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Category: Bankruptcy

Enforcing the Automatic Stay

The decision to declare bankruptcy is not an easy one and many find themselves feeling overwhelmed or stressed by the decision or the process.  In most cases, the stress is two-fold: financial stress and emotional stress.  The emotional stress is often caused by, or at least exacerbated by the near constant reminder of debt from creditor calls and letters. The Bankruptcy Code has within it a provision that often helps alleviate some of this stress once bankruptcy is declared: the automatic sta[...]

"Surrender" Under Bankruptcy

Bankruptcy and foreclosure are in some ways very different.  The former involves primarily federal law, seeks to assist the debtor, and involves all of a debtors assets and liabilities.  Foreclosure in contrast involves primarily state law, seeks to assist the creditor in securing the rights to the collateral property, and involves only the debtors home.  Despite these differences, the two areas of law overlap at points, in part because many debtors filing for bankruptcy have property that i[...]

Bankruptcy Fraud and Reform

Bankruptcy Reforms Criticized by Experts During a panel but on by the American Bankruptcy Institute, the 2005 overhaul of bankruptcy laws was sharply criticized by one of the panelists, an attorney that represents debtors in bankruptcy.  The 2005 overhaul was designed to help decrease abuse of the system by debtors and increase the relief unsecured creditors obtained.  The critique was that after ten years, the laws actually seem to have hurt consumers through the increased cost in filing for [...]

Stripping Liens Down in Florida Bankruptcy Courts

Stripping down in court is typically disfavored and a quick way to get kicked out.  But, as with all things legal, there’s an exception for a different kind of stripping: stripping liens. Stripping Liens Basics Stripping Liens, authorized by 11 U.S.C. § 506, conceptually divides certain claims secured by liens on property into two claims: an unsecured claim and a secured claim.  For example, let’s say Creditor A has loaned a debtor $100,000 and secured that loan with a mortgage on propert[...]

A "Relative" Large Chapter 11 Bankruptcy

In late July, Relativity Media filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy and Hollywood and bankruptcy enthusiasts alike are closely watching the case.  If you’re unfamiliar with the name, Relativity is the third largest mini-major film studio in the world with credits for producing titles (some with other production companies) like Limitless, Interns, Les Miserables, The Best of Me, Fast & Furious 6, and the TV show Catfish.  The company’s estimated assets are between $100 and $500 million with [...]

Bankruptcy and Workers Compensation Benefits

For individuals injured on the job in Florida, worker’s compensation provides necessary wage replacement and payment of medical expenses related to the injury.  Worker’s compensation payments are paid out weekly or if a settlement agreement is reached, in one lump sum.   The wage replacement benefits paid under Florida’s worker’s compensation laws are less than the wages employee would have received if they had not been injured and continued working.  For this, reason, injured e[...]

11th Circuit Rules Business Debtor Owes Default Rate Interest

This summer, the 11th Circuit, the court that provides precedent for Florida Bankruptcy cases, came down with an unfavorable ruling for bankruptcy debtors regarding default rate interest in a Chapter 11 bankruptcy case, in re: Sagamore Partners, Ltd.  As with all bankruptcy cases, having an understanding of the background helps:  Key Pre-Bankruptcy History The debtor, Sagamore Patners, Ltd (“Sagamore”), owns a namesake hotel in Miami.  In 2006, Sagamore took out a secured loan for $31.5[...]

Debtor Rights

At Adam Law Group, we work with a lot of clients that are currently having trouble making payments on debts owed or have had such troubles in the past.  The reasons for these difficulties are varied – from market changes to job loss to a bad deal to excessive medical expenses to simply taking on to many debts.  Whatever the cause, such financial difficulties often lead to dreaded, persistent efforts from creditors to collect.   We’ve found that many consumers don’t know the debtor rig[...]

Getting a Dollar out of 50 Cent Bankruptcy

In the early 2000s, 50 Cent rapped, ““I don't know what you heard about me.  But a [person] can't get a dollar out of me.”  (We removed the unnecessary explicative.)  We will soon find out whether this is true. The 50 Cent bankruptcy was recently filed and the national (and international) news was flooded with headlines like this: “50 Cent files for bankruptcy” ...and this: this: “Rapper 50 Cent claims he's broke, laying out $28M of personal debts in federal Bankruptcy Court fili[...]

"Estate" Defined in Bankruptcy Action

Former business partners, multi-million dollar lawsuit settlements, and offshore accounts sounds like a recipe for a complex bankruptcy action, right?  All were involved in the In Re Daniel W. Allen, Sr. bankruptcy action.  Yet, in the words of the deciding judge, the case’s “ultimate resolution involve[d] nothing more exotic than interpretation of the Bankruptcy Code.”  The underpinnings of the case began in 1989 when Daniel Allen, Sr. and Gary Carpenter formed a company, ATN, that res[...]