appreciation By Nauni Manty A debtor under a confirmed chapter 13 plan has been making regular plan payments for several months, or perhaps a few years. For…

Good-Faith Conversion Results in Retention of Post-Petition Appreciation By Michelle H. Bass Chapter 7 trustees in the Eighth and Ninth Circuits currently benefit from the holdings in Castleman 1 and Goetz. 2 These opinions permit the recov…

Legislative Highlights Bipartisan Legislation Introduced to Double Chapter 7 Trustee Compensation for No-Asset Cases Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) on May 7 introduced S. 1659, the “Bankruptcy Administration Improvement Act of 2025,” 1 to double…

President’s Column This is the first column that I’ve written after this year’s Annual Spring Meeting, and although it will be summer before you read these words, that conference is still fresh in my mind. I loved seeing many of you at the …

Broad Scope, or Slippery Slope? Justifications of Johnson By Jeffrey Fraser In Johnson v. Home State Bank, 1 the U.S. Supreme Court rendered a seemingly benign ruling regarding the impact of a chapter 7 discharge on a mortgage claim, conclu…

Legislative Highlights N.Y. Fed: U.S. Household Debt Increased 1 Percent in Q1 2025; Student Loan Delinquencies Rise Sharply The Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s Center for Microeconomic Data on May 13 1 issued its Quarterly Report on Hou…