Consumer Bankruptcy

The Small Business Owner’s Chapter 13

Who Gets What? Chapter 7 and 13 Conversions, Dismissal Considerations and More

Bankruptcy Judge Says Espinosa Overrules Eleventh Circuit Precedent

A chapter 13 plan that improperly modifies a home mortgage remains binding unless the lender has objected to confirmation.

Earmarking Seems to Be a Dead Letter in the Tenth Circuit

BAP says the Tenth Circuit adopts legal fictions to create preferences.

Fifth Circuit Muses on the Split over Pleading Standards for Fraudulent Schemes

Fifth Circuit generally holds that heightened pleading standards in Rule 9(b) do not apply to claims that don’t rely on fraudulent activity, even though the overall scheme may be fraudulent.

Supreme Court Rejects Strict Liability for Discharge Violations

‘No objectively reasonable basis’ is the high court standard to find civil contempt for violating the discharge injunction.

FDCPA Plaintiffs Aren’t Required to Plead the Debt Collector’s Knowledge of Bankruptcy

A debtor collector’s knowledge or intent aren’t elements of a claim under the FDCPA.

Legislative Highlights June 2019

June 2019