A Solvent Estate Must Be ‘Likely’ to Confer Standing on an Individual Chapter 7 Debtor
The Seventh Circuit doesn’t accept a debtor’s asset schedules as gospel in deciding whether there is appellate standing.
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Licensed Attorney Pleads Guilty to Bankruptcy Fraud, Agrees to Disbarment
A Willmar attorney has pleaded guilty to fraudulent concealment of bankruptcy assets, announced U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger, according to a DOJ press release. According to court documents, on November 3, 2015, Gregory Ronald Anderson, a licensed attorney, prepared and filed a voluntary bankruptcy petition on behalf of his client, James Alan Rothers. Upon the filing of the petition, Anderson knew that Rothers’ assets, wherever located, became property of a “bankruptcy estate” to be used to pay Rothers’ creditors. Anderson also filed a set of Rothers’ bankruptcy schedules in which Rothers was required to disclose, under penalty of perjury, the full extent and value of all Rothers’ assets as of November 3, 2015. According to court documents, prior to the filing of the petition, Anderson created fake liabilities to create the appearance that Rothers was insolvent when, in fact, Rothers could easily have paid all of his creditors. Specifically, Anderson arranged to have a fictitious lawsuit filed against Rothers, and then instructed Rothers to default in that lawsuit. This created a judgment of approximately $608,000 against Rothers to further the appearance that he was insolvent. Anderson also created documents that made it appear that an Iowa company had loaned $240,000 to Rothers and that Rothers had an obligation to repay this loan. The loan was entirely bogus and created to bolster the appearance of Rothers’ insolvency.
Retirees Breathe a Sigh of Relief: A Golf Cart Can Be an Exempt Motor Vehicle
Surprisingly, no court had previously ruled on whether a golf cart can be exempt.
First Circuit BAP Limits the Student Loan ‘Borrower Defense’
The First Circuit BAP suggests that invocation of the borrower defense with regard to dischargeability of student loans requires exhaustion of administrative remedies in the Department of Education.
Ninth Circuit Invited to Sit En Banc Regarding Dischargeability of Disciplinary Costs
The Ninth Circuit again questions the Supreme Court’s ‘atextual’ analysis of Section 523(a)(7).
July Commercial Chapter 11s Down 13 Percent from Last Year, Total Filings Decrease 5 Percent
There were 212 commercial chapter 11 filings registered in July 2022, a decrease of 13 percent from the 245 filings in July 2021, according to data provided by Epiq Bankruptcy, the leading provider of U.S. bankruptcy filing data. Overall commercial filings decreased eight percent in July 2022, as the 1,592 filings were down from the 1,723 commercial filings registered in July 2021. Small business filings, captured as subchapter V elections within chapter 11, decreased three percent to 104 in July 2022 from 107 in July 2021. Total bankruptcy filings were 30,848 in July 2022, a five percent decline from the July 2021 total of 32,399. Noncommercial bankruptcy filings totaled 29,256 in July 2022, also registering a five percent decrease from the July 2021 noncommercial total of 30,676.
July Commercial Chapter 11s Down 13 Percent from Last Year, Total Filings Decrease 5 Percent
Alexandria, Va. — There were 212 commercial chapter 11 filings registered in July 2022, a decrease of 13 percent from the 245 filings in July 2021, according to data provided by Epiq Bankruptcy, the leading provider of U.S. bankruptcy filing data. Overall commercial filings decreased eight percent in July 2022, as the 1,592 filings were down from the 1,723 commercial filings registered in July 2021. Small business filings, captured as subchapter V elections within chapter 11, decreased three percent to 104 in July 2022 from 107 in July 2021. Total bankruptcy filings were 30,848 in July 2022, a five percent decline from the July 2021 total of 32,399. Noncommercial bankruptcy filings totaled 29,256 in July 2022, also registering a five percent decrease from the July 2021 noncommercial total of 30,676.
“New bankruptcy filings slowed in July, including chapter 13 cases which have been on a steady increase so far this year”, says Chris Kruse, senior vice president of Epiq Bankruptcy. “We continue to monitor closely the impact of new variants of the COVID-19 virus, historically low unemployment rates, and fears of difficult economic times ahead, which lead us to anticipate an increase in bankruptcy filings as we exit the summer.”
July’s commercial chapter 11 filings decreased 53 percent from the 449 filings in June 2022. The commercial filing total represented a 15 percent decrease from the June 2022 commercial filing total of 1,878. Subchapter V elections within chapter 11 increased seven percent from the 97 filed in June 2022. July’s total bankruptcy filings represented a four percent decrease when compared to the 32,182 total filings recorded the previous month. Total noncommercial filings for July represented a three percent decrease from the June 2022 noncommercial filing total of 30,305.
“In addition to global supply and inflation concerns, rising interest rates pushing overall borrowing costs higher could leave financially distressed consumers and businesses in a precarious economic position,” says ABI Executive Director Amy Quackenboss. “Bankruptcy provides refuge for struggling families and businesses looking to establish a financial fresh start.”
ABI has partnered with Epiq Bankruptcy to provide the most current bankruptcy filing data for analysts, researchers, and members of the news media. Epiq Bankruptcy is the leading provider of data, technology, and services for companies operating in the business of bankruptcy. Its new Bankruptcy Analytics subscription service provides on-demand access to the industry’s most dynamic bankruptcy data, updated daily. Learn more at https://bankruptcy.epiqglobal.com/analytics.
About Epiq Bankruptcy
Epiq Bankruptcy is a division of Epiq, a global technology-enabled services leader to the legal services industry and corporations that takes on large-scale, increasingly complex tasks for corporate counsel, law firms, and business professionals with efficiency, clarity, and confidence. Clients rely on Epiq to streamline the administration of business operations, class action and mass tort, court reporting, eDiscovery, regulatory, compliance, restructuring, and bankruptcy matters. Epiq subject-matter experts and technologies create efficiency through expertise and deliver confidence to high-performing clients around the world. Learn more at https://www.epiqglobal.com.
About ABI
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 nearly 10,000 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
The PBGC Isn’t a ‘Triggering Creditor’ for a Section 544(b) Suit by a Trustee
If the government isn’t suing on a claim originally owing to the U.S., a trustee can’t use the six-year statute of limitations in the FDCPA.
Courts Disagree on a Trustee’s Ability to Use the IRS’s Longer Statute of Limitations
Two or three years from now, the Tenth Circuit may have a chance to agree or disagree with the Fifth Circuit on an important question under Section 544(b).