New Consumer Bankruptcy Reform Act Implications and the 2023 Congressional Outlook - The Consumer Finance Podcast
Congress has made some small but important changes to the Bankruptcy Code through its enactment of the Bankruptcy Threshold Adjustment and Technical Corrections Act (the "Act") on June 21, 2022. The most important of these...more
Bankruptcy is primarily about “claims.” The debtor seeks to discharge personal liability on claims, while creditors seek payment on their claims. In basic terms, a bankruptcy “claim” is a right to payment. The claim does not...more
Secured creditors have many choices when it comes to how to file a proof of claim in bankruptcies. Those choices should be weighed carefully, however, because certain choices can have important unexpected consequences that...more
The Fourth Circuit stands alone currently as the only circuit requiring unanticipated, changed circumstances in order to modify a confirmed Chapter 13 Plan. The Eleventh Circuit just joined the majority on a circuit...more
In a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, debtors propose a plan to re-pay all or a portion of their debts. The amount to be repaid depends on how much the debtors earn, the amount and types of debt owed, and how much property they own....more
Many steps creditors take in the process of directly or indirectly originating a vehicle finance agreement are designed to protect the creditor in the event its credit risk assessment was off and the consumer defaults. A...more
In a victory for Chapter 13 debtors, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit recently issued a major decision that changes the way bankruptcy courts in North Carolina will deal with certain home mortgages in...more
Individuals have several options when filing bankruptcy. Chapter 13 is often preferred for individuals with regular income who wish to keep their homes and other secured assets. In a Chapter 13 filing, the court will approve...more
Handling distressed agricultural loans can be very tricky. Loan balances for agricultural loans are typically smaller than nonagricultural commercial real property secured loans, requiring that they be handled extremely cost...more
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit—which covers federal courts in North Carolina—recently handed a victory to residential real estate lenders dealing with borrowers who file for Chapter 13 bankruptcy...more
An official notice from the Judicial Conference of the United States was just published announcing that certain dollar amounts in the Bankruptcy Code will be increased ever so slightly — only about 3% this time — for new...more
The Issue and Background - Debtors David Caulkett and Edelmiro Toledo-Cardona (“Debtors”) each filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy relief with “underwater” junior mortgages held by Bank of America, N.A. (“Bank”). In other...more
Three significant opinions issued by the US Supreme Court in the last few months will impact lenders and investors. Bank of America v. Caulkett - In a major win for the nation’s mortgage lenders and...more