For consumer debtor attorneys, getting paid has become quite a challenge. A debtor’s attorney must either get paid pre-petition in a chapter 7, diminishing what would otherwise be nonexempt property of the debtor, or get paid out of “projected disposable income” in a chapter 13.
By now, we are all aware of the student debt crisis this country and the lack of relief available through bankruptcy. Borrowers have an uphill battle when it comes to meeting the undue-hardship test and qualifying for a discharge of their student loans.
Four congressmen have answered “no” to the title question and introduced the Protecting All College Tuition Act of 2015 (PACT).[1] The bill simply provides: “Section 548 of title 11, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: ‘(f) A payment of tuition by a parent to an institution of higher education (as defined
Odysseus faced an impossible choice.
Section 109 of the Bankruptcy Code has requirements that define who may be a debtor. In consumer cases, a debtor may be ineligible for chapter 7 if he/she has significant income; more specifically, if the debtor has failed the means test set forth in § 707(b).
One of the themes of the Final Report and Recommendations released by the ABI’s Commission to Study the Reform of Chapter 11 is the shift in the balance of power between a distressed company and its creditors, as well as the introduction of perceived inequities among creditor constituencies.
For years, the law regarding the impact of a bankruptcy petition on the rights of a property tax purchaser in Illinois was unclear.
On April 3, 2015, U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas ruled that business social media accounts are property of the estate. Accordingly, the court ordered the former owner to relinquish control of the accounts, which the former owner claimed were personal and not business related.[1]
In In re Alternate Fuels Inc.[1], the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals describes and applies standards for (1) recharacterizing debt claims as camouflaged equity and (2) equitably subordinating debt claims. In doing so, the court confirmed two things:
What happens if an undersecured creditor makes an election under 11 U.S.C. § 1111(b) but does not otherwise participate in the bankruptcy process? The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals addressed this question in In re R.L. Adkins Corp. In In re Adkins, the debtor filed a plan of reorganization recognizing the lien of Bakers Hughes Oilfield Operations, Inc. (BHO) on four mineral leases and one well. The total amount due to BHO far exceeded the value of its collateral.
