Bill on Bankruptcy: What's in the $83M ResCap Examiner's Report?
Bankruptcy is the process where someone who is unable to pay their debts files a petition to discharge (eliminate) those debts or restructure the debt with a payment plan. But what happens if a bankruptcy petition is filed by...more
In a unanimous decision, the U.S. Supreme Court held that Section 523(a)(2)(A) of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code precludes a debtor from discharging a debt obtained by fraud, regardless of the debtor's own culpability. ...more
A debt “for money, property, services, or an extension [. . .] of credit, to the extent obtained by [. . .] actual fraud,” is not dischargeable in a chapter 7 bankruptcy case. Courts have questioned whether this applied if...more
Section 523(a)(8) of the Bankruptcy Code excepts from discharge in bankruptcy certain student loans, “unless excepting such debt from discharge under this paragraph would impose an undue hardship.” By its terms, section...more
Welcome! Welcome to August’s issue of All Consuming. This month, we are taking a deep dive into discharges in bankruptcy and then reviewing several top news stories in the world of consumer finance. We hope you find value...more
In a typical consumer bankruptcy, a debtor seeks the benefit of two concepts. First, the debtor seeks the breathing room afforded that debtor by the automatic stay. Second, the debtor seeks to discharge all debt obligations...more
Education Credit Management Corporation (“ECMC”), the guarantor of the student loan debt ruled dischargeable last month by the Chief Judge of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York, is...more
We recently reported on a Fifth Circuit decision that ruled some private, for-profit student loans are dischargeable in bankruptcy without a showing of undue hardship—something unusual and inconsistent with the widely-held...more
Bankruptcy is meant to provide a fresh start for the honest but unfortunate debtor. A debtor who files Chapter 7 does so with the presumption that all his or her debts will be forgiven or "discharged." But what about the...more
Mortgage servicers are plagued by their nebulous relationships with the borrowers who discharge their personal liability in bankruptcy. Issues arise when the borrower whose debt has been discharged continues to engage with...more
Does a creditor’s good-faith belief that a discharge injunction does not apply to its debt preclude a finding of civil contempt? Due to a circuit split, the U.S. Supreme Court was asked to decide this issue. ...more
The United States Supreme Court is poised to decide whether a mis-statement about a single asset must be in writing in order to give rise to a non-dischargeable debt for fraud. Scott Appling supposedly orally lied to his...more
Is your guaranty restricted or continuing? A continuing guaranty gives rise to divisible individual transactions, while a restricted guaranty—one that concerns a contemplated and specified extension of credit—arises upon...more
Last year, Burr & Forman lawyers won a decisive victory in the Eleventh Circuit, in the case of In re Failla, 838 F.3d 1170 (11th Cir. 2016). In Failla, the Eleventh Circuit held that a debtor who files a statement of...more
On October 11, 2016, Martin Smith petitioned the Supreme Court for a writ of certiorari to review a decision by the Ninth Circuit. After Smith failed to file a timely tax return, the IRS assessed a deficiency against him....more
On November 21, 2016, in a case entitled In re Monson, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the Bankruptcy Court’s decision, which held that a debtor’s conduct constituted a willful and malicious injury to a...more
We often quip that the best way to establish a winning record as an appellate lawyer is to represent the party that won below; that’s no joke. In nearly every appellate court— state or federal— appellants have an uphill...more
Individual debtors with old tax debts relating to late-filed tax returns may be surprised to find that those tax debts may not be dischargeable under section 523(a) of the Bankruptcy Code due to the lateness of the tax...more
On Monday, the Supreme Court reaffirmed the principle that junior “underwater” residential mortgage liens can “pass through” a bankruptcy case unaffected. In Bank of America, N.A. v. Caulkett, the Supreme Court held...more
On June 1, 2015, the United States Supreme Court in Bank of America, N.A. v. Caulkett, 575 U.S. ____ (2015), unanimously held that a Chapter 7 debtor cannot strip off wholly “underwater” liens secured by the debtor’s...more