Where a debtor brought an action alleging that a creditor’s proofs of claim violate the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and the Bankruptcy Rules, the claim will be heard by the court, and a motion to compel arbitration is denied. ...

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

Where a divorcing couple intended to turn a tenancy-by-the-entireties in their home into a tenancy-in-common in the proceeds once they sold it, the ex-husband can claim a homestead exemption in his portion of the proceeds. Background Phillip Roadcap is a ...

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

Trustees who alleged fraudulent transfer of assets were found to lack standing because the Bankruptcy Code does not give trustees the authority to avoid the transfer of property interests of non-debtor entities. Background Leah McCurnin filed a voluntary petition for ...

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

A woman seeking to discharge her student loans failed to provide evidence that repayment of her debt would cause an “undue hardship.” Background On Nov. 13, 2011, Wanda Lipscomb Menefee and her husband, Frank Hoehl Menefee, Jr., filed a voluntary ...

Tagged with: Bankruptcy Judge Kevin R. Huennekens U.S. Bankruptcy Court

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: Judge Paul M. Black Landlord/Tenant U.S. Bankruptcy Court

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

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

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

An Alexandria lawyer who pursued collection efforts after a tenant filed for bankruptcy has been hit with $5,000 in punitive damages for what the judge labeled “flagrant violations” of legal protections for debtors. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Kevin R. Huennekens said ...

Tagged with: Bankruptcy Judge Kevin R. Huennekens U.S. Bankruptcy Court