Debtor not allowed to reaffirm home equity loan in Chapter 7 Bankruptcy
March 9, 2010
In re Brown, 2009 WL 921329 (Bankr. W.D. Tex. 2009)
USAA Federal Savings Bank, a creditor , sought approval of a reaffirmation of a home equity loan.
Judge Leif Clark held that, because home equity loans in Texas are nonrecourse to the borrower as a matter of law, there was no personal liability for which the reaffirmation agreement could be approved.
Debtor can file Chapter 13 Bankruptcy even if they are ineligible for discharge
March 9, 2010
Branigan v. Bateman (In re Bateman), 515 F.3d. 272 (4th Cir. 2008)
The court of appeals determined that under the plain meaning of the statute, the four year period described in section 1328(f) should run from the date of the filing of the previous bankruptcy petition and not from the date of the discharge. The Court said it would allow the bankruptcy filing even when the debtors were ineligible for a discharge as long as the filing was done in good faith.
Secured car creditor entitled to deficiency claim if vehicle surrendered in Chapter 13Bankruptcy Plan
March 9, 2010
America Credit Financial Services v. Long (In re Robert Long), 519 F 3d. 288 (6th Cir. 2008)
The Chapter 13 debtor surrendered his vehicle to the creditor. The Bankruptcy Court held that the surrender satisfied the debtor's financial obligations in full. The creditor appealed, claiming he should have a deficiency claim. The court of appeals called this the "glitch or gap" in the revised Bankruptcy Code. The Court said it must fill the gap until Congress can correct the mistake, and since there is no legislative history to suggest that Congress intended to eliminate deficiency claims, such claims should be governed and adjudicated as they were before the 2005 amendments were enacted. The court of appeals reversed the bankruptcy court's decision and allowed the deficiency claim.
Recent Court Decisions
- Coming Soon!
