On July 14, 2016, Public Counsel and partners filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of former Corinthian students to stop the unlawful, abusive tactics of private debt buyers and debt collectors.
Watch the compelling video and read the press release here.
Check out the press webcast on Public Counsel’s Facebook page, and the media coverage so far is below: Read more…
Central District Consumer Bankruptcy Attorney Association (“cdcbaa”) present: FUNDAMENTALS FOR “FINALIZING” A CHAPTER 13 CASE
July 23, 2016 Read more…
I attended the annual 9th Circuit Judicial Conference last week in Big Sky Montana. The conference consists of all of the federal judges in the 9th Circuit and a bunch of Lawyer Representatives, of which I am one (for one more year at least). The conference consists of a number of programs, legal meetings and dinners. Afternoons taking a nap since there is not much to do there and evenings in the sports bar visiting judges and lawyers from all over.
Two of the programs were directed specifically to bankruptcy matters. It was almost surreal that nearly every bankruptcy judge I ever heard of was all in the same room. The discussion was lively too. The panelists would be talking about something and some judge would stand up to comment and then another judge would stand up and respond. “Here’s how I do such and such.” Read more…
Uninformed punditry to the contrary, her comments violated no law or ethical rule. The judicial code of ethics says that judges are not to endorse or oppose candidates for elected office. These provisions, however, do not apply to Supreme Court justices. (Whether that exception is reasonable is a separate question.)
It’s true that, conventionally, justices steer clear of electoral politics. But that wasn’t always the case: In 1800, the members of the Supreme Court openly campaigned for the reelection of John Adams. This convention of silence, moreover, is inconsistent with one of the most basic underlying principles of the 1st Amendment: that more speech is better in a democracy because it leads to a better-informed population.
I understand that the “national form,” once approved will not be required in the Central District. An article updating the progress on the new form is here.
Bankruptcy Judge Zurzolo Brown Bag Discussion
12:00 noon – July 25th
Room 1268 – Roybal Building Read more…
MONROE, La (US Atty Office) – United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced today that a bankruptcy attorney was sentenced to 34 months in prison for collecting filing fees from clients without informing the bankruptcy court.
Glay H. Collier II, 53, of Benton, La., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Robert G. James on one count of bankruptcy fraud. He was also sentenced to three years of supervised release and ordered to pay $69,063.05 restitution. According to evidence presented at the November 10, 2015 guilty plea, Collier filed records into the bankruptcy court stating that he would accept “No Look” fees as payment for his services. The “No Look” fee caps attorney’s fees in bankruptcy proceedings to $2,800. In excess of that limit, Collier charged up to $281 in filing fees to some clients, which he did not disclose to the court. Between March 2010 and November 2013, Collier filed 983 Chapter 13 bankruptcy cases in Monroe, and during the same time period, he filed 2,160 Chapter 13 bankruptcy cases in Shreveport. In approximately 479 of these cases, Collier fraudulently collected and attempted to collect filing fees.
The FBI and the U.S. Trustee’s Office, Region 5, conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Cytheria D. Jernigan prosecuted the case.
Program Title:
Successor Liability, 363 Sales, and Chapter 11: Buyers, Sellers, and Creditors Beware!
Presented By:
Commercial Law & Bankruptcy Section
Date:
Thursday, July 28, 2016
Program Description:
The panel will discuss the issue of successor liability in the context of a sale under 11 U.S.C. § 363 from the perspective of a buyer, seller, and creditors. The discussion will cover how to sell a business before the value is all gone, strategies to structure sales and asset transfers through plans and section 363 sales, exceptions to the “free and clear” rule, when a buyer may be liable for present or future claims of the debtor, rights and strategies of a purchaser facing successor liability, and methodology and considerations in attacking a buyer for successor liability. The panel will also discuss key post confirmation jurisdictional considerations in evaluating what court may address these issues.
Speakers:
Hon. Julia W. Brand, United States Bankruptcy Court
Jeffrey I. Golden, Lobel Weiland Golden Friedman LLP
Whitman L. Holt, Klee, Tuchin, Bogdanoff & Stern LLP Read more…
