In an ironic turn of events, the Bankruptcy Appellate Panel for the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals confirmed an award of $119,000 to a couple that filed for bankruptcy. As if the confirmation of the award was not ironic enough, the court also remanded the case for the bankruptcy judge to consider whether punitive damages [...]
Bankruptcy law is one area of law that is consistently on the docket of the U.S. Supreme Court. The primary reason there are so many bankruptcy cases decided by the Supreme Court is that it is a federal law, and the many federal circuits often interpret the law differently. When this happens, the Supreme Court [...]
In the aftermath of the financial crisis, it has been harder for some borrowers to secure credit from the same sources as before. For example, in the years leading up to the crisis it was not very difficult for a person to obtain credit through a home equity loan, credit card withdrawal, or even a [...]
Earlier this year, a California bankruptcy court found that a couple’s tax liabilities were subject to discharge under Chapter 7 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. The question before the court was whether the couple’s debt accrued when the IRS assessed their tax liability in March of 2009, or when the couples filed multiple years of [...]
A recent opinion from a Ninth Circuit Bankruptcy Panel put the brakes on a lower court ruling that dismissed a bankruptcy because of a marijuana business. This was a test case for the increasing complexity introduced by individual states passing marijuana consumption laws. As we all know by now, states across the country have legalized [...]
Bankruptcy law is one of the areas consistently addressed by the U.S. Supreme Court when it is in session. This is because of the complex nature of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, and the many different courts across the country tasked with interpreting that code and determining what it means. What often results is a mix [...]
One of the benefits of the federal bankruptcy laws is a well known exemption to the liquidation of assets. This exemption is known as the homestead exemption, and under California law can help someone struggling through a bankruptcy emerge from the process with a small win. Under the law, those filing for bankruptcy under Chapter [...]
Most people have a vague understanding of what a bankruptcy is. For example, most people know that filing for bankruptcy means talking with an attorney, filling out paperwork, and going to court to have a judge review the file and discharge debts, while liquidating some assets. But that is where the common understanding of bankruptcy [...]
Now that the year is coming to an end, many people are looking towards the new year and all that it entails. One of the important parts of any new year is filing one’s taxes. This is great for some, who can expect a return on their taxes from the government, but for others it [...]
Bankruptcy protection is granted to the vast majority of those whom apply for it, but that protection is not absolute. This is the lesson learned recently by one disbarred attorney who was denied relief in his effort to discharge more than a million dollars in tax liability. The case reaches all the way back to [...]