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Insolvency Service “reframes” view of creditor – IPs can apply their discretion (UK)

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Bankruptcy and Steve Jobs

Words are powerful. The word “bankruptcy” carries enormous emotional baggage. People hear it and immediately jump to conclusions. “Failure,” “shame,” “irresponsibility,” “ruin” all come to mind. Recently, I met with an elderly couple. They had

Robosigning 2.0: Mortgage Foreclosure File Reviewers

Do you have what it takes to be a Mortgage Foreclosure File Reviewer Level 2? An intrepid researcher forwarded to me a job ad for a mortgage foreclosure reviewer who will be reviewing bank foreclosures per the OCC/Fed servicing fraud consent orders

What to know before selling 'as is'

Sell your home as is, so long as you know your obligations and the potential drawbacks.

Update on Success of HAMP — Homes Affordable Modification Program

Written by Craig D. Robins, Esq. The Obama Administration’s effort to assist struggling homeowners save their homes had been widely criticized. See my post: Problems with HAMP — Too Many to Count? Treasury Department statistics released this week

Top Ten Things You Need To Know About Debt Collectors

1. Debt collectors are NOT under oath when they are talking to you. There are restrictions on what they can say, but exagerration, saying what might happen if you do not pay, are allowed. 2. They are not trying to help you! They are not trying to

Get Government Out of Mortgage Guarantee Business

Investors don't require a government credit guarantee for other asset classes, have never requested it for mortgage securities, and have never explicitly gotten it.

Protests' Real Message for Banks: We Need Leadership

I was at a summit with 300 other community bankers when we were startled by chants of "Make Banks Pay!" Occupy Wall Street and related groups see no solutions coming out of Washington they are attacking bankers as public enemy #1.

Actor Armand Assante Enters Bankruptcy

Reuters Armand Assante attends Kazakhstan Fashion Week in October 2010. Rugged actor Armand Assante, who often plays a tough guy on film, has bowed to bankruptcy court—this time as a victim of alleged mortgage fraud that’s entangled his Hudson Valley

Judge Rakoff Squeezes Strike Zone for Madoff Trustee

Judge Jed S. Rakoff last week largely sided with Fred Wilpon and Saul Katz, the owners of the New York Mets, and their families and affiliated enterprises (the “Wilpon/Katz Group”) on their motion to dismiss the adversary proceeding brought by Irving

Steve Jobs and Bankruptcy

Tech visionary Steve Jobs died Wednesday. One of many items being circulated about him is a commencement address he gave at Stanford in 2005, and I wanted to focus on one passage which speaks to what we do as bankruptcy lawyers. Here, Jobs talks

Help! I Totaled My Car During My Chapter 13- What Happens Now?

Bankruptcy Lawbooks Once in a while, one of my Chapter 13 bankruptcy clients here in Houston “total” or totally destroys their car or truck during their Chapter 13 case. Not intentionally! But it happens, someone runs a red light and “T-Bones” them

A Closer Look at the Friendly's Bankruptcy Proceeding

Introduction As reported in the media, Friendly's Ice Cream Corporation ("Friendly's"), filed petitions for bankruptcy this week in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. According to the Declaration of Friendly's CFO (the

Guest Post: Austin Real Estate Is Kicking Major Butt: What Are They Doing Right? THEY’VE GOT JOBS!

Get this: Austin has an unemployment rate of only 6.7%. That could be why, except for South Padre Island, Austin now has the highest priced median homes in Texas: $194,600, according to the Real Estate center at Texas A&M University. Sales of

How Will Serious Flood or Natural Disaster Damage Impact My Bankruptcy Case?

2011 has been called “The Year of the Natural Disaster”. We have seen deadly tornadoes, massive floods, billion dollar blizzards, devastating drought, East Coast earthquakes, and Texas wildfires…oh my! Millions of Americans have had their lives

Knowledge Is Power For Bankruptcy, Steve Jobs And Our World In General.

The man who forever changed the way we communicate. Knowledge is power and the more knowledge you have about a subject such as bankruptcy,the more power you will have to make an informed decision. Steve Jobs lived by the philosophy that knowledge is

The Broke and the Beautiful: Sagamore Hotel Edition

This week on The Broke and the Beautiful, a fancy Miami Beach hotel checks into bankruptcy, while Beso LLC kisses Chapter 11 goodbye. Also this week, “The Donald” gets another brand under his belt, and the Dallas Stars are amping up for the new

Occupy Wall Street, "Fringe Banking" and Public Options

I happened to walk by Zuccoti Park in Manhattan yesterday, where the Occupy Wall Street protest is centered. I picked up a few pieces of protester literature. I can't say that I was in any way comprehensive in my collection. Some of the literature

Chapter 11 Bankruptcy News: Why The Spike in Homeowner Repossessions?

Ever since the “official” start of the recession in December 2007, homeowner foreclosures and Chapter 11 bankruptcy filings have been skyrocketing across the United States and around the world – with no signs of slowing down. In fact, recent

District Court’s Dismissal of Madoff Trustee’s Constructively Fraudulent Claims Against Customers Reaffirms a “Settled” Principle

Yet another decision has come out of the Madoff liquidation proceedings – this time, however, it wasn’t in favor of Irving Picard, the court-appointed trustee, and it has caused quite a bit of a buzz because of its potential to put the “kibosh” on a

Contractual Rights Vanish Again in the “Bermuda” of Triangular Setoff

The enforcement of triangular setoffs in bankruptcy, where affiliates set off their claims against the debtor, received another setback in a recent decision in the Lehman bankruptcy cases. See In re Lehman Brothers Inc., No. 08-01420 (JMP)