In In re Cady, Ch. 7 No. 24-41026-ejc, 2025 WL 1587266 (Bankr. S.D. Ga. June 4, 2025) the issue was whether the Debtor, a real estate agent, could claim an exemption in her vehicle as a tool of the trade. In addition to claiming vehicle and wild card exemptions, Debtor argued that her vehicle was
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Homestead Exemption: Double Exemption Available Where Debtor Does Not Have Sole Ownership Of Residence
By Scott Riddle
In In re Antman, 2024 WL 4786241, Ch. 13 Case No. 23-60317-ejc (Bankr. S.D. Ga. Nov. 14, 2024), the debtor’s father died in 1996 and in his will left his house to debtor and her three siblings in equal shares. Debtor and her husband had lived in the house since 1999. Debtor filed a…
Don’t Pay Fact Witnesses (With a Surprising Bankruptcy Twist)
By Scott Riddle
Bankruptcy Judge Calls Out Brown Rudnick’s 50% Increase In Hourly Fees
By Scott Riddle
It is expensive to stay in Bankruptcy. Last month a Brown Rudnick lawyer tried to increase his hourly rate from $1,000 per hour to $1,500 per hour. Chief Judge Laurie Selber Silverstein in Delaware rejected the increase, “saying that no client would approve such a steep fee hike in the middle of a case.” See…
LaVie Care Centers (and 281 Related Entities) File Chapter 11 Petitions in the Northern District of Georgia
By Scott Riddle
I don’t typically post about new Chapter 11 filings unless there is something compelling about them, but almost 300 Chapter 11 cases for Lavie Care Centers and related entities filed on the same day qualifies as news here in the Northern District of Georgia. The Motion for Joint Administration alone is 49 pages, most of…
US Trustee Investigating Possible Scheme to Take Debtors’ Equity in Real Property in Multiple Cases; Lawyer Sanctioned
By Scott Riddle
In a very detailed 91-page Order entered in the Northern District of Georgia- and adopted by all Judges in the District – Judge Sacca addressed serious concerns of the United States Trustee over the handling of a Chapter 13 case by the Debtor’s lawyer. The United States Trustee is also investigating several other cases with…
Terms of Confirmed Chapter 11 Plan Prohibit Malpractice Claim Against Debtor’s Counsel
By Scott Riddle
The Third Circuit Court of Appeals issues a reminder to debtors’ counsel that they can protect themselves with beneficial (boilerplate) terms in a Chapter 11 Plan. In In re SC SJ Holdings, LLC, 2024 WL 1328233 (3rd. Cir. March 28, 2024), the Debtor was the owner of a hotel that was operated by Accor Management…
Bankruptcy and Divorce (Vol. 73) – Agreements to Transfer Property
By Scott Riddle
An entire blog could be devoted to the intersection of Bankruptcy and divorce, but for this post we will look at what happens when a divorce decree (or final settlement agreement) requires that one of the spouses transfer his or her interest in real property to the other spouse, but before the actual transfer is…
Section 523(a) Exceptions to Discharge Do Not Apply to Subchapter V Corporate Debtors
By Scott Riddle
… at least in Judge Sigler’s Court in the Northern District of Georgia. Primary Investments Group, Inc. v. RA Custom Design Inc., 2024 WL 607716, Adv. Proc. No. 23-05193-sms (February 13, 2024). The holding is consistent with most courts that have ruled on the issue, with the exception of the Fourth Circuit Court of…
The Discharge Injunction – Violations and Damages
By Scott Riddle
It seems like violations of the discharge injunction get much less publicity than violations of the automatic stay. Perhaps that is because by the time a discharge is entered the creditor has received the message. When there is a violation the Eleventh Circuit has a good body of law on the issue and I happen…
