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		THE CONSUMER BANKRUPTCY LETTER

In This Issue:

February 14 2005

•	TAX DISCHARGE IN BOSTON!

•	From BankruptcyBooks.com

•	FEATURED SITE #7 ELECTRONIC CASE FILING FAQ

•	HEADS-UP ON RECENT CASES

•	FIRST CLASHES OVER BANKRUPTCY REFORM

•	BANKRUPTCY HUMOR

TAX DISCHARGE IN BOSTON!

NEXT STOP FOR THE BANKRUPTCY ACADEMY

BOSTON, MA May 26-28

SECURE YOUR SEAT - ENROLL EARLY

DISCHARGING TAXES - THE POWER SEMINAR!

JOIN MORGAN KING & YOUR COLLEAGUES FROM AROUND THE COUNTRY ...

At the elegant Jurys Hotel in Boston

The 3-day seminar and workshop will be a thorough exploration of bankruptcy remedies for delinquent taxes and tax liens in consumer bankruptcy cases (chapter 7 and chapter 13), emphasizing practical handlng of tax discharge cases from A-to-Z.

TUITION

Single attorney $695
Double attorney registration $995
Paralegal or other office staff $395
Enrolled agent or CPA $550
Special rate for government or non-profit entity $495

For more information about the Tax Discharge program, or to enroll, click below, or on the sailing ship at right, or call (925) 829-6460 west coast time.

CLICK HERE TO ENROLL IN THE TAX DISCHARGE SEMINAR

FEATURED SITE #7 ELECTRONIC CASE FILING FAQ

We're all slowly getting accustomed to filing petitions, schedules and pleadings electronically. Still, questions pop up. The easy way out is to call the court clerk's office and talk a human being. However, browsing the CM/ECF home page of the Administrative Office of United States Courts can answer a lot of them.

This list of most frequently asked questions covers almost everything. One thing it doesn't seem to mention is how one pays the filing fees. For that, make the phone call. For everything else, check this out.

CLICK HERE TO VISIT THIS WEB SITE

FIRST CLASHES OVER BANKRUPTCY REFORM

SENATE DEBATES REFORM BILL

Witnesses for and against are heard

Today's Senate Judiciary hearing on S.256, the bankruptcy reform bill, was a spirited debate between 2 camps: those who feel the bill is, has been, ready for final passage for years, and those who feel it is flawed, and the flaws have become more apparent, and new ones emerged, due to the passage of time.

The Chair, Sen. Specter (R-PA) indicated this was the 11th Senate hearing since 1998 on the bill (it was also pointed out that the Committee had taken NO action on it since 2001). Specter immediately indicated he would like the Committee to mark-up the bill on February 17th.

Answering the question, whether he will or won't, Sen. Schumer (D-NY) was the first Senator recognized and he strongly asserted the need for his amendment (dubbed the "abortion amendment") and pointed out it was a consensus inclusion in the last version considered by the Senate (passing the Senate 80-17).

In his opening remarks, Sen. Leahy (D-VT) stated the world has changed dramatically since introduction 8 years ago and pointed to the many cases of corporate financial misdeeds. His remarks came the closest to urging a longer look at the business bankruptcy provisions. He also suggested the credit card companies continue to be a contributor to the problem of increased bankruptcies and encouraged greater disclosure. Leahy also took the time to express his support for the Schumer amendment (as did Sen. Biden (D-DE)).

For more on this story, click below
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BANKRUPTCY FILINGS GRADUALLY DIMINISH

In its recent report on bankruptcy filing trends through the second quarter of 2004, the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts confirmed that, for the first time since 2000, bankruptcies declined during a 12 month period. The total number of personal bankruptcies filed for the 12-month period ending June 30, 2004 was 1,599, 986, down 0.8 percent from the period ending one year earlier. The drop isn't large, but is welcome. Sam Gerdano, the executive director of the American Bankruptcy Institute (Alexandria, VA) told the American Banker, "Consumer bankruptcy filings appear to have turned a corner. . . Improving economic conditions and low interest rates are permitting more families to clean up their household balance sheets."

During the 12 months ending June 30, 2004, chapter 7 bankruptcies comprised 71.7 percent of personal filings, as they have for more than a decade. Out of 91 bankruptcy judicial districts in the U.S. and Puerto Rico, 43 experienced year-over-year declines in filing volume during the period.

Second quarter 2004 personal bankruptcy petitions were 4.2 percent lower than during the second quarter of 2003.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE ON THE SENATE DEBATE

From BankruptcyBooks.com

2 VOLUME COMBO!

Morgan King's -

The Fundamentals of
CHAPTER 7 LAW & PRACTICE
&
The Fundamentals of
CHAPTER 13 LAW & PRACTICE

A $58 saving!

Each is a 3-ring binder for easy use of forms and checklists

If purchased separately, they would come to $258.
Purchased together they are only $199.95!

“Last year I sat for the Certified Specialist examination in Personal and Small Business bankruptcy and used your primer on Chapter 7 as a base for my study, supplemented with West's Bankruptcy Code Manual. It must have been good ... I passed! I think I have all of your books and use them frequently.”

- Gerald H. Davis
Chapter 7 Trustee, San Diego, CA.

CLICK HERE TO ORDER

HEADS-UP ON RECENT CASES

EMPLOYER PROHIBITED FROM FIRING WORKER ONLY WHERE BANKRUPTCY IS THE SOLE REASON

Section 525 prohibits a private employer from terminating a debtor employee only when the bankruptcy is the sole cause of the termination. The fact that the bankruptcy is a substantial factor in the termination is insufficient.

White v. Kentuckiana Livestock Market, Inc. (6th Cir. 2005)
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CLAYTON ACT SUIT NOT A VIOLATION OF AUTOMATIC STAY

A State Attorney General's suit under the Clayton Act to force a debtor in possession to divest assets was an exercise of police or regulatory powers not subject to the automatic stay.

Lockyer v. Mirant Corp. (9th Cir. 2005)
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ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES NOT REQUIRED TO BE PAID OUT OF SPECIFIC FUNDS

Neither § 330 nor § 503 provides that payments to professionals that qualify as administrative expenses must be paid from any specific funds of the debtor.

When the bankruptcy court determines that two advisors representing two competing classes of creditors are "necessary to the administration of the case," § 330(a)(4)(A)(ii) does not preclude the court from providing at the outset that the contingent portion of each advisor's fees will be paid out of the creditors' recovery that was enhanced by that advisor's services.

In re Farmland Industries, Inc. (8th Cir. 2005)
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SECURED CREDITOR ENTITLED TO PROCEEDS PLUS REPAIRED COLLATERAL

A secured creditor in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy may recover the insurance proceeds intended to pay for damage to its collateral, while retaining the fully repaired collateral.

In re Tower Air, Inc. (3rd Cir. 2005)
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RULING ON FAIR DEBT COLLECTION PRACTICES ACT

For FDCPA purposes, a creditor's knowledge of a debtor's bankruptcy, acquired prior to the time an account is assigned to a third party debt collector, will not be imputed to the debt collector.

Schmitt v. FMA Alliance (8th Cir. 2005)
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TRUSTEE NEED NOT SETTLE SUIT

A trustee does not abuse his discretion when he refuses to settle an $8 million claim for $20,000 where settlement of the claim might jeopardize a prior multi-million section 544(b) judgment against a third party.

In re Consolidated Industries Corporation (7th Cir. 2005)

BANKRUPTCY CASE UPDATE

BANKRUPTCY HUMOR

STAY DEAD! PLEASE!

A funeral service was being held for Atilla the Trustee, who had just passed away. At the end of the service the pallbearers, made up of consumer bankruptcy attorneys, were carrying the casket out, when they accidentally bumped into a wall, jarring the casket. They heard a faint moan. They opened the casket and found that the trustee was actually alive!

Atilla lived for ten more years and then died again. A ceremony was again held and at the end of the ceremony the pallbearers, made up of consumer bankrupcy attorneys, were again carrying the casket. As they walked out the pallbearers admonished each other, "Watch out for the wall!" “Don't jar the casket!" “Careful now!"
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NOTE: For an additional smirk, click on the “Bankruptcy Humor” pic at right.

CLICK HERE TO ADD YOUR JOKE

PUBLISHED BY KING BANKRUPTCY MEDIA FOR BANKRUPTCY PROFESSIONALS 7080 Donlon Way Suite 222 Dublin California 94568 (925) 829-6460. Morgan D. King, Editor.
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