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Proceeds from a car accident settlement for an accident that occurred after the Chapter 13 filing are not part of bankruptcy estate upon conversion to Chapter 7
In re Love, 2019 WL 2427198 (Bankr E.D. Va., 2019)(Huennekens, J.) Debtor was in a car accident two years after filing Chapter 13 case. Debtor voluntarily converted Chapter 13 to Chapter 7 and received a discharge. Debtor never amended their schedules to disclose personal injury claim arising out of automobile accident. Debtor filed a motion to reopen bankruptcy case and amend her schedules to add personal injury claim and exempt it from the bankruptcy estate. The Trustee filed an Objection to the Debtors Exemption of Personal Injury Claim arguing that upon the reopening of the case, the property became part
Discharge Injunction Not Violated When Creditor Did Not Receive Notice at Proper Address
Morris v. State Employees Credit Union, 615 B.R. 189 (Bankr. D.Md. 2020)(Alquist, J.) Plaintiff/Debtor had a credit card through SECU, which was identified and listed as an unsecured creditor on the creditor mailing matrix. The Debtor used an address for SECU identified on her credit report. In reality, SECU neither owns the address listed on the Plaintiff’s credit repot nor has a branch there. In the months leading up to the bankruptcy filing, SECU had sent credit card statements to the Debtor which identified the proper correspondence address for SECU. All of the mail from the Court to SECU was
Creditor Who Refuses to Repay Overpayment from Trustee Violates Code
In re Alston, __ B.R. __, 2019 WL 7580136 (Bankr. D.S.C. 2019) Debtor’s Ch. 13 Plan paid Santander Consumer USA, Inc.’s, claim in full through the Ch. 13 plan. The Ch. 13 Trustee overpaid Santander by $1,815.61. Santander refused to return the overpayment. The Debtor’s counsel sought a refund of the overpayment as well as an award of attorney’s fees and sanctions against Santander. The Court held that Santander willfully violated the terms of the debtors’ confirmed plan and as a remedy, it directed Santander to refund the overpayment and awarded reasonable attorney’s fees and costs in the amount of
The Standard for Sanctions for Violating Discharge
Taggart v. Lorenzen, 139 S. Ct. 1795 (2019): The Supreme Court was asked to decide the standard applied to determine whether or not a Court may impose sanctions for conduct that violates the discharge injunction. The Supreme Court rejected both a subjective standard (preferred by the creditor) and strict liability (preferred by the debtor). The Court instead held that sanctions are appropriate “where there is not a ‘fair ground of doubt’ as to whether the creditor’s conduct might be lawful under the discharge order.” Are you experiencing debt collection abuse from your creditor? Enlist the help of an experienced debt collection
Discharge Denied When Debtor’s Case Fails the Smell Test
In re Wilson, 2016 Bankr. Lexis 995 (Bankr. D. Md. March 30, 2016) Robert Horace Wilson (“Debtor”), a practicing orthopedic surgeon, filed a Chapter 7 bankruptcy case to stay the collection efforts of his largest creditor (“Creditor”). Debtor’s nonfiling spouse (“Spouse”) also was a physician. In his original Schedules, Debtor disclosed monthly income of nearly $18,000, and ownership interests inmedical practice, and an entity called Spike Club, LLC (“Spike”), which owned a gentlemen’s club. Those Schedules, which by Debtor’s admission were incomplete and inaccurate, also disclosed only minimal bona fide claims against him apart from Creditor’s claim and dramatically understated
Report Must Contain an Inaccuracy to Be Actionable Against Credit Bureaus
D. Maryland; 4/27/2017; Case No. TDC-14-1180 Ms. Alston filed a case against two credit bureaus for violations of 15 U.S.C. § 1681e and 1681i: failure to maintain procedures to assure maximum possible accuracy and failure to conduct a reinvestigation into dispute information, respectively. Unfortunately, this is one of many cases litigated by Ms. Alston involving the reporting of her Wells Fargo mortgage. In a prior case against Wells Fargo, the Court decided that Wells Fargo’s reporting of her account as delinquent was accurate. This is because the evidence established that Wells Fargo was entitled to collect payments from her during
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