January 22, 2021

No Retroactive Adequate Protection in Chapter 13, Judge Trust Says

Long Island judge follows ‘Burt’ Lifland and rules that a secured creditor is not entitled to adequate protections for periods of time before filing a motion giving rise to adequate protection.

2nd Circuit, New York, New York Eastern District

December 10, 2020

Subchapter V Trustees Are Entitled to ‘Reasonable’ Compensation Without a “Cap”

Section 326(b) could have been (incorrectly) read to mean that non-standing subchapter V trustees are not entitled to compensation.

9th Circuit, Idaho

December 07, 2020

‘Doing Everything Possible’ Can Result in Cutting a Fee Request, Judge Thad Collins Says

An oversecured lender may not be entitled to a fee allowance from the estate that a private client might be willing to pay.

8th Circuit, Iowa, Iowa Northern District

December 04, 2020

Court of Claims Upholds Fee Increase for U.S. Trustee System

The Fifth Circuit and now the Court of Claims found no constitutional flaw in the 2017 increase in fees paid by chapter 11 debtors to the U.S. Trustee system.

5th Circuit

November 25, 2020

Pursuing Appointment as a Future Claims Representative Isn’t Compensable in Delaware

Pursuing appointment benefitted the professional career of the applicant and did not benefit the estate, Judge Silverstein said.

3rd Circuit, Delaware

November 17, 2020

Courts Split on Paying Chapter 13 Trustee Fees in Cases Dismissed Before Confirmation

Long Island judge finds no ambiguity in two statutes that other courts have found ambiguous when read together.

2nd Circuit, New York, New York Eastern District

November 06, 2020

Fifth Circuit Upholds Constitutionality of Increase in U.S. Trustee Fees

Dissenter in the Fifth Circuit believes that having both U.S. Trustees and bankruptcy administrators violates the Uniformity Clause.

5th Circuit

October 19, 2020

California Judge Explains Why Acevedo Doesn’t Bar Retroactive Orders

Retroactive and nunc pro tunc orders aren’t the same thing, Judge Jaime says. Orders may be retroactive when the power is implied by statute.

9th Circuit, California, California Eastern District

October 13, 2020

Unrepentant Lender Slammed with $260,000 in Damages for an ‘Egregious’ Stay Violation

Lender soon recognized that home foreclosure violated the stay but continued denying liability through seven years of litigation.

4th Circuit, North Carolina, North Carolina Western District

September 09, 2020

Undisclosed Fee Sharing Results in Disqualification and Disgorgement in Delaware

Since they weren’t bankruptcy lawyers, the firm wasn’t disqualified for the first nondisclosure offense. The second time, Delaware’s Judge Dorsey ordered disqualification and disgorgement

3rd Circuit, Delaware