Consumer Bankruptcy

California Judge Fixes Discharge Deadline for Late-Filing Tax Penalty

Bankruptcy mavens, take note: Late-filing fines for tax returns kick in Oct. 15.

Arbitration Clause Nixes Class Suit for an Automatic Stay Violation

Enforcing arbitration clause turns on core vs. non-core distinction.

Judge Closes Loophole to Prevent Discharging Pre-Conversion Condo Charges

Debtors once again stuck paying post-filing condo charges on abandoned home.

Split 9th Circuit BAP Exempts Adoption Payments from Disposable Income in Chapter 13

9th Circuit BAP opinion broadly puts welfare payments beyond reach of chapter 13 creditors.

Third Circuit Pens a Treatise on Burden of Production

Third Circuit decision written by no Third Circuit judges

Courts Spilt on Offsetting Government’s Non-Tax Claim Against a Tax Refund

Automatic stay bars collecting a debt by offsetting a tax refund.

Fifth Circuit Reads Section 707(a) Dismissal for ‘Cause’ Broadly

Judge Edith Jones elevates ‘chutzpah’ to a legal concept in the Fifth Circuit.

Involuntary Dismissed to Prevent Using Court Like a ‘Rented Battlefield’

Manhattan judge won’t allow using the court like a collection agency in two-party dispute.

Lenders Win Again, Beating Back Forced Vesting of Title through Chapter 13

Massachusetts judges disagree on ‘forced vesting’ in chapter 13 plan.

Faculty Biographies (Rocky Mountain Bankruptcy Conference 2016)