“Filing for Chapter 11” is a term many Americans know from news headlines when a business reorganizes due to bankruptcy. The Bankruptcy Reform Act of 1978 sought to establish a uniform law to govern the relationship between creditors and debtors when debtors, whether individuals or corporations, cannot repay their debts; in 1979, this became U.S. […]

In October of 2019, the Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit issued a decision addressing an often-asked question in bankruptcy: whether it is a violation of the automatic stay to retain a vehicle that was repossessed pre-bankruptcy? The Court of Appeals answered in the negative, as addressed in this article, posted on this site […]

A familiar circumstance in consumer bankruptcies is that a borrower becomes delinquent on an automobile loan and fails to address the situation – until the automobile is repossessed. The consumer then seeks bankruptcy representation, and then seeks (usually through counsel) the return of the vehicle. Lenders struggle with the facts that the loan is in […]

In an Opinion dated July 19, 2018, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals held that a transfer of property pursuant to a non-collusive sheriff’s sale is not a preferential transfer under Section 547 of the Bankruptcy Code. Under the Bankruptcy Code, certain transfers of property, or of a Debtor’s interest in property, can be avoided […]

  I recently reported on the Third Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision in In re Lansaw, in which the Court upheld the imposition of sanctions, including the award of emotional distress damages, for violations of the automatic stay. I suggested that creditors be guided accordingly. Despite the clear signals from the Courts, stay violations continue and the […]

Few things in life are certain. Death. Taxes. Chapter 13 plan payments must be completed within 5 years. But wait – the Third Circuit Court of Appeals recently held that a Chapter 13 Debtor can receive a discharge, even if the final plan payment is made after 60 months. In a case of first impression […]

The Pennsylvania Superior Court has held that the removal of a state law claim from the state courts to the federal bankruptcy court pre-empted the defendants’ subsequent suit under the Dragonetti Act for wrongful use of civil proceedings. The facts are summarized as follows: Landlord commenced an action against Law Firm and its partners for […]

On May 15, 2017, the Supreme Court resolved a split among the Circuit Courts of Appeals, holding that the filing a time-barred / stale claim does not violate the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Midland Funding v. Johnson (U.S. May 15, 2017). The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, 15 U. S. C. §§1692 et seq., […]

The current Bankruptcy Code went into effect on October 1, 1979. One of the fundamental provisions of the Bankruptcy Code is the automatic bankruptcy stay which, as its name implies, automatically halts almost all collection activity against the debtor and the debtor’s property. Even though the law has been around for close to 40 years, […]

In a recent decision, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals determined whether Internal Revenue Service Forms 1040, filed after the IRS has made an assessment of the taxpayer’s liability, constitute “returns” for purposes of determining the dischargeability in bankruptcy of tax debts under 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(1)(B).  In plain language, the question before the Court […]