Consumer Bankruptcy

This is the second part of a two-part panel that will cover a potpourri of current hot topics being litigated in chapter 7 and 13 cases, with a special focus on LVNV v. Crawford and related litigation, consumer protection (including the basics of credit reporting and regulatory actions), mortgage modifications and post-discharge actions, and the UST’s enforcement activities.

Domestic-support obligations, the impact of the automatic stay in domestic-relations cases, discharge litigation in chapter 13s, the retention of domestic-relations counsel in bankruptcy, same-sex spouses in bankruptcy cases in states where same-sex marriage is not recognized, and other “cheerful issues” frequently confronted in cases that involve both financial distress and domestic problems. This panel will provide an update on these and other important legal topics in this dark area of bankruptcy law.

Find out the latest about the cases that keep you up at night.

This panel will provide updates on the law and suggest the necessary tools for your consumer tax toolbox, in particular chapter 7 vs. chapter 13, what happens to IRS claims after discharge, offers in compromise, when creditors can send a 1099, whether a debtor can ask a creditor not to send 1099 as part of a settlement; and other thorny tax issues frequently facing consumer bankruptcy lawyers.

This panel will discuss the routine (and not-so-routine) issues that consumer bankruptcy practitioners face.

Reaffirmations of both secured and unsecured obligations remain a major component of consumer bankruptcy practice. This panel will discuss the ins and outs of the reaffirmation process from the debtor’s, creditor’s and debtor’s attorney’s perspectives.

Lien-stripping, short sales and other contested confirmation issues will be highlighted.

Jeffrey N. Pomerantz, Moderator ABI Vice President-Education Pachulski Stang Ziehl & Jones LLP; Los Angeles Resolved: Curbing pension rights in a chapter 9 case is constitutional. Con: Babette A. Ceccotti Cohen, Weiss & Simon LLP; New York Resolved: Committee member fees are not payable as part of a Chapter 11 plan. Pro: Nan Roberts Eitel Executive Office for U.S. Trustees; Washington, D.C. Con: Dennis F. Dunne Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP; New York Resolved: A chapter 13 debtor may employ § 363 to effect a free-and-clear short sale of his/her principal residence notwithstanding § 1322(b)(2) and the secured creditor’s objection. Pro: Hon. Eugene R. Wedoff U.S. Bankruptcy Court (N.D. Ill.); Chicago Con: Hon. Mary Grace Diehl U.S. Bankruptcy Court (N.D. Ga.); Atlanta