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The Attorney General’s Office is asking a federal judge to overturn a bankruptcy court ruling that some legal experts say could harm New Hampshire homeowners who fall into debt, the New Hampshire Union Leader reported. New Hampshire state law establishes a “homestead right,” stating: “Every person is entitled to $120,000 worth of his or her homestead, or of his or her interest therein, as a homestead.” Bankruptcy attorneys say that protection typically has been doubled for married couples, to $240,000. However, in June, the chief judge in U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Bruce Harwood, ruled that the husband of a Merrimack woman seeking bankruptcy protection was not entitled to a homestead exemption because he is not on the deed to the family’s home. The bankruptcy trustee had objected to the homeowner’s claim of a second homestead exemption for her husband, and Harwood agreed. “Because the Debtor’s spouse is not an owner of the property, he is not entitled to claim an exemption,” he wrote in his opinion. “The couple is not allowed to ‘double-dip’ and claim $240,000 as exempt,” he wrote. Nashua attorney Leonard Deming, who represents the homeowner, has appealed that decision to the U.S. District Court in Concord.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) and Rep. David N. Cicilline (D-R.I.), Chair of the Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial, and Administrative Law, last week introduced a bill that would give Americans overwhelmed by student loan debt the option of obtaining meaningful bankruptcy relief, according to a press release. The "Student Borrower Bankruptcy Relief Act of 2022" proposes to eliminate the section of the Bankruptcy Code that makes private and federal student loans nondischargeable, allowing these loans to be treated like nearly all other forms of consumer debt. "This legislation updates the federal bankruptcy code to ensure student loan debt is treated like almost every other form of consumer debt that can be discharged during bankruptcy,” said Chairman Nadler. Prospects for consideration in the House are favorable, but overall passage would be challenging given the narrow Democratic majority in the Senate and short amount of time left in the congressional session. Read the full press release.

For the latest legislative developments on bankruptcy and debt, be sure to visit the “Legislative News” section in the ABI Newsroom. 

Year-over-year U.S. bankruptcy filings increased seven percent across all chapters for the second consecutive month in September, according to data released today from Epiq's Bankruptcy Analytics platform. There were 33,184 total filings registered in September 2022, up seven percent from last September’s total of 30,922. Commercial chapter 11 filings also rose, with 437 in September, a 76 percent increase compared to 249 filings in September 2021. There were 1,994 commercial filings in September 2022, an increase of 16 percent compared to 1,721 in September 2021. The 31,190 individual filings in September also represented a seven percent increase from the September 2021 total of 29,201. Subchapter V small business filings registered the largest percentage increase with 150 filings in September 2022, a 79 percent increase over the 84 filings in September 2021.