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THE CONSUMER BANKRUPTCY LETTER |
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In This Issue:
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May 24, 2004
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THE BANKRUPTCY ACADEMY - SAN ANTONIO NOW SCHEDULED
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FEATURED AT BankruptcyBooks.com -
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SENATE APPROVES PRIVATE TAX COLLECTION
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SUPREME COURT RULES ON INTEREST RATES, SOVEREIGN IMMUNITY
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DISCHARGING TAXES IN BANKRUPTCY
KING BANKRUPTCY ACADEMY SCHEDULES 3-DAY SEMINARS ON DISCHARGING TAXES - LAS VEGAS, SAN FRANCISCO & SAN ANTONIO
The first dates scheduled for the 5th annual Bankruptcy Academy program on discharging taxes in bankruptcy cases have been scheduled for LAS VEGAS, Nevada, on Sept. 8, 9 & 10, San Antonio, Texas Oct. 14, 15, 16, and at FISHERMAN'S WHARF, San Francisco, October 27, 28, 29, 2004.
Principal presenters will be; Morgan King, attorney and author of Discharging Taxes in Bankruptcy; Charles F. Rosen, former chief of the Los Angeles IRS office of Special Procedures (bankruptcy, insolvency); Eric M. Casper, formerly Senior Trial Attorney, Tax Division, U.S. Department of Justice - Washington, D.C.; and Robert N. Kolb, formerly with the IRS and recently the prevailing attorney for the debtor/taxpayer in two important appellate cases.
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 hands-on handlng of tax discharge cases.
Early registration for the either program saves $50 off the regular enrollment fee of $695. All previous programs have qualified for CLE in all states for which CLE accreditation was requested. On request the Academy will assist in obtaining CLE accreditation for an enrollee's state.
For more information about the Tax Discharge program, or to enroll, click on red below.
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CREATIVE MARKETING - ATTORNEY CREATES LAWYER DIRECTORY FOR NACBA MEMBERS
Rachel Lynn Foley, Attorney for UAW Legal Services Plan, Liberty, Missouri office, has created a map-based directory for members of the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys to post links to their web sites. NACBA members may e-mail Foley to add their links to the site, at RachelFo@UAWLSP.com. Only NACBA members may be listed.
The official NACBA web site, NACBA.COM, also hosts a complete directory of member lawyers. The difference is that the visual design of the Foley site features a map of the United States; the searcher clicks on his or her state to locate a bankruptcy lawyer.
Visit the map directory at http://www.foleylaw4u.com/bankaty.html
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CREATIVE MARKETING - BANKRUPTCY LAWYERS HOST WEEKLY RADIO PROGRAM -
Three California consumer bankruptcy lawyers have created a weekly radio program featuring advice and information for consumers in debt. Called the “Debt Wipe Out Hour,” it is advertised on a joint web site also hosted by the attorneys, with the message - “Be sure to listen to The Debtwipeout Hour every Saturday from 2:00 to 3:00 PM on KCBQ! 1170 on your AM dial.” Southern California attorneys Mark Miller, Michael Doan, and Shawn Doan share the duties. The site also features an audio message that explores remedies for delinquent debt.
This debtor-friendly site includes links for obtaining credit reports, car financing, and mortgages for credit-distressed consumers.
Their site is DebtWipeOut.com.
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BOARD OF CERTIFICATION ANNOUNCES SIX NEW RECIPIENTS
The ABC Standards Committee approved the following new certifications at the Committee's April 2004 meeting. ABC currently has 890 certifications issued.
Business Bankruptcy
William P. Janvier (Everett, Gaskins, Hancock & Stevens, Raleigh, NC)
Jeanette McPherson (Schwartzer & McPherson Law Firm, Las Vegas, NV)
Consumer Bankruptcy
G. Donald Golden (Attorney at Law, Brandon, FL)
Alan C. Lee (Alan C. Lee, Attorney, Morristown, TN)
John Patrick Neblett (Attorney at Law, Harrisburg, PA)
Robert B. Vandiver (Law Office of Verner Smith, Jackson, TN)
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[the following information is from the Washington analyst for the Commercial Law League of America, at CLLA.org]
TWO IMPORTANT OPINIONS HAVE BEEN ISSUED BY THE UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT
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FORMULA FOR INTEREST RATE FOR SECURED CLAIMS IN CHAPTER 13
The Supreme Court, in a complicated split, has ruled on the appropriate interest rate for a Chapter 13 plan for a secured claim (whose collateral is an automobile).
The Court’s opinion, written by Justice Stevens and joined by Justices Souter, Ginsberg and Breyer, states that the appropriate rate is the market rate which includes an element of risk, with a likely result of the prime rate plus an additional 1% to 3%. Justice Thomas ruled that the discount rate need not include an adjustment for risk and, therefore, under the circumstances in which the case was presented, concurred with Justice Stevens.
In the case at bar, the debtors purchased a truck for approximately $6,700, including taxes and charges. After a $300 down payment, the balance of just over $6,400 was financed at a rate of 21%. In the Chapter 13 case, after the parties had agreed that the vehicle was worth $4,000 (in contrast to the outstanding balance of approximately $4,900), and, after an evidentiary hearing, the Bankruptcy Court approved the debtors’ plan which included an interest rate of 9.5%. The Court of Appeals reversed, utilizing a rate that could be obtained if a new loan was obtained under the circumstances, and ruling that the “original contract rate should serve as a presumptive [cram down] rate.”
TILL ET UX. v. SCS CREDIT CORP. (St. Court 2004)
For full opinion click on Update image at right.
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NO STATE SOVEREIGN IMMUNITY IN ADVERSARY PROCEEDING TO DETERMINE DISCHARGEABILITY
The Supreme Court has affirmed the Sixth Circuit (and the Bankruptcy Court) in Tennessee Student Assistance Corporation v. Hood.
The issue was whether a Bankruptcy Court could overrule a state’s objection to jurisdiction based on sovereign immunity in an adversary complaint seeking discharge of a student loan. The Appellant had asserted that the Eleventh Amendment’s protection of state sovereign immunity prohibited the complaint without the assent of the state. The Supreme Court, by a 7 – 2 majority, said that the Bankruptcy Court had in rem jurisdiction to hear the adversary proceeding.
Chief Justice Rehnquist, writing for the majority, stated the Eleventh Amendment does not bar federal jurisdiction over in rem admiralty actions when the State is not in possession of the property, citing California v. Deep SeaResearch, Inc., 523 U. S. 491 (1998). He also ruled that that “[t]he discharge of a debt by a bankruptcy court is similarly an in rem proceeding. Accordingly, the “[b]ankruptcy courts have exclusive jurisdiction over a debtor’s property, wherever located, and over the estate.” Further, the requirement that the debtor take action to initiate a hardship discharge was not, as the state asserted, a congressional authorization of a suit against a state, but effecting the discharge’s in rem jurisdiction. Chief Justice Rehnquist also found the statute did not prohibit a debtor from pursuing discharge relief by the filing of a motion (although the rules require it) which would also eliminate constitutional issues.
The debtor was represented by Leonard Gerson, with 14-attorney Angel & Frankel in New York.
TENNESSEE STUDENT ASSISTANCE CORPORATION v. HOOD (S.Ct. 2004)
For full opinion click on UPDATE image at right.
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BLACK HOLE DISCOVERED - SUCKS UP STRANGE OBJECTS
Professor Rooker Feldman, Chairman of the National Observatory On A Shoestring, Emeritus (“NOOSE”), has announced the discovery of a new black hole in the Universe that, says Prof. Feldman, exhibits strange and troubling behaviour.
"Black holes swallow everything,” says Feldman. “They are the Chapter 11's of outer space; once something goes in, it never comes out.”
“We already knew that they vacuum up all available credit, and are particularly effective in making cash vanish. We suspect black holes are also responsible for the mysterious shrinkage of the American Middle Class.”
“But this one is unusual. We observed thousands of small objects drifting toward this hole, accelerating as they got closer. Upon inspection with the Hubble-Trouble Telescope, we were able to identify these small objects. They are consumer bankruptcy attorneys! Then, in a series of elegant experiments at the Observatory/Lavatory, we identified the black hole as the Bankruptcy System.”
“It seems,” continued Feldman, “that lawyers are safe as long as they don't get too close. But once they cross that invisible line they are inevitably sucked up into this vast, irresistable, and all-consuming system.”
“And,” he adds, ominously, “ . . . they are neither seen nor heard from ever again!”
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PUBLISHED BY KING BANKRUPTCY MEDIA FOR BANKRUPTCY PROFESSIONALS 7080 Donlon Way Suite 222 Dublin California 94568 (925) 829-6460
© King Bankruptcy Media 2004 CONTACT US AT editor@bankruptcymedia.com
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