Bankruptcy

Today's News...

Posted on March 05, 2008
Countrywide is not having a particularly good week. The New York Times reports that the US Trustee for the Southwest Region has brought suit in Miami against the mortgage company with claims it is abusing the bankruptcy process. Today's editorial in The New York Times points out that despite a White House-backed mortgage industry group formed to help homeowners, these homeowners are not getting the help they need...

Failure to Turnover Tax Refund Leads to Discharge Revocation

Posted on March 04, 2008
In January, the 8th Circuit Bankruptcy Appellate Panel affirmed a bankruptcy court ruling that revoked the discharge of a debtor who kept his tax refund. The debtor filed his petition on October 10, 2005 and his meeting of creditors took place about one month later...

US Trustee Sues Countrywide

Posted on March 03, 2008
The United States Trustee has filed suit in the US Bankruptcy Court in Atlanta seeking sanctions against Countrywide Home Loans. From the New York Times: ?Countrywide?s failure to ensure the accuracy of its pleadings and accounts in this case is not an isolated incident,? Donald F...

Today's News...

Posted on March 03, 2008
From PalmBeachPost.com: Family pets and animal shelters continue to feel the strain of the foreclosure crisis. Has someone given you a Sharper Image gift card? That's a bummer. As Congress debates some amendments to the bankruptcy code, there's news that bankruptcy filings spiked in February...

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Gambling, Gamblers and Bankruptcy

Posted on February 26, 2008
There are many things that bring people into bankruptcy. More than a few times, I?ve represented people who have had something in common: a gambling problem. There are unique legal and practical issues that face gambling debtors. But before I get into my professional perception of things, let me share with you some personal experiences...

Good News and Bad News

Posted on February 22, 2008
Bad news: Check this out at Calculated Risk: Moodys: 8.8 Million Homeowners Underwater From Boston.com: Mass. foreclosures rise 128% in January Good News: T.G.I.F. (sorry, that's all I got... enjoy your weekend).

Things Are Going to Get Worse Before They Get Better...

Posted on February 14, 2008
I have a message to all of those folks out there who are hoping that the economy will get better, that their mortgage company will ?work? with them, or that the government will do something to help them through the financial quagmire they find themselves in: the sun is not going to come out tomorrow...

Truth & Consequences Continued: Georgetown Study contradicts Mortgage Bankers Association Analysis

Posted on February 07, 2008
According to a study released by the Georgetown Law Center, ?there would be ?no or little? impact on home-mortgage interest rates if Congress moves ahead with pending legislation -- H.R. 3609, The Emergency Home Ownership and Mortgage Equity Protection Act of 2007) and Senate (S...

Thanks for Letting Us Know. Now what?

Posted on February 07, 2008
Many times we hear that it is exotic mortgages with resetting ARMS that are fueling the sub-prime foreclosure melt-down. A new report from the State Foreclosure Prevention Working Group suggests something far more nefarious. "A significant percentage of subprime adjustable-rate loans are delinquent before they experience payment shock from their first adjustment, reflecting weak underwriting or fraud in the origination of the loan," the report concluded...

Truth and Consequences: The Bankruptcy Debate Continues

Posted on January 29, 2008
The Mortgage Bankers Association which represents the real estate finance industry is apparently not pleased with a report by the Center for Responsible Lending which urges reforms to the US Bankruptcy Code. According to David Kittle, the Chairman Elect of the MBA: Policymakers should ignore this report as it is more rhetoric than fact...

Today's News...

Posted on January 22, 2008
The Dow has dropped 10 percent since January 1. Some of the victims of the sub-prime mortgage mess are bigger than a bread box, have more than two legs and are very innocent. Ohioans are wondering the government is to blame for the sub-prime foreclosure mess...

There?s No Money for Audits

Posted on January 22, 2008
The Executive Office of the US Trustee announced that it has suspended designation of bankruptcy cases subject to audit. The reason? Congress provided no funding in the FY 2008 Consolidated Appropriations Act. Read more here.

Destroyed Documents leads to Denial of Discharge

Posted on January 15, 2008
Thinking about filing bankruptcy? Do you have a paper shredder or know a friend with a dumpster? You should know that a US Bankruptcy Court judge in Boston recently ruled that a Chapter 7 debtor was not entitled to a discharge because documents had been destroyed...

Is Countrywide Fabricating Evidence?

Posted on January 08, 2008
Today?s New York Times is reporting that Countrywide Financial ?fabricated documents related to the bankruptcy case of a Pennsylvania homeowner.? Apparently, the documents were letters addressed to the homeowner claiming that $4,700 was owed. Countrywide?s local counsel told the bankruptcy court that the letters were ?recreated...

When Your Mortgage Company Files Bankruptcy

Posted on December 26, 2007
The foreclosure crisis sweeping the nation is also sending some mortgage companies into financial ruin, leaving many folks caught in the middle. Last week the Federal Trade Commission issued a new publication giving consumers advice on what to do if their mortgage company files bankruptcy...

The US Trustee v. Countrywide

Posted on November 28, 2007
It has been reported that the US Trustee has subpoened records from Countrywide Financial, one the largest mortgage lenders - if not the largest. According to CNNMoney.com (and a New York Times report), in two separate bankruptcy cases in Southern Florida, the debtors objected to Countrywide's claims of what was owed on their home loans...

The News Today...

Posted on November 25, 2007
If the Federal Reserve cuts rates, mortgage payments should decline, right? Perhaps not. Today's Boston Globe also reports on foreclosure rescue scams. And finally, may Bostonians have noticed the number of new condominium construction projects that have sprung up over the last few years...

A Thanksgiving Message for My Clients and others...

Posted on November 20, 2007
I imagine it is very hard to think of Thanksgiving when foreclosures in Massachusetts continue to rise. I think I am safe saying that it's going to be hard for me to think of it, since I'll be likely thinking about the work I am not getting done while I am visiting family...

Deutsche Bank Gets a Kick

Posted on November 15, 2007
On October 31, a US District Court judge sitting in the Northern District of Ohio issued a decision involving Deutsche Bank?s attempts to foreclosure on a number of properties in Ohio. The bank claimed that the federal court had jurisdiction because there was diversity of the parties: the parties resided or had a principal place of business in different states, and the amount in controversy exceeds $75,000...

The Two Edge?s of BAPCPA?s Sword

Posted on November 13, 2007
There?s been a lot of debate over how unfair BAPCPA (the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005) is on consumer debtors. Some of that debate can actually be found on this site. There have been aspects of BAPCPA that I have called silly, and some that we have to question the logic on...

Bad Decisions and Hard Lessons: What happens when you should know better?

Posted on November 13, 2007
Last week, the US Bankruptcy Court in the Western District of Kentucky ruled that a Chapter 7 debtor?s credit card debt was not dischargeable because the debtor used a card that should have been closed. The debtor and the plaintiff divorced in 2003 and as a part of the divorce, the parties agreed to pay their own credit card debt as well as hold each other harmless in the event of default...

Nasty Debt Collector, WaMu Responds, and BAPCPA

Posted on November 08, 2007
Houston-based LTD Financial Services got slapped with $1.3 million in civil penalties to settle FDCPA violation charges. Washington Mutual issued a press release in response to the action filed by the NY Attorney General. We reported on that action earlier this week...

Rumor Control: Credit Reports and What's Dischargeable in Chapter 7

Posted on November 08, 2007
I received a call today from someone with questions about Chapter 7. I receive many calls a day, but what made this call interesting was that the caller told me that they conferred with another attorney and was told that with the passage of the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005, only 50% of debt was now dischargeable in a Chapter 7...

Costly Bankruptcy Preparation Mistakes

Posted on November 05, 2007
An interesting case out of the 9th Circuit last week should serve as a reminder to Bankruptcy Attorneys to check and double check documents. It should also serve as a warning to debtors who may be inclined to avoid doing the same thing. The case involved an $18,000 tax debt that the debtor owed to the Franchise Tax Board in California...

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