Summary:
At issue in this case was first whether the Applicable Commitment period, as defined by 11 U.S.C. § 1325(b)(4), was a temporal requirement, i.e. 3 years for below median income debtors or 5 years for those with income above median, or was not applicable if the Debtors had no disposable income under § 1325(b)(1). Agreeing with now all of the Circuit Courts that have answered this question, the 4th Circuit held that the Applicable Commitment Period is, in fact temporal.
Summary:
The District Court held that while there is a clear “federal policy favoring arbitration”, Moses H Cone Mem'l Hasp. v. Mercury Canst. Corp., 460 U.S. 1, 24-25 (1983), “[t]he tension that exists between the policy favoring enforceability of agreements to arbitrate and the paramount interest of the bankruptcy courts in resolving bankruptcy matters is well recognized, see e.g. In re National Gypsum, 118 F.3d 1056, 1065-1070 (5th Cir. 1997).
Summary:
McGinnis brought suit in state court against Fantone for two notes that Fantone had guaranteed with MSC. Following court ordered mediation, the parties agreed that Fantone would execute a modification of loan agreement for $200,000.00 with interest at six percent (6%) per year, would substitute himself as the obligor debts owed by executed by MSC, and would sign a Confession of Judgment for $200,000. Less than three weeks later, Pantone filed a voluntary Chapter 13 bankruptcy.
Abstract:
Filing for bankruptcy is the primary legal mechanism by which homeowners in foreclosure can exert control over ownership of their home, yet little is known about the interplay between bankruptcy chapters, mortgage servicers, state foreclosure laws, and home foreclosure auctions. We analyze 4,280 lower-income homeowners in the United States who were more than 90 days late paying their 30-year fixed-rate mortgages. Two dozen organizations serviced these mortgages and initiated foreclosure between 2003 and 2012.
Summary:
As an initial matter, the 4th Circuit affirmed, in a published opinion, that pursuant to 11 U.S.C. §§ 506(a) and 1322(b)(2), a junior lien against real estate that serves as the debtor’s principal residence can be stripped-off if there is no equity above the senior lien(s).
The Court of Appeals next proceeded to the question of whether a Debtor, who had recently obtained and Chapter 7 discharge and was thus ineligible for a Chapter 13 discharge, could similarly strip-off a junior lien.
Summary:
The Debtors moved to modify their Chapter 13 plan, surrendering two pieces of real property and seeking to reduce their plan payment to the lowest amount possible to pay a 100% dividend to unsecured creditors over a total period of 60 months. The Chapter 13 Trustee objected, seeking a higher monthly payment, which would have repaid the debts over a shorter period of time, on the basis that the Winns could afford the higher monthly payment.
Summary:
The Debtor leased a town home from Brett Mestel for $1,395/month, with a term running from August 2009 until September 2011 and month-to-month thereafter. In February 2012, Mestel commenced an eviction action after the Debtor fell behind in rent payments. Summary Ejectment was granted on April 16, 2012, and the ten-day appeal period ran on April 27, 2012. The Debtor filed Chapter 13 bankruptcy on April 30, 2012. Thereafter, the Mecklenburg Sheriff served the Debtor with a Writ of Possession, requiring her to vacate prior to May 9, 2012.
Summary: Relying on In re Beaudet, 455 B.R. 671, 673 (Bankr. M.D. Tenn. 2011), the bankruptcy court held that while Ocwen was entitled to include future escrow amounts in the on-going monthly payment, the pre-petition escrow shortage should instead be included in the arrearage claim.
Summary and Commentary:
Starting by painting a vivid tableau of a §341 Meeting of Creditors, its atmosphere is aptly compared with the anxiety of an emergency room. The metaphor gets pushed too far, with the Trustee being likened to a doctor diagnosing people "with a financial emergency- bankruptcy." This would be a fully congruent comparison only if, and I hesitate to extend this metaphor, because most Trustees are truly good and caring people, who keep a debtor’s interest in mind, if not at heart, a medical doctor was charged by his Hippocratic Oath
