In Deborah K. Ebner, as Chapter 7 Trustee for the Bankruptcy Estate of Santilli Law Group, Ltd.Plaintiff, v. Alfred Vano, Case 17-00293, (Bankr. N.D. Ill. 06/15/18), Judge Cox of the Northern District of Illinois held that an attorney that improperly…
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In United States v. Williams, Case No. 17-2244 (7th Cir., June 6, 2018), the Seventh Circuit upheld jury trial verdict against Charlise Williams on five counts of bankruptcy fraud, resulting in 46 month prison sentence.
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In Murphy v. United States, 15-11240-j7 (Bankr. D. N.M. June 1, 2018), the Bankruptcy Court in New Mexico held that a debtor who was not obligated to make payments on student loans because she qualified for a -0- payment under an Income Based Repayme…
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“One of the ‘main purpose[s]’ of the federal bankruptcy system is ‘to aid the unfortunate debtor by giving him a fresh start in life, free from debts, except of a certain character.’” Lamar, Archer & Cofrin, LLP v. Appling, 584 U.S. _…
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According to the American Bankruptcy Institute: A staggering number of American homeowners remain underwater on their mortgages a decade after the housing bubble burst, Bloomberg News reported. Almost 4.5 million households — or 9.1 percent — owe…
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In a recent case, Judge Schmetterer held in In re Cross, Adversary No. 18 AP 00154, that the City of Chicago did not have the right to retain a chapter 13 debtor’s vehicle to protect its possessory lien on the car that allegedly secured payment…
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According to a May 30, 2018 article in Illinois Patch, Illinois is among the top 10 states where residents have the most credit card debt. That’s according to a report released Tuesday by New York Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli. According to the s…
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ProPublica and other publications (including FindLaw) have been reporting on a trend in the Chicago courts to limit attorneys’ fees to counsel for chapter 13 debtors for so-called “step-up” plans. A step-up plan requires the payment…
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According to the ABI on May 29, 2018, Faced with tepid loan growth and heated competition for clients, banks are sweetening their deals on loans to businesses, a development that is concerning regulators, the Wall Street Journal reported. Lenders are…
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As reported by Rochelle’s Daily Wire on May 23, 2018, Bankruptcy judges in California and Chicago disagree on whether parties to a civil union or domestic partnership are “spouses” eligible to file a joint bankruptcy petition. In the Chicag…
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