Type: Amicus
Date: July 25, 2022
Description: Interest rate on arrears
Result: Pending
Numa Corp. v. Diven, No. 22-15298 (9th Cir.)
Type: Amicus
Date: July 25, 2022
Description: Sanctions for continuation of tribal case despite automatic stay.
Result: Judgment affirmed, November 22, 2022.
Evans v. McCallister, No. 22-35216 (9th Cir.)
Type: Amicus
Date: July 6, 2022
Description: Whether the bankruptcy court erred in ruling that the Chapter 13 trustee may not retain a fee in a case dismissed prior to confirmation of a plan.
Result: Pending
Debt To Client Security Fund Dischargeable as Compensatory
“Indebtedness arising from a disbarred attorneys’ obligation to reimburse the State Bar for payments made by the CSF to victims of that attorney’s misconduct are not excluded from discharge under § 523(a)(7).” Kassas v. State Bar of Calif., No. 21-55900 (9th Cir. Aug. 1, 2022).
After the chapter 7 debtor was disbarred from the practice of law, the State Supreme Court ordered him to pay restitution in the amount of $201,706 to be distributed to 56 of his clients, and $61,122.27 to the State Bar to reimburse its costs of investigation and discipline. The court also ordered the debtor to reimburse California’s Client Security Fund (CSF) for its payments to clients injured by his misconduct. [Read more…] about Debt To Client Security Fund Dischargeable as Compensatory
Refinancing Loans Not Consumer Debts
The movant bears the burden of demonstrating by a preponderance of the evidence that the debtor’s debts were “consumer” rather than “business,” and the debtor’s subjective purpose in taking out the loans is a crucial factor where the debts do not fall neatly into either category. Centennial Bank v. Kane, No. 21-4597 (N.D. Cal. July 22, 2022). [Read more…] about Refinancing Loans Not Consumer Debts
Lender Sanctioned for Self-Inflicted Wound
The lender’s efforts to coerce the debtors to reopen their bankruptcy case to reaffirm the mortgage agreement violated the discharge injunction where post-discharge reaffirmation was legally unavailable and the court found the lender was merely attempting to collect personally against the debtors. In re Go, No. 21-12657 (Bankr. D. Nev. June 29, 2022). [Read more…] about Lender Sanctioned for Self-Inflicted Wound
Debtor’s Post-Discharge Pre-Closure Motion to Convert Denied
The debtor was not permitted to convert from chapter 7 to chapter 13 post-discharge but prior to administrative closure of his case where the court found the attempted conversion to be an abuse of process and his conduct in his chapter 7 case to indicate bad faith. In re Chamoun, No. 20-5069 (C.D. Cal. Dec. 2, 2020). [Read more…] about Debtor’s Post-Discharge Pre-Closure Motion to Convert Denied
Med School Loans Partially Discharged after Debtor Fails to Match for Residency
Finding that the debtor’s string of very bad luck unrelieved by his concerted efforts to increase his earnings, satisfied the Brunner test, a bankruptcy court granted him a partial discharge of his student loan, reducing the debt from $440,000 to $8,291.67. Koeut v. U.S. Dept. of Ed., No. 12-7242, Adv. Proc. No. 18-90130 (Bankr. S.D. Cal. Dec. 4, 2020). [Read more…] about Med School Loans Partially Discharged after Debtor Fails to Match for Residency
9th Circuit Limits Walls, Permits FDCPA Action for Post-D/C Collection
Declining to extend its 2002 holding in Walls, the Ninth Circuit found that a chapter 13 debtor who fully paid the creditor’s claim prior to completion of his plan was not precluded from pursuing an FDCPA claim based on the creditor’s post-discharge collection efforts. Manikan v. Peters & Freedman, L.L.P., No. 19-55393 (9th Cir. Nov. 25, 2020).
The debtor entered chapter 13 bankruptcy after receiving a notice of foreclosure from Peters & Freedman, a debt collector, based on HOA arrears. Through P&F, the HOA filed a claim in his bankruptcy, and the debtor provided for the arrears in his plan. He fully paid off the debt approximately two years prior to completion of his plan. After the debtor received his discharge, P&F hired Advanced Attorney Services (AAS) to re-serve a Notice of Default based on the debt that the debtor had paid off in his bankruptcy. AAS served the notice by breaking through a gate, entering the debtor’s backyard and banging on his windows, causing the debtor to call the police. [Read more…] about 9th Circuit Limits Walls, Permits FDCPA Action for Post-D/C Collection
Ninth Circuit Applies Scotus Standard in Discharge Injunction Case
On remand from the Supreme Court, the Ninth Circuit found that, under the Supreme Court’s objective standard, the debtor’s active post-bankruptcy litigation in state court of the terms of his separation from his business partnership established sufficient cause for his business partner creditors to have a reasonable belief that he had “returned to the fray” and that their motion for attorney’s fees would not violate the discharge injunction. Lorenzen v. Taggart, No. 16-35402 (9th Cir. Nov. 24, 2020). [Read more…] about Ninth Circuit Applies Scotus Standard in Discharge Injunction Case