Archive for 2014

Financial Lawyers Conference program: Chapter 9 Comes of Age: from California to Motown

By | November 20, 2014 | Programs | No comments

Chapter 9 Comes of Age: from California to Motown

Thursday, December 4, 2014

Speakers:
Bruce Bennett, Jones Day
Paul Glassman, Stradling Yocca Carlson & Rauth, P.C.
Gabriel MacConaill, Sidley Austin LLP

In what surely must be one of the best timed presentations in recent years – the bankruptcy court having confirmed the plan of adjustment for Detroit on November 7, 2014 and with several California municipal bankruptcies capturing headlines – a panel that includes lead counsel for Detroit, counsel for one of the major creditors in Detroit and lead counsel for San Bernardino – will lead a discussion of the key issues that affect chapter 9 bankruptcy cases. The panel will provide a brief overview of chapter 9 and then delve into such topics as eligibility for chapter 9, unique aspects of municipal finance and the liens asserted by these creditors, the treatment of pensions and collective bargaining agreements, and confirmation of a chapter 9 plan of adjustment.

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When Appealing, First Seek a Stay (In re Mortgages)

By | November 19, 2014 | Appeals, Chapter 11, Chapter 13, Chapter 7 | No comments

When appealing an order, remember to put on your checklist to first seek a stay of the challenged order.  If not, the appellate court will regrettably inform you “there is nothing we can do for you now”.   That is what happened in In re Mortgages Ltd., — F.3d — (9th Cir. 2014).

In a recently published Ninth Circuit Opinion, the Court held that an appeal by a group of creditors was equitably moot because they never sought a stay of the order that they were appealing from.  The debtor had already acted, and other third parties would be unfairly harmed if the panel were to side with the creditor-appellants.  The Court said, “clawing back money from those investors who already paid their full allocation would be either impossible or inequitable.”

As such, the panel dismissed the appeal citing In re Thorpe, which held that appeals can be dismissed based on mootness when a “comprehensive change of circumstances” has occurred that makes it inequitable for a court to consider the appeal’s merits.  In re Thorpe Insulation Co., 677 F.3d 869 (9th Cir. 2012).

Full Opinion Here: http://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2014/11/12/12-15234.pdf

Supreme Court To Revisit In Re Dewsnup To Decide On “Strip Off’s” (Bank of America v. Caulkett and Bank of America v. Toledo-Cardona)

By | November 18, 2014 | Cases, Chapter 11, Chapter 13, Chapter 7 | No comments

The Supreme Court will hear two consolidated cases to determine whether a Chapter 7 debtor may “strip off” an underwater mortgage.

From SCOTUSblog:

The Supreme Court, taking on a bankruptcy issue that grew out of the collapse of the U.S. housing market, agreed on Monday to sort out when a mortgage debt on a home that has lost its value can be completely wiped out.  At issue in a pair of cases is the so-called “strip off” in bankruptcy of a mortgage that is ranked lower than another loan when the mortgaged property is worth so little that it could not cover either debt.

The Court, in the consolidated cases of Bank of America v. Caulkett and Bank of America v. Toledo-Cardona, will be deciding whether a “strip off” of a mortgage is to be barred in the same way that a “strip down” already is, under a 1992 Supreme Court ruling (Dewsnup v. Timm).

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Annual Holiday Party

By | November 17, 2014 | Programs | No comments

Annual Holiday Party hosted by:

-Los Angeles Bankruptcy Forum
-Central District Consumer Bankruptcy Attorney Association
-Financial Lawyers Conference
-Southern California Turnaround Management Association
-Commercial Law and Bankruptcy Section – Los Angeles County Bar Association
-Beverly Hills Bar Association – Bankruptcy Section

Flyer attached.

December 8, 2014

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Lawyer Hit With Sanctions For Filing Frivolous Motion To Compel (In re Medina, Bankr. E.D. Cal.)

By | November 14, 2014 | Chapter 11, Chapter 13, Chapter 7 | No comments
A California bankruptcy judge has imposed a $500 sanction on an attorney for filing a frivolous  motion to compel his clients’ Chapter 13 trustee to close their case.  The motion included inaccurate facts, no supporting legal authority, and forced the trustee to waste time by filing an opposition. The judge determined that a $500 sanction was a “reasonable deterrent to encourage Gillis to investigate the facts of his cases, and to familiarize himself with applicable law, before he files any future motions” in Chapter 13 cases.

U.S. Trustee Proposes Rulemaking on Ch. 11 MOR’s, Deadline for Public Comments Jan. 9, 2015

By | November 11, 2014 | Chapter 11, Legislation, U.S. Trustee | No comments

U.S. Trustee Program is authorized under §602 of the BAPCPA to issue rules that require DIP’s in non-small business cases under chapter 11 to file uniform period reports.  Now, the USTP is seeking public comment on the proposed rule that was published in the Federal Register (see link below). The proposed rule only applies to non-small businesses.  As you might know, small business debtors are currently required to use Form 25C for their MOR’s. Deadline for public comments Jan. 9th 2015

Link to PDF of Proposed Rule: www.justice.gov/ust/eo/rules_regulations/docs/MOR_NPRM.PDF

Link to USTP’s site at www.justice.gov/ust/eo/rules_regulations/index.htm#proposed.

Cert. Asks Supreme Court to Resolve Where Funds from Ch. 13 Should Go After Case Is Converted (Harris v. Vieglahn, No. 14-400)

By | November 8, 2014 | Appeals, Chapter 13, Chapter 7, Courts, Supreme Court | No comments

The appellant argues, “…of 320,000 Chapter 13 cases filed each year, 60,000 are later converted to Chapter 7″. But where should the funds held by the Chapter 13 Trustee go when Debtor converts the case: back to the debtor or to the creditors?  Harris v. Viegelahn, No. 14-400, petition for cert. filed (U.S. Oct. 6, 2014).

Because of a circuit split, the appellant has asked the Supreme Court to resolve this issue.  The appellant reminds us that our 9th Circuit B.A.P. requires the return post-Chapter 7, undistributed funds to the debtor.

Please find the full article below from Westlaw Journal Bankruptcy at Debtor Wants Supreme Court to Resolve Where Post-Petition Funds Go After Conversion, 11 Westlaw Journal Bankruptcy 2 (2014).

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San Fernando Valley Bar Association Bankruptcy Section Chapter 13 Program; November 13, 2014 12 noon

By | November 7, 2014 | Programs | No comments

Email from Steve Fox:

Dear All:

First, thank you for putting up with and reading my emails each month announcing the programs. I appreciate it very much.

I am excited about our November program. It will be enjoyable not only for the subject matter -what do you do with a chapter 13 case which is nearing the discharge stage – it will be even more enjoyable for the high level of passion and enthusiasm I have seen in the panelists. They have prepared drafts and revised drafts, they have discussed by email and phone and they have argued (gently) too. They have put in months of thought, discussion and argument about the program.

The panelists are the Honorable Maureen Tighe, R. Grace Rodrigues, Stella Havkin and Michael Kwasigroch. All of them have a lot of experience in chapter 13 work. More importantly, they regularly deal with the back side of chapter 13 cases. What do you do six months before a case is up for discharge. Should you be objecting to any claims? Are there additional requirements for your client and for you? What do you do about the unpleasant surprises waiting for your client and for you?

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Arnold Quittner 1927-2014

By | November 7, 2014 | Community, Firm Announcements | No comments

Arnold Quittner passed away on November 4, 2014.  He was one of the bankruptcy giants of our time.  Info about the services can be accessed here.

There is a very nice interview of Arnold by Judge Randall Newsome for the National Bankruptcy Archives on October 28, 2011.  You can access that here.  I believe the tapes are kept at Penn, called the Oral History Collection.  My son Hunter and I went through the library at Penn a year or so ago and tried to find the collection.  No one at the library knew what we were talking about.

Gay Marriage Bans in Four States Upheld by the 6th Circuit – DeBoer v. Snyder

By | November 7, 2014 | Cases, Community | No comments

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit in a 2-1 has reversed district court rulings in DeBoer v. Snyder that had struck down gay marriage bans in Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee.  You can access a USA Today article with a nice summary of the issues here.  You can access the opinions here.    It looks like this may get to the Supreme Court since there is now a huge split among the circuits.

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