September 09, 2016

Judge Ameliorates Louisiana’s Stingy ‘All or Nothing’ Exemption for Wedding Rings

Exemption value to be decided at a ‘one-shot’ public auction.

5th Circuit, Louisiana, Louisiana Western District

September 08, 2016

District Judge May Have Split with Ninth Circuit BAP on Estate Property

Subprime loan and mortgage abuses generate interesting question worthy of a law school final exam.

9th Circuit, Idaho

September 07, 2016

Chapter 13 Plan Ok’d with Balloon Payment for Secured Lender

Georgia judge parts with ‘overwhelming majority’ of decisions precluding balloon payments.

11th Circuit, Georgia, Georgia Middle District

Punitive Damage Claim from Involuntary Dismissal Brings Jury Trial Rights

Section 303(i)(2) claim, similar to malicious prosecution, invokes Seventh Amendment jury trial rights.

3rd Circuit, Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Eastern District

September 06, 2016

Florida Judge Extends a Trustee’s Statute of Limitations to 10 Years

Courts split on giving trustees the IRS’ 10-year statute of limitations for avoidance actions.

11th Circuit, Florida, Florida Southern District

September 02, 2016

Denial of Motions to Dismiss Petitions: Are They Final or Not?

Bullard leaves questions unanswered when debtors move to dismiss their own petitions.

2nd Circuit, New York, New York Eastern District

September 01, 2016

Frost on Homesteads in Chapter 13 Extended to Exempt IRAs in Chapter 7

Debtors must maintain exempt status of assets until chapter 7 case is closed, judge rules.

5th Circuit, Texas, Texas Southern District

August 31, 2016

Third and Ninth Circuits Split on Preemption of Non-Debtor Claims by Section 303(i)

Judge Ambro allows non-debtors to sue for damages from dismissal of involuntary petition.

3rd Circuit

August 30, 2016

Connecticut District Judge Allows ‘Chapter 20’ to Strip Off Subordinate Lien

Second Circuit primed to agree or split with three circuits on ‘chapter 20’ lien stripping.

2nd Circuit, Connecticut

Alabama Judge Takes Majority View on Automatic Stay Termination for Repeat Filers

For serial filers, automatic stay held to terminate only on the debtor’s property.

11th Circuit, Alabama, Alabama Middle District