It’s almost springtime, and thoughts in the bankruptcy world naturally turn to … tax refunds. To be sure, bankruptcy trustees have been busy for the last six months ensuring that debtors will turn over their pre-petition tax refunds. Debtors’ counsel have been equally busy advising their new clients on how to protect their tax refunds in advance of filing.
In July 2014, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) filed suit against Frederick J. Hanna & Associates P.C., a Georgia-based debt-collection firm, alleging violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) and the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 (CFPA).
Perhaps overshadowed by the overhaul of most of the official bankruptcy forms are the amendments to the Federal Rules of both Bankruptcy and Civil Procedure that took effect on Dec. 1, 2015. Specifically, Federal Rule of Bankruptcy Procedure 1007 and Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 1, 4, 16, 26, 30, 31, 33, 34, 37 and 55 were amended.
The Third Circuit recently became the first U.S. Court of Appeals to rule that a pension plan established by a church agency does not qualify as an exempt “church plan” under subsection 4(b)(2) of the Employment Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).
As the first session of the 114th Congress ended on Dec. 18, 2015, nearly 50 pieces of legislation addressing a variety of bankruptcy and debt issues were added to ABI’s Newsroom. Eleven bills introduced throughout 2015 focused on the issue of student loans, either allowing for the discharge of student loans in bankruptcy or proposing additional consumer protections.
Introduction
Lawyers focusing on corporate bankruptcy matters, especially those who work at firms with a large national presence, often represent clients throughout the country and are commonly admitted to practice in more than one jurisdiction. Further, bankruptcy attorneys often blend their practice with bankruptcy court litigation and out-of-court restructuring and transactional matters.
After a significant amount of litigation including an appeal, remand and trial over a two-year period, the bankruptcy court overseeing In re River Road Hotel Partners LLC[1] ultimately determined that FBR Capital Markets & Co., located in Arlington, Va. (FBR), was entitled to payment of its restructuring fee of $2,666,965.73 and expenses of $12,179.01.
In June 2015, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals decided In re Alternate Fuels Inc.,[1] clarifying its position on debt-equity recharacterization in light of two Supreme Court decisions and further entrenching a circuit split on recharacterization analysis.
