Commercial Law & Contracts

Read Bankruptcy Law updates, alerts, news, and legal analysis from leading lawyers and law firms:

News & Analysis as of May 19, 2013

Bankruptcy May Become a Way Out of Student Loan Debt

by Michele Bowman | Lawyers.com on 5/8/2013

While students get breaks on their loans in some ways, filing bankruptcy has never been one of them. But if a federal appellate opinion and action in Congress are any indicators, that could be changing....more

Student Loans: Nondischargeability Questioned in Seventh Circuit and Beyond

by Adam McNeile | Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP on 4/26/2013

Conventional wisdom says that it is nearly impossible to obtain a discharge of student loan debt in bankruptcy. Indeed, Section 523(a)(8) expressly excepts student loans from discharge, unless the exception of such...more

Supreme Court Offers No Guidance On Student Loan Undue Hardship Test

by Harold Shepley & Associates, LLC on 3/12/2013

After receiving a general release from his debts under Chapter 7 bankruptcy, Roger Traversa filed for release from his $60,000 student loan debt, claiming that it would be an undue hardship for him to repay. Traversa...more

Avoid Defaulting on Government Student Loans

by Lawyers.com on 9/21/2012

The amount of student loan debt in the United States is close to $1 trillion. Student debt has passed up credit-card debt to become the second-largest category of consumer debt in the country. Only mortgage debt is...more

Yes, You Can Ditch a Student Loan in Bankruptcy

by Lawyers.com on 9/17/2012

The mantra is repeated over and over: You can’t discharge student loans through bankruptcy. However, while it’s reality for most indebted people, the conventional wisdom isn’t quite true. In a seldom-invoked provision,...more

Second Circuit to Student Loan Collectors: Know Your Bankruptcy Law!

by Ballard Spahr LLP on 9/10/2012

A recent decision by the Second Circuit underscores the importance to debt collectors of accurately describing the options available to a student loan borrower in bankruptcy, even a borrower who previously filed but did not...more

Second Circuit Applies “Least Sophisticated Consumer” Test In Student Loan Debt Collection Case

by BuckleySandler LLP on 9/6/2012

On August 30, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit held that a debt collector’s representation to a debtor that her student loans were “ineligible” for bankruptcy discharge is a “false, misleading, or deceptive”...more

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Shaking Up Private Student Loan Industry

by Saul Ewing LLP on 8/9/2012

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has issued a report highlighting significant consumer protection issues in the private student lending industry and making recommendations to ensure transparency. ...more