Where a home contractor defrauded a homeowner, she was awarded almost $13,000 in damages that are nondischargeable. Background This matter came before the court for trial on Feb. 16, 2022, upon the complaint to determine dischargeability of debt filed by ...

Tagged with: Bankruptcy Judge Stephen C. St. John U.S. Bankruptcy Court

Although debtor encumbered her el­derly mother-in-law’s home for debtor’s loans and defaulted on a Confessed Judgment Note she signed after the mother-in-law obtained a reverse mort­gage in order to stay in the home, and despite debtor’s “disturbing pattern of fiscally ...

Tagged with: Bankruptcy Judge Stephen C. St. John U.S. Bankruptcy Court

A lawyer who failed to produce a wet signature on a Chapter 13 bankruptcy petition and misrepresented the purported debtor’s address, completion of the required credit counseling  and her financial circumstances, as well as venue, receives a 60-day suspension from ...

Tagged with: Bankruptcy Judge Stephen C. St. John U.S. Bankruptcy Court

For the second time in a dozen years, a Virginia State Bar discipline panel has struggled with whether Virginia lawyers should be forced to defend their VSB privileges based on suspension or revocation by federal authorities. The issue of so-called ...

Tagged with: Bankruptcy Federal Courts Judge Stephen C. St. John Lawyer Discipline Virginia State Bar

A Hampton woman who prepared paperwork for people who thought they could not afford to hire a bankruptcy lawyer has been put out of business by a Norfolk bankruptcy judge. The June 26 order banning petitions prepared by Sonya Skinner ...

Tagged with: Bankruptcy Federal Courts Judge Stephen C. St. John

We’ve all had the feeling. You wish you could take back something you’ve said. In most situations, the feeling comes too late. But, when you want to take back a statement you made under oath in a federal lawsuit, the ...

Tagged with: Federal Courts Judge James C. Cacheris Judge James C. Turk Judge Stephen C. St. John

Mediation in bankruptcy cases is becoming more common, as judges and lawyers discover how it can prevent the loss of millions in litigation costs in large, complex cases. Settlement of a recent Virginia construction dispute in bankruptcy court demonstrates mediation ...

Tagged with: ADR Bankruptcy Federal Courts Judge Kevin R. Huennekens Judge Ross W. Krumm Judge Stephen C. St. John