Dear Colleagues:
The Court announced that: “I am sorry to report that Judge Erithe Smith’s mother has just passed away. Judge Smith will be continuing all of her hearings this week“.
Keith Higginbotham
Judge Erithe Smith Calendar This Week
Bankruptcy Specialist Exam Coming Up in October 24, 2017
The California Legal Specialist Examination is a one-day examination that will take place on:
Date: Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2017
Location: Northern California – Oakland Convention Center
Southern California – Pasadena Convention Center
Examination Fee: Special pricing for registration will be offered this year. The examination registration fee is $100 if valid payment is received on or before May 1. The fee increases to $250 on May 2 and to $350 on Sept. 2. Registration deadline is Oct. 2. Read more…
Inn of the Court Meeting Set for February 8, 2017
The James T. King Bankruptcy Inn of Court meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, February 8, 2017 at 6:00 p.m.
Your hosts for the evening will be Co-Presidents: Hale Antico and the Honorable Neil Bason, our Program Moderator
We will be meeting at Taix French Restaurant located at:
1911 Sunset Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90026 Read more…
Haeger v. Goodyear Tire – Supreme Court to Consider Limits on Federal Court’s Inherent Power to Award Compensatory Sanctions
I will be attending oral argument at the Supreme Court next week, January 10, 2017. Below is my brief of the 9th Circuit Opinion at issue.
Haeger v. Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co, 813 F.3d 1233 (9th Cir, 2016)
Issue: Do compensatory sanctions awarded under the district court’s inherent power have to be causally linked to the harm done by the bad conduct?
Holding: No, compensatory sanctions may be part punitive and part compensatory.
District Judge Roslyn O. Silver, District of Arizona,
Milan Smith, dissent by Paul Watford (other judge on the panel was Clifford Wallace). Read more…
A Summary of Bankruptcy Law Third Edition
I have finally finished my Summary of Bankruptcy Law Third Edition. You can get it on Amazon by clicking here. The 400+ footnotes focus almost entirely on the 9th Circuit and California law. Let me know what you think.
Judge Barash to Hold Brown Bag on Loan Modification Management Program
This program is an excellent opportunity for you to get the inside scoop on the new Loan Modification Management Program. This is a “pilot” program meaning there will be a “feeling out” period by everyone involved. I think its a great effort and should be supported by the local bankruptcy bar. Brown Bag Flier Barash Read more…
Chief Justice John Roberts Releases his 2016 Year-End Report on the Federal Judiciary
This annual report by Chief Justice Roberts is down right nice. It is a ten page summary – overview of what our Federal District Court Judges do. I expected a two page plea at the end asking Congress to increase the paychecks of the district court judges. He does not and need not since the summary of what these civil servants to do is proof enough that they should be paid better.
From the report:
United States district judges are the principal trial judges of our federal system. Congress has authorized 673 district judgeships, as well as four territorial positions. The active judges receive assistance from more than 500 senior district judges, who are eligible for retirement with full pay but still continue to work—most in a part-time capacity, but many full-time—without additional compensation. Read more…
Chapter 11 Doesn’t Have To Be Quite So Paper Intensive
My oldest son asked me to look up a case in North Dakota. A related case called J&J Oilfield Services, Inc. caught my eye. The docket was some 479 items resulting in a confirmed plan. So the case is nice and complicated. But take a look at the employment app debtor’s counsel filed. Employ App North Dakota One page! And one page for the Statement of Disinterestedness. The Motion for Final Decree is here. Final Decree North Dakota One page. It doesn’t have to be that complicated.
Financial Report of the United States Government 2015
Just ran across this 274 page report. “Mind blown,” as Kramer liked to say. Statistics and financial info until you can’t stand it no more.
The financial fact that jumped out at me is that the US Government owns $3.2 trillion in TOTAL assets (page 60). Of that, $1.2 trillion, or more than a third of the total, is “Loans Receivable.” Of that, $977 billion is student loans! So 31% of the value of the assets this country owns is receivable from students and former students. I wonder how they valued the assets? Read more…
Nice Tentative from Judge Houle on Converting Case from Chapter 7 to Chapter 13 Postdischarge
BACKGROUND
On February 28, 2013, Michael & Maricar Santos (“Debtors”) filed a Chapter 7 voluntary petition. On June 17, 2013, Debtors received a standard discharge. The Chapter 7 case, however, remained open.
On October 4, 2016, Debtors filed a motion to convert case from Chapter 7 to 13. On October 12, 2016, Trustee filed his opposition. On November 2, 2016, Debtors filed a reply. A hearing on the matter was held on November 9, 2016. The hearing was continued to allow for additional briefing on the issue whether, and in what circumstances, a Chapter 7 case could be converted to a Chapter 13 post-discharge. Debtor filed their response on November 18, 2016. Trustee filed their response on November 29, 2016. Read more…
M. Jonathan Hayes Books
Publisher
Senior Contributor
Contributors
