A slow recovery from summer vacation has caused BAPCPA Blog to fall behind on our mission in keeping track of decisions interpreting the BAPCPA amendments. In the interest of getting current, we will be starting a new program: on a weekly basis, we'll post summaries of the new decisions issued that week. Then, as time permits, we'll continue to do lengthier postings analyzing which cases may break new ground, and how they fit into the existing bankruptcy and general jurisprudence.
So for this week, here's what's new:
It was a bad week for Chapter 13 trustees. In In re Lopez, 2006 WL 2848658 (Bankr. C.D. Cal. 10/3/06), the Court rejected a Chapter 13 trustee's argument that BAPCPA amendments to 11 U.S.C. 1326 now require all payments to creditors to go through the trustee and prohibit the debtor from acting as disbursing agent (as has long been the custom in many bankruptcy courts, particularly for payments to secured lenders).
It was a good week for Chapter 13 debtors' lawyers. In In re Mayer, 2006 WL 2850451 (Bankr. D. Ken. 10/2/06) and In re Chapter 13 Fee Applications, 2006 WL 2850115 (Bankr. S.D. Tex. 10/3/06), the courts increased the maximum flat fee which attorneys can charge for representing debtors in Chapter 13 cases which will be considered presumptively reasonable, based on the significant additional burdens on counsel under BAPCPA. The latter case also provides further guidance on what services should be included and may be excluded from a fixed fee arrangement.
It was a bad week for creditors, with yet another court concluding that the 362(c)(3) stay termination provisions only terminate the stay with respect to "property of the debtor" but not as to property of the estate. In re Pope, 2006 WL 2844576 (Bankr. D.R.I. 10/3/06).
Creditors likely won't be pleased with In re West, 2006 WL 2872275 (Bankr. E.D. Ark. 10/10/06) either, which concludes that the new 1328(f) prohibition on obtaining a Chapter 13 discharge for debtors who have obtained an earlier discharge in a prior case is tied to the filing date of the earlier case, and not the discharge date. For instance, the prohibition for debtors who have obtained a prior Chapter 13 discharge applies only to earlier Chapter 13 cases filed within two years of the new case -- not if the discharge was obtained within two years of the new case. Ah, if only Congress had followed the March Hare's advice.
In re White, 2006 WL 2827321 (Bankr. E.D. La. 9/29/06) was more of a mixed bag. In a case construing the "hanging paragraph" of 11 U.S.C. 1325(a) dealing with purchase money vehicle loans, the court rejected the lender's attempt to bootstrap obligations under an insurance program and extended warranty to the vehicle debt subject to treatment under that provision, and also concluded that the debtor was permitted to modify the terms of the claim and pay present value based on a Till formula interest rate. But it also rejected the debtor's attempt to argue that the car loan was either unsecured as a result of 1325(a)(*), and the attempt to "strip down" the car loan to the collateral value.
We'll continue to provide these weekly updates as we also get caught up on the more significant developments of the past couple months.
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2 comments:
Is there a list of approved chapter 13 fees in jurisdictions around the county?
Even more interesting is whether 1328(f)'s two year bar or four year bar applies to previous cases filed as Chapter 13 but then converted to Chapter 7 and discharged as such. The Sanders case from the Sixth Circuit in early 2009 is helpful as the phrase "filed under" must be given meaning and to hold otherwise would write it out of the statute.
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