Consumer Bankruptcy

Consumer Bankruptcy November 2017

Privitera v. Curran: First Circuit Affirms Dismissal of Nondischargeability Complaint without Taking a Side in Circuit Split

[1]An important component of chapter 7 bankruptcy is the discharge of debts.[2] Congress excepted from this “fresh start” certain types of debts, including those involving fraud and deceit.[3] In Privitera v. Curran,[4] the First Circuit considered the discharge exception in § 523(a)(2)(B). Instead of wading into a murky circuit split involving the meaning of a “statement respecting ...

Evans v. Otimo: Revisiting Issue Preclusion in the Second Circuit

Creditors contemplating an objection to discharge proceeding pursuant to Bankruptcy Code § 523(a)(2)(A)’s fraud provision often think that a judgment in a prior state court action will automatically entitle them to judgment in bankruptcy court. Prior to reaching such conclusions, however, creditors should be mindful of several potential pitfalls.

Gun Trusts Not Bulletproof in Bankruptcy

Of all the topics that is sure to incite impassioned disagreement in our current age of partisan disunity, the issue of guns must be near to the top of the list. While some see guns as a uniquely American scourge leaving untold tragedy and carnage in their wake, others view the right to keep and bear arms as the foundation of liberty and the only insurance against tyrannical government.

Consumer Bankruptcy August 2017

CFPB Sues Ocwen for Technological Deficiencies in Mortgage Servicing

In April of 2017, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) sued Ocwen Financial Corporation (Ocwen) and its affiliates for supposed systematic deficiencies in their mortgage servicing business.

One of the Best Ways to Help Your Client: Keep Bankruptcy from Being a Paper Chase

In all bulk legal practices, there is a concept of a case that is “off the wheel”: a case that cannot be processed through the system in an orderly, cost-effective and efficient manner along with the hundreds of similar cases. Anyone having a bulk practice will tell you that an off-the-wheel case necessarily draws attention to itself; it requires greater overview and inquiry.

Practical Tips for (Discharge-Related) Piggyback Rides

[1]Creditors may attack a debtor’s discharge in two ways: by objecting to the debtor’s discharge in toto, or by objecting to the dischargeability of a particular debt.[2] Both require an adversary complaint.[3] An objecting party must file a § 727 or 523 complaint within 60 days after the first date set for the § 341 meeting.[4] Upon the motion of a party in interest before the deadline, the court may e

The Shield and the Sword: DSO Creditors' Collection Improves in Bankruptcy

The first portion of this article reviewed how a domestic support obligation (DSO) creditor need not shudder if he or she discovers that the DSO debtor has filed a bankruptcy. If a bankruptcy is filed, the DSO creditor knows the debt will not be discharged, the nondischargeable portion of the debt does not require a costly adjudication by adversary, and, if the estate administers assets for the creditors, the DSO creditor will be paid as the first priority. This portion of the article focuses on how Congress has fortified the protections and collections for DSO creditors.

Dischargeability Issues in Serial Bankruptcy Cases

A finding that a particular debt is excepted from a debtor’s discharge is not necessarily the end of the struggles between the debtor and creditor in bankruptcy court. Creditors holding debts that were once held to be nondischargeable are not necessarily able to rest on the prior judgment in a subsequent bankruptcy case, and debtors may wish to use chapter 13 to obtain a broader discharge than they received in chapter 7. The Bankruptcy Code offers some guidance on how to handle these situations, but statutory ambiguity has led to unexpected or anomalous results.

Subscribe to %1