Chapter 11

President Trump has signed the Small Business Reorganization Act of 2019 (SBRA) into law, streamlining Chapter 11 bankruptcy restructuring for small businesses to make the process faster and less expensive.  The new bankruptcy law, which takes effect on February 19,...

Many people sign loan agreements without reading the fine print or understanding the consequences if the agreement contains a cross collateralization clause. Cross collateralization provisions in loan agreements can create unexpected complications for borrowers seeking to discharge debts by filing...

Typically, the menu of bankruptcy chapters presented to individuals is short: you’ve got chapter 7 and you’ve got chapter 13. Because the various flavors in which those two chapters can come is endless, though, it’s relatively rare that someone’s forced...

No one likes being in bankruptcy. In fact, one of the great attractions of chapter 7 is that most cases are relatively short and debtors are sent merrily on their way within a few months of filing. But for companies or individuals who...

It has been settled law in every circuit but one that wholly unsecured subordinate mortgages could not be stripped-off in chapter 7 cases. But since it only takes one heterodox circuit to create a split in the circuits, the US...

Single asset reality entities (SARE) are viewed with some suspicion in bankruptcy courts. Bankruptcy is supposed to serve one of two purposes: either it officiates the fair and equal distribution to creditors of what can be gained by selling off...

Small-business owners are routinely required to co-sign on loans obtained by their companies. That makes perfect sense from the lender’s perspective (after all, the more people responsible for a loan, the more likely it is that the loan will be...

The Supreme Court of the United States issued its opinion June 12, 2004 in Clark v. Rameker, No. 13-299. The important holding from the Court is that inherited individual retirement accounts are not “retirement funds” under the meaning of section 522(b)(3)(C) of the federal...

A recent opinion issued on June 6, 2014 from the Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina found that a creditor had not violated the bankruptcy code based on the following facts: In March 2008 a creditor realized...

I know, I know, The Eagles are terrible. But the most famous line from their most famous song popped into my head yesterday while reading a recent opinion by Judge Humrickhouse in which she denied a debtor’s motion to have...