2015

From issues of consent and matters of constitutional authority, to the all-important topic of professionals’ fees, the Supreme Court considered a number of issues critical to restructuring attorneys and advisors in 2015. Our panel of Supreme Court advocates and bankruptcy scholars will weigh in on the Court’s most recent term and provide expert analysis of the Court’s opinions and their applicability to everyday practice.

This annual favorite will cover all of the recent consumer bankruptcy law decisions, hot topics and new cases from the circuit level on down through the district courts and bankruptcy courts, concentrating on the Sixth Circuit and the Eastern and Western Districts of Michigan. The session may also include any cases of interest from any other circuit or district court.

This session will discuss student loan issues that arise both pre- and post-petition. Among the pre-petition issues are collection actions against borrowers, nonbankruptcy alternatives for borrowers, and legislative updates. Among the post-petition issues are the elements of nondischargeability under § 523(a)(8), classification of student loans in chapter 13 cases, preference actions to recover pre-petition payments on student debt and more.

This session will cover chapter 13 claims issues, both from the creditor’s point of view (“What happens if I don’t file my claim by the bar date?”) and from the debtor’s point of view (“Can I file a protective claim?”), along with emerging claims issues regarding priority tax claims and nondischargeable post-discharge interest.

This session will discuss the various issues that exist in chapter 7 cases but are frequently overlooked, including § 350 motions to reopen, § 365(p) lease assumptions, § 366 utility motions, post-petition loan modifications, and debtors’ attorneys’ responsibilities regarding reaffirmations.

This special session will focus on issues that frequently arise at the end of a chapter 13 case, including post-confirmation fee applications, notice of final cure issues, and other last-minute discrepancies as a debtor completes a chapter 13 case

This session will focus on nonbankruptcy causes of action under the CFPB and similar statutes.

This session will focus on a number of highly debated discharge objection issues, including responsibilities and culpability of debtors’ attorneys, procedures and criteria for settling or dismissing a § 727 objection to discharge in an adversary proceeding, and the “selling” of discharges.

This session will discuss Law v. Siegel and its implications for debtors’ exemptions,amendments to exemptions, and trustee tools to object to exemptions post-Law v. Siegel. This session will also explore the divergent case law emerging from the dicta in the Supreme Court’s opinion, and what it means to debtors and trustees going forward.

This session will focus exclusively on recent Supreme Court decisions in bankruptcy cases, including this term’s chapter 13 cases, fee disputes and Stern updates.