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

A former Virginia lawyer seeking to regain his license cannot dis­charge his financial obligation to the Virginia State Bar in bank­ruptcy court, a judge has ruled. Martinsville’s Rickey Gene Young has been trying to return to the ranks of Virginia ...

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

Struggling con­sumers in­creasingly are seeking finan­cial help from online lenders, but consumer lawyers warn the relief may be only temporary. High interest rates and fees, levied through relentless bank with­drawals, sometimes bring consumers to the bankruptcy they hoped to avoid, ...

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

A government contractor that faced federal charges after disregarding lawyers’ advice on use of prohib­ited employees failed to prove a legal malpractice claim against its law firm, a bankruptcy judge has ruled. The decision absolved a now-defunct Washington firm of ...

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

A recently launched net­work of bankruptcy law­yers billed as a “nation­wide online law firm” is under fire in a Virginia court. A regional U.S. Bankruptcy Trustee is suing a network of entities operating as “UpRight Law,” including two of the ...

Tagged with: Bankruptcy Darren Delafield John C. Morgan Jr. Judge Paul M. Black U.S. Bankruptcy Court UpRight

An Abingdon lawyer won a judge’s gratitude – and a six-figure fee – for diligent work on a unique and historic bankruptcy case. The work required John M. Lamie to delve into annals of 19th century property law and interpret ...

Tagged with: Buchanan County Circuit Court John M. Lamie Judge James P. Jones U.S. Bankruptcy Court Yellow Poplar