Another Case Shows the Need to Provide Remedies for Discharge Violations
Discharge was violated, but sanctions are likely out of reach.
Two Circuits Hold that a Debt Buyer Can Be a ‘Debt Collector’ Under the FDCPA
Even the dissenter in the Ninth Circuit would not let a debt buyer off the hook if the complaint were properly pleaded.
Mortgage Servicer Hit with $300,000 in Actual and Punitive Damages for Stay Violation
The creditor was guilty of an automatic stay violation, but Taggart insulated the creditor from liability for a discharge violation for continuation of the same conduct.
Ninth Circuit Equivocates on ‘Collection Injunctions’ in Individual Chapter 11s
Dissenter in the Ninth Circuit says that utilizing provisions in the Bankruptcy Code is not bad faith barring confirmation.
Judge Finds a Workaround to Avoid Using Nunc Pro Tunc Retentions
Judge Grossman finds a way to grant allowances of compensation for services performed before the entry of a retention order.
To Impair an Exemption, Judicial Lien Must Attach to Property the Debtor Already Owns
A judicial lien may be avoided under Section 522(f) only if the lien attached after the debtor acquired the property.
Ninth Circuit Takes a Hard Line Against Waiving Discharge Inadvertently
The Ninth Circuit may be backing off from Ybarra, a case that waives discharge for attorneys’ fees if the debtor ‘returns to the fray.’
HAVEN Act May Be Employed to Reduce Payments Under a Confirmed Chapter 13 Plan
Judge Shefferly writes a complicated opinion on the retroactivity of the HAVEN Act to cases filed prior to enactment.
Fifth Circuit Rules that the Penalty under the ACA Isn’t a Priority Tax Claim
The exaction for failure to purchase health insurance isn’t an excise tax ‘on a transaction’ under Section 507(a)(8)(E)(i).
Must a Debtor Be Destitute Before Discharging Student Loans?
Unemployed for 16 months, surviving on food stamps, and living rent-free enabled a debtor to discharge student loans.