Supreme Court Won’t Settle Circuit Split on Transfer to a Debtor’s Own Account
Fourth Circuit splits with the Ninth and Tenth on ‘what is a transfer?’
Judge Name - Do not use it.
Supreme Court
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Circuits Split, Judge Teel Earmarks Collateral Surcharges for All ‘Admin’ Creditors
Law v. Siegel didn’t insulate professionals from disgorging interim fee awards.
Judge Name - Do not use it.
S. Martin Teel, Jr.
No Statutory Fees for Standing Chapter 13 Trustees if Dismissal Precedes Confirmation
With no circuit authority, lower courts are split on the fate of standing trustees’ fees when a chapter 13 case is dismissed before confirmation.
Ex-Trump Adviser Paul Manafort Conspired to Mislead Bankruptcy Court, Son-in-Law Claims
As federal authorities investigate former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort's controversial ties to Russia, his estranged son-in-law is accusing him of conspiring to mislead a federal bankruptcy court about real estate investments, USA Today reported. Jeffrey Yohai made the allegation on Sept. 28 in a case that centers on four troubled California real estate investments that collectively total millions of dollars. Manafort's daughter, Jessica, filed for divorce from Yohai in March. Yohai's legal declaration alleged that Manafort and other parties in the cases "have all conspired to mislead this court ... as to their true intentions and motivations." Yohai has worked in real estate in California and New York, business and court records show. Part of that work has focused on buying upscale homes in the Los Angeles area, renovating them and then marketing and reselling the properties to luxury buyers. Four of the properties he planned to redevelop now are in the bankruptcy proceedings. Manafort, his wife Kathleen and daughter Jessica, helped finance Yohai's redevelopment efforts by putting up approximately $4.2 million, bankruptcy court records show.
BofA Judge Doesn't Want to Rip Up Scathing Ruling Against Bank
A bankruptcy judge who rebuked Bank of America Corp. over its “heartless” foreclosure on a California couple is not happy that the homeowners want him to erase his ruling, Bloomberg News reported yesterday. The couple reached a private settlement with the bank that calls for rescinding both the $45 million penalty that Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Klein imposed on the lender and the scathing ruling he issued in March. “So you want me to take the injunction and tear it up and throw it out,” Judge Klein asked during a hearing yesterday in Sacramento. He then explained that if the opinion is vacated, it will be expunged from the annals of law and can’t be cited as a precedent in other foreclosure abuse cases. As one of the couple’s lawyers explained to the judge that they were very grateful for what he’d done in the case and said that approving the settlement wouldn’t take away from the message in his ruling, the wife sat in the courtroom next to her husband and cried silently. Judge Klein sent attorneys for the couple and the bank to meet privately with another judge to discuss further revising the settlement. After they spent four hours behind closed doors, the judge announced there were some unresolved issues and that they’d try to wrap it up on Oct. 18.
September Commercial Chapter 11 Filings Up 16 Percent over Last Year; Total Filings Fall 7 Percent
Commercial chapter 11 filings totaled 425 in September, a 16 percent increase over September 2016’s total of 365 filings, according to data provided by Epiq Systems, Inc. Overall business filings decreased to 2,854 filings in September, a 12 percent drop from September 2016’s total of 3,251 filings. Total U.S. filings registered 60,001 in September 2017, down 7 percent from last September’s total of 64,635. The 57,147 consumer filings in September also represented a 7 percent decrease from the September 2016 consumer total of 61,384.
Counsel Must Eat Filing Fees in ‘No-Money-Down’ Chapter 13s
Lawyers can’t be reimbursed for advancing filing fees through fee applications or ‘no-look’ fees.
Judge Name - Do not use it.
John W. Kolwe
Previously Listing Property as a Principal Residence Didn’t Preclude a Later Cramdown
Limited knowledge of English and ‘nuances’ in legal terms saved debtor from a fatal admission.
Judge Name - Do not use it.
Nancy Hershey Lord
September Commercial Chapter 11 Filings Up 16 Percent over Last Year; Total Filings Fall 7 Percent
Alexandria, Va.— Commercial chapter 11 filings totaled 425 in September, a 16 percent increase over September 2016’s total of 365 filings, according to data provided by Epiq Systems, Inc. Overall business filings decreased to 2,854 filings in September, a 12 percent drop from September 2016’s total of 3,251 filings. Total U.S. filings registered 60,001 in September 2017, down 7 percent from last September’s total of 64,635. The 57,147 consumer filings in September also represented a 7 percent decrease from the September 2016 consumer total of 61,384.
“Consumers and businesses looking to stay afloat through financial distress may steer away from the relief of bankruptcy due to high filing costs,” said ABI Executive Director Samuel J. Gerdano. “The recommendations of ABI’s Chapter 11 Commission and the ongoing efforts of the Commission on Consumer Bankruptcy aim to make bankruptcy more accessible for struggling businesses and families.”
To review the final recommendations of the ABI Commission to Study the Reform of Chapter 11, please click here. To view the ongoing work and upcoming meetings of ABI’s Commission on Consumer Bankruptcy, please click here.
Total U.S. bankruptcy filings fell 1 percent during the first nine months of 2017 (Jan. 1-Sept. 30) from the same period a year ago as the 589,088 filings decreased from 593,206 in 2016. The 560,239 total noncommercial filings through the first three quarters of 2017 also represented a 1 percent drop from the noncommercial filing total of 564,244 through the first three quarters of 2016. Commercial bankruptcy filings during the first nine months of the year decreased 0.4 percent to 28,849 from the 28,962 filings during the same period in 2016. Commercial chapter 11 filings also decreased during the first nine months of 2017 as the 4,200 filings represented a 3 percent drop from the 4,317 chapter 11 filings during the first nine months of 2016.
The average nationwide per capita bankruptcy filing rate for the first nine calendar months of 2017 (Jan. 1-Sept. 30) decreased slightly to 2.53 (total filings per 1,000 population) from the 2.55 rate for the first eight months of the year. The average daily filing total in September 2017 was 3,000, a 3 percent decrease from the 3,078 total daily filings registered in September 2016. States with the highest per capita filing rates (total filings per 1,000 population) through the first nine months of 2017 were:
1. Alabama (5.79)
2. Tennessee (5.62)
3. Georgia (4.72)
4. Mississippi (4.17)
5. Utah (4.12)
For further information about the statistics or additional requests, please contact ABI Public Affairs Manager John Hartgen at 703-894-5935 or jhartgen@abiworld.org.
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ABI is the largest multi-disciplinary, nonpartisan organization dedicated to research and education on matters related to insolvency. ABI was founded in 1982 to provide Congress and the public with unbiased analysis of bankruptcy issues. The ABI membership includes more than 11,000 attorneys, accountants, bankers, judges, professors, lenders, turnaround specialists and other bankruptcy professionals, providing a forum for the exchange of ideas and information. For additional information on ABI, visit www.abi.org. For additional conference information, visit http://www.abi.org/calendar-of-events.
Epiq Systems is a leading provider of managed technology for the global legal profession. Epiq Systems offers innovative technology solutions for electronic discovery, document review, legal notification, claims administration and controlled disbursement of funds. Epiq System’s clients include leading law firms, corporate legal departments, bankruptcy trustees, government agencies, mortgage processors, financial institutions, and other professional advisors who require innovative technology, responsive service and deep subject-matter expertise. For more information on Epiq Systems, Inc., please visit http://www.epiqsystems.com.