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THE CONSUMER BANKRUPTCY LETTER |
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In This Issue:
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November 7, 2004
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NEXT STOP - SAN ANTONIO
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BankruptcyBooks.com - ALL PUBLISHERS
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PENDING EVENTS, SEMINARS & CLE
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HEADS-UP ON RECENT CASES
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BUSH WINS - IS BANKRUPTCY REFORM COMING BACK?
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November 11, 2004 - November 14, 2004
COMMERCIAL LAW LEAGUE OF AMERICAN
The New York Meeting
New York City, New York
CLLA.org
December 2-4, 2004
AMERICAN BANKRUPTCY INSTITUTE
Winter Leadership Conference
Marriott's Camelback Inn, Scottsdale, AZ
Contact: 1-703-739-0800 or
abiworld.org
January 27, 28, 29 2005
KING BANKRUPTCY ACADEMY
Discharging Taxes in Bankruptcy From A to Z
San Antonio, Texas
BankruptcyAcademy.com
February 10-12, 2005
AMERICAN BANKRUPTCY INSTITUTE
Rocky Mountain Bankruptcy Conference
Denver, Colorado
February 26 - March 1 2005
NORTON INSTITUTES OF BANKRUPTCY LAW
Park City, Utah
nortoninstitutes.org
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BUSH SUPPORTERS TALK ABOUT NEW PUSH FOR BK REFORM
WASHINGTON — Lobbyists for the nation's leading business groups have been toasting the success of what they describe as an unprecedented effort this year to help elect President Bush and Republican congressional candidates. Now they plan to collect on that investment.
"With his victory and better numbers in the Senate and the House, we hope we would get to some things we believe are long overdue," said Dirk Van Dongen, president of the National Assn. of Wholesaler-Distributors and a leader of this year's effort to mobilize the business community behind the Bush candidacy.
The list, according to interviews with lobbyists and trade associations, includes making tax cuts for capital gains and dividends permanent, limiting liability lawsuits, changing bankruptcy laws and opening previously restricted land in Alaska and elsewhere for energy exploration.
Banks and credit card companies list bankruptcy reform on the priority list.
L.A. Times. By Tom Hamburger Times Staff Writer.
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WILL DASCHL'ES DEFEAT MAKE IT EASIER TO GET BK REFORM BY THE SENATE?
Tuesday, Republicans pulled the electoral equivalent of Sherman's March through the South, picking up Democratic seats in both Carolinas and Georgia, as well as Louisiana and Florida. They weathered storms in Kentucky and Oklahoma, and even held Alaska. But the big daddy came with the overthrow of Mr. Daschle. That ouster, the first time in more than 50 years a Senate party leader was exiled, was as much a repudiation of obstructionism as it was Mr. Daschle's own record.
The harder question is whether the GOP has the goods to beat the 60-vote filibuster that was the Daschle trump card. Yet dig into the record and the stonewalling was never all that solid. The 51-strong GOP may not have been able to rustle up nine Democrats on any one issue, but they usually managed a handful. That's all they'd need now. The trick will be picking off the willing on an à la carte basis. Various tort reforms have had the support of Democrats like Dianne Feinstein, Tom Carper, Jeff Bingaman, and Blanche Lincoln. Drilling in the Arctic Wildlife Refuge failed in a filibuster by only one vote, thanks to Democrats. Similar bipartisan support exists for bankruptcy reform, an energy bill and tax reform.
Wall Street journal - BY KIMBERLEY A. STRASSEL
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DEBT LIMITS UNDER 109(e) MAY BLOCK DEBTOR'S RIGHT TO CONVERT TO CHAPTER 13
A debtor has an absolute right to convert from Chapter 7 to Chapter 13 so long as the debtor is eligible to be a debtor in Chapter 13. A debtor's schedules are presumptive evidence of the debtor's liabilities on the petition date. If the schedules show that the debtor is ineligible for Chapter 13 on the petition date, postpetition reductions in the amounts of the debtor's liabilities can not make the debtor eligible for Chapter 13, since eligibility is measured from the petition date.
In re Hansen (Bankr. N.D. Ill.)
[ed. note: This situation is to be distinguished from that where a claim that is unliquidated on the date of filing becomes liquidated postpetition; the only kinds of debts that count for eligibility under § 109(e) are debts, including tax claims, that were liquidated as of the date of filing the bankruptcy. For example, a tax liability, the amount of which has not been determined, that is unliquidated on date of filing may become liquidated postpetition through litigation of the claim, or compromise, but such a claim need not be included in the § 109(e) count.]
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DEBTOR'S ATTORNEY MAY BE DEEMED AGENT FOR SERVICE OF PROCESS
In an adversary proceeding, a lawyer can be deemed to be a client's implied agent to receive service of process when the lawyer repeatedly represented that client in the underlying bankruptcy case, and where the totality of the circumstances demonstrates the intent of the client to convey such authority.
In re Focus Media Inc. (9th Cir. 2004)
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FAILED BUSINESS MAY NOT BE PROPER CASE FOR CHAPTER 11
Although a debtor’s business is unsuccessful, dismissal of the debtor's voluntary Ch. 11 case is appropriate, where the debtor has cash well in excess of its liabilities and does not need bankruptcy protection to avoid wasteful liquidation of its business assets.
In re Liberate Technologies (Bankr. N.D. Ca. 2004)
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PARALEGAL'S TIME FOR ROUTINE TASKS IS NOT COMPENSABLE
Where a professional fee applicant affirms that it bills its nonbankruptcy clients for reasonable CALR usage charges, such charges are reimbursable in bankruptcy cases. Travel charges are allowed at 1/2 of the timekeeper's normal hourly rate. Paraprofessional time devoted to administrative activities such as mailing or delivering papers, photocopying, word processing, and organizing files constitutes overhead expenses not compensable form the estate. "After hours support" is overhead time not compensable form the estate.
In re Fibermark, Inc. (Bankr. Vt 2004)
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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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