October 23, 2019

Stay Annulment Is Ok Just to Avoid Liability for Willful Stay Violation

The debtors didn’t have a great case for a stay violation after filing six chapter 13 petitions and living rent-free for five years.

9th Circuit

October 10, 2019

Failure to Raise a Stern Objection Violates a Lawyer’s Standard of Care

The lawyer whose waiver led to Wellness International avoided malpractice by the skin of his teeth.

7th Circuit, Illinois, Illinois Northern District

October 01, 2019

Lawyer Sanctioned for Filing at the Last Minute when Title Had Passed Already

Lawyer was sanctioned under Rule 9011 for filing a petition when the lawyer should have known that title had already passed in a foreclosure sale.

3rd Circuit, New Jersey

September 11, 2019

Non-Debtor’s Creditors Must Have Notice of Substantive Consolidation, Circuit Says

Equitable nature of substantive consolidation requires notice to creditors of non-debtors who might be affected.

9th Circuit

August 30, 2019

Taggart’s Effect Evident in Eleventh Circuit Ruling on Discharge Violation

An action that could violate the FDCPA may not be a violation of the discharge injunction.

11th Circuit

August 21, 2019

Chapter 7 Debtor’s Counsel Permitted to Defend Creditors in Avoidance Suits

Bankruptcy Judge Carol A. Doyle parses the limited duties of a chapter 7 debtor to the estate.

August 15, 2019

Fourth Circuit Widens the Split on Judicial Estoppel’s Bad Faith Presumption

A debtor’s assertion of estate claims implicates ‘real party in interest,’ not Article III standing, circuit court says.

July 31, 2019

Losing Competitive Advantage Doesn’t Justify Redacting a Settlement Agreement

Judge Garrity in New York adopts a narrow view of ‘commercial information’ that may be redacted in a court filing.

2nd Circuit, New York, New York Southern District

July 29, 2019

A ‘Plausible’ Claim for a Discharge Violation Is No Longer Sufficient after Taggart

An Alabama case shows how Taggart heightened the pleading standards for a complaint alleging a violation of the discharge injunction.

11th Circuit, Alabama, Alabama Middle District

June 28, 2019

Second Circuit Opinion Raises Questions Left Open by Taggart v. Lorenzen

If a lower court buys an argument that’s clearly wrong, is the argument nonetheless ‘objectively reasonable?’ And does Taggart apply to an automatic stay violation?

2nd Circuit