%1

SUPREME COURT WILL HEAR BANKRUPTCY CASE INVOLVING CHARGE ON DEBTOR'S PROPERTY



The U.S. Supreme Court yesterday granted certiorari in a case involving the question of whether a bankruptcy court has the power to levy a financial charge against a chapter 7 debtor's residential property, which the debtor claims falls under the homestead exemption, Mealey's Daily News Service reported yesterday. In 2004, Stephen Law filed for chapter 7 bankruptcy in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California. He listed his home property value as $363,348 and sought a homestead exemption. The chapter 7 trustee, Alfred Siegel, did not object to the homestead exemption, but two years later the trustee moved to surcharge Law's homestead exemption $75,000. Law argued that he was not properly served in the process. The trustee countered that Law defrauded his creditors by filing a phony lien against his home to take value out of the property. The bankruptcy court granted the trustee's surcharge, and Law appealed to the U.S. Bankruptcy Appellate Panel (BAP) for the Ninth Circuit. The BAP reversed the surcharge order, concluding that it was "not warranted." The trustee appealed to the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, which reversed the BAP's ruling and determined that the surcharge was proper. Law then appealed to the Supreme Court, arguing that the Court should reverse the Ninth Circuit's ruling and order the trustee to pay him the $75,000 surcharge pertaining to the homestead exemption. The U.S. Solicitor General suggested that the Supreme Court not hear the case, contending that it did not present the question on which courts of appeals are divided. The case is Stephen Law v. Alfred Siegel, No. 12-5196, U.S. Sup. Read more.

CREDIT CARD DELINQUENCIES DECLINED IN MAY FOR MAJOR LENDERS



Late credit card payments declined for major lenders in May, continuing a steady performance that has been bolstered by recent signs that the U.S. economic recovery is gradually gaining traction, Dow Jones Newswires reported yesterday. Capital One Financial Corp., Discover Financial Services, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Bank of America Corp. and Citi said yesterday that their credit card delinquencies declined in May from April. At the same time, they also said that their net charge-off rates, which measure loans lenders deem uncollectible, fell during the month. American Express Co. said that its delinquency rate stayed flat at 1.1 percent in May while its net charge-off rate declined to 1.9 percent from 2.1 percent in April. Historically, major credit card lenders have experienced delinquency and loss rates of between 3 and 5 percent on average under what analysts consider to be a "normal" economic environment. Read more.

ANALYSIS: LAWMAKERS TO FOCUS ON FUTURE OF FANNIE MAE, FREDDIE MAC



Congress is gearing up to tackle an issue that has been mostly ignored for nearly five years: What to do with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the bailed-out-but-now-profitable mortgage companies, according to an analysis in yesterday's Wall Street Journal. In the Senate, Republicans and Democrats have begun work on a bipartisan bill that would replace Fannie and Freddie within five years with a new "public guarantor" as part of a broader framework designed to gradually ease the government out of its outsized role of backstopping the nation's $10 trillion mortgage market. The effort is being led by Sens. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) and Mark Warner (D-Va.), although a formal bill has not been introduced. The Corker-Warner proposal would maintain a potentially significant federal role in the mortgage market by replacing Fannie and Freddie with a new system in which private entities would purchase mortgages from lenders and issue them to investors as securities. The bill would allow private entities to purchase an explicit government guarantee to cover catastrophic losses on mortgages issued as bonds from a new guarantor, called the Federal Mortgage Insurance Corp. But the new issuers would first have to raise a significant amount of capital that would take all losses before the federal guarantee would be triggered. The new "FMIC" would oversee the broader market, much like the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. regulates banks and provides deposit insurance to minimize bank runs. Read more. (Subscription required.)

MUNICIPAL DEBT MARKET SEEN AS MORE INTERESTED IN FOMC THAN DETROIT



The $3.7 trillion U.S. municipal market looked beyond Detroit's default on some of its debt payments yesterday and instead remained focused on any signals as to how the Federal Reserve may scale back its stimulus measures, Reuters reported yesterday. Detroit Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr on Friday, who said that the financially troubled city faces even odds of a bankruptcy filing, announced a moratorium on some of the city's principal and interest payments, including a $39.7 million payment on $1.43 billion of pension certificates of participation, which he said was due last Friday. Orr also said that holders of Detroit's unsecured debt would be paid less than 10 cents on the dollar, although some creditors would get more based on revenues. About $11.5 billion of the city's debt is unsecured and $7 billion is secured, according to Orr, who aims to meet with creditors over the next 30 days. But the muni market yesterday did not dwell on Orr's plan, said Josh Gonze, co-manager of six municipal debt mutual funds with $10 billion in assets at Thornburg Investment Management in Santa Fe, N.M. "We knew this day was coming," Gonze said, noting Detroit's insured general obligation bonds traded on Monday at 94 to 98 cents on the dollar depending on coupon and maturity. Instead, Orr's plan opens up opportunities for distressed-debt investors and for picking up Detroit's essential services bonds, Gonze added. As dramatic as Orr's proposals may be, the muni market is more interested in cues regarding the potential end of easy-money policies that come out of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) – the Federal Reserve’s policy-setting body – this week, said Billy Schmohl, a vice president at muni market-focused broker-dealer Alamo Capital in Walnut Creek, Calif. Read more.

NEW ABI LIVE WEBINAR ON JULY 15 WILL FOCUS ON THE § 1111(b) ELECTION, PLAN FEASIBILITY AND CRAMDOWN ISSUES



Utilizing a case study, ABI's panel of experts on July 15 will explore issues surrounding a lender’s decision on whether or not to make an election under § 1111(b), plan feasibility and voting. The abiLIVE panel will also walk attendees through the necessary mathematical analyses used to analyze these issues. The webinar will take place from 1-2:15 p.m. ET. Special ABI member rate available! Click here to register.

ABI GOLF TOUR UNDERWAY; NEXT STOP IS THE NORTHEAST BANKRUPTCY CONFERENCE ON JULY 12



The next stop for the ABI Golf Tour is the famed Newport National course in Newport, R.I., in conjunction with the Northeast Bankruptcy Conference on July 12. Final scoring to win the Great American Cup—sponsored by Great American Group—is based on your top three scores at seven scheduled ABI events, so play as many as you can before the tour wraps up at the Winter Leadership Conference in December. See the Tour page for details and course descriptions. The ABI Golf Tour combines networking with fun competition, as golfers "play their own ball." Including your handicap means everyone has an equal chance to compete for the glory of being crowned ABI's top golfer of 2013! There's no charge to register or participate in the Tour, and women are most welcome.

ABI IN-DEPTH

NEW ABI "BANKRUPTCY IN DEPTH" ON-DEMAND CLE PROGRAM LOOKS AT PRINCIPLES OF PROPERTY OF THE ESTATE: DEMYSTIFYING EQUITABLE INTERESTS



In this 90-minute seminar, Profs. Andrew Kull of Boston University School of Law and Scott Pryor of Regent University School of Law provide an in-depth analysis of a legal principle that has become, in their words, "a long-lost area of the law": § 541 of the Bankruptcy Code. Seeking to demystify what is meant by "property of the estate" and, in particular, the distinction between legal or equitable interests of the debtor in property, Kull and Pryor describe the legal entanglements that ensue when legal title belongs to one person but the equitable title belongs to someone else. The cost of the seminar, which includes written materials and qualifies for 1.5 hours of CLE, is $95. To order or to learn more, click here.

ASSOCIATES: ABI'S NUTS & BOLTS ONLINE PROGRAMS HELP YOU HONE YOUR SKILLS WHILE SAVING ON CLE!



Associates looking to sharpen their bankruptcy knowledge should take advantage of ABI's special offer of combining general, business or consumer Nuts & Bolts online programs. Each program features an outstanding faculty of judges and practitioners explaining the fundamentals of bankruptcy, offering procedures and strategies tailored for both consumer and business attorneys. Click here to get the CLE you need at a great low price!

NEW CASE SUMMARY ON VOLO: DAILEY V. MOSTOLLER (IN RE DALEY; 6TH CIR.)



Summarized by Faisal Delawalla of Burr & Forman LLP

The decisions of the bankruptcy court and the district court were reversed by the Sixth Circuit. The circuit court ruled that the debtor is entitled to a statutory presumption that his IRA is tax-exempt. Though the debtor was granted a lien in his IRA to Merrill Lynch, the circuit court found that the debtor did not use his IRA to obtain credit from Merrill Lynch.

There are more than 900 appellate opinions summarized on Volo, and summaries typically appear within 24 hours of the ruling. Click here regularly to view the latest case summaries on ABI’s Volo website.

NEW ON ABI’S BANKRUPTCY BLOG EXCHANGE: FURTHER ANALYSIS OF LAW V. SIEGEL

The Bankruptcy Blog Exchange is a free ABI service that tracks 35 bankruptcy-related blogs. A new blog post examines the Supreme Court's grant of certiorari yesterday in the case of Law v. Siegel, which involves a debtor asking the Court to review the decision of a bankruptcy court to surcharge his homestead exemption under section 105.

Be sure to check the site several times each day; any time a contributing blog posts a new story, a link to the story will appear on the top. If you have a blog that deals with bankruptcy, or know of a good blog that should be part of the Bankruptcy Exchange, please contact the ABI Web team.

ABI Quick Poll

Law firms should provide support for law student-staffed bankruptcy clinics for consumer debtors.

Click here to vote on this week's Quick Poll. Click here to view the results of previous Quick Polls.

INSOL INTERNATIONAL



INSOL International is a worldwide federation of national associations for accountants and lawyers who specialize in turnaround and insolvency. There are currently 37 member associations worldwide with more than 9,000 professionals participating as members of INSOL International. As a member association of INSOL, ABI's members receive a discounted subscription rate. See ABI's enrollment page for details.

Have a Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn Account?

Join our networks to expand yours.

2013

July

- Northeast Bankruptcy Conference and Northeast Consumer Forum

     July 11-14, 2013 | Newport, R.I.

- abiLIVE Webinar

     July 11-14, 2013 | Newport, R.I.

- Southeast Bankruptcy Workshop

     July 18-21, 2013 | Amelia Island, Fla.

August

- Mid-Atlantic Bankruptcy Workshop

    August 8-10, 2013 | Hershey, Pa.

- Southwest Bankruptcy Conference

    August 22-24, 2013 | Incline Village, Nev.

September

- ABI Endowment Golf & Tennis Outing

    Sept. 10, 2013 | Maplewood, N.J.

- ABI Endowment Baseball Game

    Sept. 12, 2013 | Baltimore, Md.

- Bankruptcy 2013: Views from the Bench

    Sept. 27, 2013 | Washington, D.C.

October

- Midwestern Bankruptcy Institute Program and Midwestern Consumer Forum

    Oct. 4, 2013 | Kansas City, Mo.

- ABI Endowment Football Game

    Oct. 6, 2013 | Miami, Fla.

- Chicago Consumer Bankruptcy Conference

    Oct. 14, 2013 | Chicago, Ill.

November

- Austin Advanced Consumer Bankruptcy Practice Institute

   Nov. 10-12, 2013 | Austin, Texas

- Detroit Consumer Bankruptcy Conference

   Nov. 11, 2013 | Detroit, Mich.

December

- ABI/St. John’s Bankruptcy Mediation Training

    Dec. 8-12, 2013 | New York

ANALYSIS: "UNDUE HARDSHIP" PROVISION PROVES TOUGH BARRIER TO SHEDDING STUDENT DEBT IN BANKRUPTCY



Federal bankruptcy law requires debtors who wish to erase student debt to prove that repaying it will cause an "undue hardship." One component of that test is often convincing a federal judge that there is a "certainty of hopelessness" to their financial lives for much of the repayment period, according to a New York Times analysis on Friday. No reliable statistics are kept to track how many people bring undue-hardship cases each year, but it appears to be under 1,000, far less than the number of people failing to make their student loan payments. In its most recent snapshot of student loan defaults, the Department of Education reported that among the more than 3.6 million borrowers who entered repayment from Oct. 1, 2008, to Sept. 30, 2009, more than 320,000 had fallen behind in their payments by 360 days or more by the end of September 2010. About 10.3 million students and their parents borrowed money under the federal student loan program during the 2010-11 school year. One reason so few people try to discharge their student debt may be that such cases require an expensive, separate legal process from the bankruptcy proceeding. Nor is the process quick, since the lender or the federal government often appeals when it loses. Read more.

SHORT SALES WILL SOON BECOME AN OPTION FOR MANY MORE UNDERWATER BORROWERS



Fannie Mae's and Freddie Mac's new short-sale reform policies could be a big help for homeowners with underwater mortgages who are facing financial distress, the Washington Post reported on Saturday. Starting on Nov. 1, owners whose loans have been purchased or guaranteed by Fannie or Freddie may qualify for a short sale if they fit key hardship criteria, including unemployment; divorce; long-term disability; a change in job location that is more than 50 miles from the current home; a business failure; death of the primary or secondary wage earner; or a natural or man-made disaster. In what could be a far-reaching change, Fannie and Freddie will allow borrowers who are current on their mortgage payments — not seriously delinquent, as traditionally has been required — to qualify for short sales, provided they fit the hardship criteria. Borrowers who are considered "most in need" will be eligible for streamlined processing of short sales, involving reduced documentation and much speedier resolutions than usual. Read more.

CHAPTER 9 SAVES RHODE ISLAND CITY, BUT LEAVES SCARS



Central Falls, R.I., is close to emerging from bankruptcy with a plan that hammers its retired municipal employees but leaves bondholders unscathed, in a contrast with other recent U.S. municipal bankruptcies, Reuters reported yesterday. On Thursday, a state-appointed receiver overseeing the finances of the small city is expected to win court approval for a plan that rescues Central Falls from financial collapse and should balance its budget for at least the next five years. The smallest city in Rhode Island and the only one in the state to file for bankruptcy will emerge with powerless elected officials, property owners facing tax hikes every year and retired public employees irate about having their pensions slashed. In the spring of 2010, Central Falls was facing insolvency due to steep cuts in state aid, revenue shortfalls and an unfunded liability of about $80 million for pension and retiree health benefits. The city had revenue collections of about $16 million, but its expenses topped $21 million. Mayor Charles Moreau started cutting the city's workforce after asking for a judicial receiver in May 2010. City employees now total 116, down from 174. The city's 133 retirees had their pensions cut by up to 55 percent, with pensioners now getting an average of $16,626 a year. The state allocated $2.6 million to soften the blow for the next five years. Read more.

AUTO LENDERS STEP UP LENDING TO SUBPRIME BORROWERS



A new study by Experian's auto finance research unit showed that U.S. lenders are giving as large a portion of new car loans to subprime borrowers as they did just before the start of the financial crisis, Reuters reported today. Subprime, or less-qualified, borrowers received 25.41 percent of all loans on new vehicles in the three months through the end of June, up from 22.29 percent in the same period a year ago and more than the 24.96 percent at the start of the financial crisis in 2007, according to Experian. The report also found lenders more aggressively making loans to subprime borrowers of used cars. Subprime borrowers received 56.46 percent of loans on used cars in the quarter, up from 52.70 percent a year earlier. Read more.

COMMENTARY: BREAKING UP BANKS IS HARD WITH TRADERS HOOKED ON DEPOSITS



Shareholders of Wall Street banks who agree with former Citigroup Inc. Chief Executive Officer Sanford “Sandy” Weill that the companies should be broken up face an obstacle: bondholders, according to a Bloomberg News commentary today. That is because trading on Wall Street relies on borrowed money/leverage, according to the commentary, that can be obtained cheaply as long as the traders belong to a conglomerate, such as Bank of America Corp., JPMorgan Chase & Co. or Citigroup, that gets federally insured deposits. Jefferies Group Inc., a securities firm that is not part of a bank and cannot turn to the Federal Reserve for help, is currently charged more to borrow in the credit markets than banks are. "If you divorce them from the mother ship, you'd also be divorcing them from the government at the same time, and that's where the subsidy is," said Cornelius Hurley, director of the Morin Center for Banking and Financial Law at Boston University. "The funding advantage is the key." With stock prices at or below liquidation value, Wall Street's biggest banks are fending off calls to break up from stockholders, analysts and industry veterans including Weill. The firms are too complex to manage, over-burdened by regulation, and a risk to taxpayers, their critics say. Read the full commentary.

LATEST ABI PODCAST FEATURES EXPERTS DISCUSSING OIL AND GAS BANKRUPTCIES



The latest podcast features ABI Deputy Executive Director Amy Quackenboss speaking with Deborah D. Williamson and Meghan E. Bishop of Cox Smith Matthews Inc. (San Antonio), authors of When Gushers Go Dry: The Essentials of Oil & Gas Bankruptcy, the newest publication in ABI’s Bookstore. Williamson and Bishop discuss how the U.S. oil and gas industry, perhaps more than any other industry, is vulnerable to the effects of myriad internal and external factors, ranging from global credit markets to domestic and foreign geopolitical events, and from technological developments and limitations to population growth and even the weather. There have been 62 oil and gas company bankruptcy filings since 2008, according to BankruptcyData.com, representing a 170 percent increase from the 23 filings between 2002-07. Click here to listen to the podcast.

ABI IN-DEPTH

LATEST CASE SUMMARY ON VOLO: ESTERLING V. COLLECTO, INC. (2D CIR.)



Summarized by Wayne Greenwald of Wayne Greenwald, PC

The Second Circuit reversed the bankruptcy court's decision by saying that the defendant violated the FDCPA's proscription against “false, misleading, or deceptive” debt collection practices by sending the plaintiff, a former debtor, a collection letter incorrectly stating that her student loans were "ineligible for bankruptcy discharge" and therefore her account "must be resolved." Although the plaintiff may face significant hurdles to discharging her student loans, the least-sophisticated consumer would interpret the notice as representing, incorrectly, that discharge of the loans was wholly unavailable.

There are more than 600 appellate opinions summarized on Volo, and summaries typically appear within 24 hours of the ruling. Click here regularly to view the latest case summaries on ABI’s Volo website.

NEW ON ABI’S BANKRUPTCY BLOG EXCHANGE: TAX COURT RULES ON POST-PETITION AND POST-CONFIRMATION INTEREST ON TAX CLAIMS



The Bankruptcy Blog Exchange is a free ABI service that tracks 35 bankruptcy-related blogs. Following up on a previous entry, a new blog post today discusses the case of Everett Associates v. Commissioner and the tax court’s rulings on (i) postconfirmation interest on unsecured priority tax claims, (ii) whether the IRS may assess tax penalties during the pendency of a debtor’s bankruptcy case, and (iii) the dischargeability of tax penalties.

Be sure to check the site several times each day; any time a contributing blog posts a new story, a link to the story will appear on the top. If you have a blog that deals with bankruptcy, or know of a good blog that should be part of the Bankruptcy Exchange, please contact the ABI Web team.

ABI Quick Poll

Client matters left unfinished at a firm when it files for bankruptcy are the property of the defunct firm.

Click here to vote on this week's Quick Poll. Click here to view the results of previous Quick Polls.

HAVE YOU TUNED IN TO BLOOMBERG LAW'S VIDEO PODCASTS?



Bloomberg Law's video podcasts feature top experts speaking about current bankruptcy topics. The podcasts are available via Bloomberg Law's YouTube channel so that you can access the programs from your computer or device of your choice! Click here to view the Bloomberg Law video podcasts.

INSOL INTERNATIONAL



INSOL International is a worldwide federation of national associations for accountants and lawyers who specialize in turnaround and insolvency. There are currently 37 member associations worldwide with more than 9,000 professionals participating as members of INSOL International. As a member association of INSOL, ABI's members receive a discounted subscription rate. See ABI's enrollment page for details.

Have a Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn Account?

Join our networks to expand yours.

September

- 7th Annual Golf and Tennis Outing

     September 11, 2012 | Maplewood, N.J.

- Complex Financial Restructuring Program

     September 13-14, 2012 | Las Vegas, Nev.

- Southwest Bankruptcy Conference

     September 13-15, 2012 | Las Vegas, Nev.

- 38th Annual Lawrence P. King and Charles Seligson Workshop on Bankruptcy & Business Reorganization

     September 19-20, 2012 | New York, N.Y.

- "When Is an Individual Chapter 11 the Best Fit?" Live Webinar

     September 27, 2012

- American College of Bankruptcy's "Bankruptcy: Back to the Future" Program

     September 28, 2012 | Chicago, Ill.

October

- Nuts & Bolts for Young and New Practitioners - KC

     October 4, 2012 | Kansas City, Mo.

- Midwestern Bankruptcy Institute Program, Midwestern Consumer Forum

     October 5, 2012 | Kansas City, Mo.

- Bankruptcy 2012: Views from the Bench

     October 5, 2012 | Washington, D.C.

- Chicago Consumer Bankruptcy Conference

     October 8, 2012 | Chicago, Ill.

- "Trending Issues: Examiners and Select Plan Confirmation Issues" Webinar

     October 15, 2012

- International Insolvency and Restructuring Symposium

     October 18, 2012 | Rome, Italy

November

- U.S./Mexico Restructuring Symposium

     November 7, 2012 | Mexico City, Mexico

- Professional Development Program

     November 9, 2012 | New York, N.Y.

- Detroit Consumer Bankruptcy Conference

     November 12, 2012 | Detroit, Mich.

- Winter Leadership Conference

     November 29 - December 1, 2012 | Tucson, Ariz.