The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals has clarified the type of injury that must be alleged by a plaintiff suing under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). This decision, in Church v. Accretive Health, Inc., is the first from the Eleventh Circuit applying the United States Supreme Court’s recent holding in Spokeo v. Robins.

Infrastructure & Economic Development
This briefing sets out some of the key points of the 2016 Programme for
Government, which includes a wide range of policy proposals in areas
such as infrastructure and economic development, public administration,
constitutional change, financial services, taxation and employment law and
industrial relations.
It is expected that the Government’s Legislation Programme will be
published soon, setting out the legislation that the new Government will
promote in order to give effect to the Programme for Government.

In a significant recent judgment, the High Court has set aside an extension of a protective certificate issued to a debtor under the Personal Insolvency Act 2012 on the grounds of material and culpable non-disclosure by a personal insolvency practitioner.

On 25 December 2015 the Bankruptcy (Amendment) Act 2015 (the “2015 Act”) was signed into Irish law. Its purpose is to create a more rehabilitative regime for bankrupt individuals while simultaneously deterring and penalising those who refuse to cooperate with the bankruptcy or who try to conceal income or assets from creditors.

Several of the Official Bankruptcy Forms will be replaced on December 1, 2015. For creditors, the most notable changes will be to two forms: the Proof of Claim form, Form 410, and the Mortgage Proof of Claim Attachment, Form 410A. These changes reflect an effort by the Bankruptcy Courts to elicit a clear and complete picture of what the debtor owes and how much must be paid to cure a pre-bankruptcy arrearage. Due to the Bankruptcy Court’s focus on clarity, creditors are well advised to closely follow the claim forms and accompanying instructions.

The Indiana Court of Appeals recently held that creditors must move for an in personam remedy in the original foreclosure judgment or forfeit their right to collect deficiency funds. In Elliott v. Dyck O’Neal, the bank foreclosed upon a borrower’s residence, and sought judgment against the borrowers for the full amount of the outstanding balance in the complaint. The motion for default judgment, and accompanying order, however, only sought an order in rem for the outstanding debt—omitting any mention of an in personam remedy.

Our latest Financial Services Regulatory Group bulletin contains new updates on significant developments in financial services regulation, including the Personal Insolvency (Amendment) Act 2015, financial services remuneration, cyber-security, the Capital Markets Union, and recent Supreme Court case law regarding the Code of Conduct on Mortgage Arrears and appeals from the Financial Services Ombudsman.

Trade creditors often face the issue of whether they are required to continue providing goods or services on credit to a customer that has filed chapter 11 bankruptcy. Unfortunately, the Bankruptcy Code fails to specifically address the rights and obligations of a trade creditor facing this dilemma, resulting in a tug-of-war created by the debtor’s need for continued goods and services and the creditor’s need for assurance of payment.

Your tenant files for bankruptcy-what’s your move? Debtors who are lessees under real property leases have certain rights regarding their lease under § 365 of the Bankruptcy Code. Essentially, the debtor has two options: 1) reject the lease or 2) assume the lease, provided that the debtor can cure any defaults existing under the lease. Additionally, the debtor may have the right to assume and assign the lease to a third party.

Following up on our coverage in the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that a debtor in a Chapter 7 case cannot ‘strip off’ or void a wholly unsecured junior mortgage under section 506(d) of the Bankruptcy Code, I had the opportunity to discuss the ruling with Colin O’Keefe of LXBN TV.