Where a lender sought to recover $650 for filing a proof of claim, but provided no details about which employee performed the work, the tasks performed or the hours expended, the fee was reduced to $300. Background In 2017, the ...

Tagged with: Bankruptcy Judge Paul M. Black U.S. Bankruptcy Court

Where a debtor completed a credit counseling course a half-hour after he filed his voluntary bankruptcy petition, the petition was dismissed. The requirement that debtors complete the course “during the 180-day period ending on the date of filing of the ...

Tagged with: Bankruptcy Judge Brian F. Kenney U.S. Bankruptcy Court

Where the bankruptcy court previously dismissed an adversarial complaint filed by the debtors against their bank as “baseless,” the court’s jurisdiction to interpret and enforce its own orders included resolving a second adversarial complaint filed by the same debtors against ...

Tagged with: Bankruptcy Judge Leonie M. Brinkema U.S. District Court - Eastern District

Where the Chapter 7 trustee entered into a settlement with the debtor that included dismissal of a § 727 adversary proceeding without allowing the U.S. trustee an opportunity to intervene, the pact was rejected as the notice provisions in the ...

Tagged with: Bankruptcy Judge Brian F. Kenney U.S. Bankruptcy Court

The filing of allegedly inadequate proofs of claim could give rise to liability under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Although the filers argued the Bankruptcy Code and Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure provided the exclusive means to address the ...

Tagged with: Bankruptcy Judge Rebecca B. Connelly U.S. Bankruptcy Court

The holder of a $846 million commercial mortgage-backed securities loan that was made to 24 landlords of Lord & Taylor failed to compel the debtors to pay all rents and sums directly to the trust. The trust was not a ...

Tagged with: Bankruptcy Judge Keith L. Phillips U.S. Bankruptcy Court

If the debtor was allowed to convert his case, he would immediately violate a deadline imposed by the Bankruptcy Code. While the court could modify that deadline, it refused to do so here because the debtor had “played fast and ...

Tagged with: Bankruptcy Judge Paul M. Black U.S. Bankruptcy Court

Where the debtor credibly testified she was involved on a farm for many years, she satisfies the statutory definition of “family farmer.” Background The court must determine whether the debtor, Mary Ellen Rosenberger, qualifies as a Chapter 12 debtor under ...

Tagged with: Bankruptcy Judge Rebecca B. Connelly U.S. Bankruptcy Court

A debtor that was told it could recover reasonable fees for work related to Rule 3001 violations but not for an unsuccessful Fair Debt Collection Practices Act claim, sought over $152,000 in attorneys’ fees. The amount was reduced by 25% ...

Tagged with: Bankruptcy Judge Keith L. Phillips U.S. Bankruptcy Court

Where the debtor transferred earnings from services he performed pre-petition to a new entity he created after seeking bankruptcy protection, those monies are not “earnings from services performed by an individual debtor after the commencement of the case.” As such, ...

Tagged with: Bankruptcy Judge Rebecca B. Connelly U.S. Bankruptcy Court