A tenant with “slovenly living habits” who knowingly, deliberately and intentionally caused damage to his landlord’s property was not entitled to discharge the majority portion of debt caused by his conduct. Background In Aug. 2013, the debtors signed a one-year ...

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

Most of a tenant couple’s debt to their former landlord, based on unpaid rent and the poor conditions in which they left the rental, was dischargeable. The court held a small percentage to be non-dischargeable based on evidence that, in ...

Tagged with: Bankruptcy Judge Paul M. Black Landlord/Tenant U.S. District Court - Western District

A bankruptcy court awarded some fees incurred to recover the debtor’s wrongly garnished wages, but said that counsel should have resolved the issue in the bankruptcy proceeding rather than filing two additional adversary suits. Further, especially in light of quarter-hour ...

Tagged with: Attorneys Fees Bankruptcy Civil Procedure Judge Paul M. Black U.S. Bankruptcy Court

The Eastern District of Virginia’s Local Bankruptcy Rule 3070-1(C), which allows for dismissal without hearing, conflicts with the requirements of 11 U.S.C. § 1307. Background In January 2017, the Eastern District’s bankruptcy trustee certified under Local Bankruptcy Rule 3070-1(C) that ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Bankruptcy Judge Allyson K. Duncan

The Eastern District’s Local Bankruptcy Rule 3070-1(C), which allows for dismissal without hearing, conflicts with the requirements of 11 U.S.C. § 1307. Background In January 2017, the bankruptcy trustee certified under Local Bankruptcy Rule 3070-1(C) that Debtor-Appellant Sarah No had ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Bankruptcy Civil Procedure Due Process Judge Allyson K. Duncan

Debtors who moved from Louisiana to West Virginia could apply Louisiana bankruptcy exemptions to property located in West Virginia, because federal law allowed the debtors to choose a state exemption scheme, and Louisiana law is not limited to in-state property. ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Bankruptcy Judge Robert B. King

Even if a debtor filed for bankruptcy in response to a judgment against him and possessed significant assets, the district court did not err in finding that the debtor did not file for bankruptcy in bad faith. Background Appellee Peter ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Bankruptcy Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III

This case involves yet another collision between traditional methods of providing – and policing – legal services to consumers for bankruptcy matters and attempts by attorneys and creative online marketers to tap into that market on a high-volume, multi-jurisdictional basis. ...

Tagged with: Attorneys Bankruptcy Civil Practice Judge Paul M. Black Sanctions U.S. Bankruptcy Court

An Arlington County lawyer was held in contempt by a judge and then reprimanded by the Virginia State Bar for trying to collect fees from a former client in violation of a bankruptcy stay. Tara E. Steinnerd agreed to the ...

Tagged with: Bankruptcy Virginia State Bar

A bankruptcy judge has refused to allow a lawyer to discharge debts to a bonding company because the debts were caused by the lawyer’s defalcation in handling fiduciary accounts. In 2013, Manassas attorney Timothy A. Ward was suspended from law ...

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