Over Dissent, the Fourth Circuit Says No Arbitration for Automatic Stay Violations
A nationwide class action for a stay violation seems to be an open issue.
Law Changes in Georgia on Calculation of Fees for Standing Trustees
By excluding payments by the debtor directly to secured creditors from the calculation of the standing trustee’s fee, the recovery increased for unsecured creditors in chapter 12.
Private Student Loans Are Discharged Entirely or Not at All, BAP Says
An Internal Revenue Code definition means that the bankruptcy court cannot make part of a private student loan dischargeable and another part nondischargeable.
Unexplained Loss of Assets Needn’t Be Substantial to Mean Loss of Discharge, Circuit Says
ABI’s president, Judge Bruce Harwood, is affirmed by the First Circuit.
On Dismissal in ‘13,’ the Debtor Gets a Refund Regardless of a Property Execution
The Supremacy Clause overrides a property execution when a chapter 13 petition is dismissed before confirmation.
Transfer to Tenants by the Entireties Was Exemption Planning Gone Too Far
Marriage on the eve of bankruptcy was a badge of fraud.
An Inheritance Received More than 180 Days After Filing Is Chapter 13 Estate Property
Majority of courts hold that the temporal limitation on inheritances in Section 541(a)(5) is nullified in chapter 13 by Section 1306(a).
Inside ABI March 2026
President’s Column I’m not a big fan of cliches, but “time flies when you’re having fun” is ringing in my ears as I write what will be my penultimate President’s Column and wondering how the months have passed so quickly since I took the gavel from Christopher A. Ward
Section 305 Is Grounds for a Debtor to Dismiss a Voluntary Chapter 7 Case
If the chapter 7 debtor has paid the filing fee and is current on filings, Section 707(a) isn’t grounds for voluntary dismissal.
$1.6 Million Fee Disgorgement Upheld for Failure to Disclose Fee-Sharing
The bankruptcy judge had authority to sanction a lawyer for all misconduct in the district, not just in the cases before that judge.