The Ninth Circuit has issued a significant ruling in In re Cooper, reversing the Bankruptcy Appellate Panel’s (BAP) decision that allowed the Social Security Administration (SSA) to recoup overpaid Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits from a debtor who had received a bankruptcy discharge. The court’s decision strengthens the protections afforded to debtors under the Bankruptcy Code by ensuring that the SSA cannot automatically sidestep the discharge injunction through the doctrine of equitable recoupment.
[Read more…] about Ninth Circuit Holds that SSA Cannot Automatically Recoup Overpaid Benefits from a Bankrupt BeneficiaryDebtors May Not Modify Plan to Deprioritize State’s Claim
The bankruptcy court erred in permitting the debtors to modify their chapter 13 plan to deprioritize the State of Wisconsin’s claim based on a public assistance overpayment, where the only authority for such modification would come from Rule 60(b)(1) and the debtors sought the modification too late to rely on that Rule. In the Matter of Terrell, No. 21-3059 (7th Cir. July 12, 2022). [Read more…] about Debtors May Not Modify Plan to Deprioritize State’s Claim