October 17, 2006 marked the one year anniversary of the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 (the "Reform Act"). The Reform Act has provided some much needed relief to commercial landlords, and the reported decisions of bankruptcy courts during the first year of the Reform Act confirm the effectiveness of the new landlord-friendly provisions.
The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Michigan recently considered the issue of whether a Chapter 7 trustee may bring a cause of action against a debtor for damages caused to the bankruptcy estate by the debtor’s alleged failure to comply with the debtor’s duties under section 521 of the Bankruptcy Code.
Earlier this year, we covered Judge Shelley Chapman’s ruling in the Sabine bankruptcy, permitting the Debtors to reject a handful of gathering and other midstream agreements. Previously, Judge Chapman permitted rejection on the grounds that the Debtors exercised their reasonable business judgement in doing so.
CentsAbility: Creditors' Rights Law Update
The Fourth Circuit has held that in a case where the rate of interest on a residential mortgage loan had been increased upon default, a Chapter 13 Plan proposing to “cure” default under 11 U.S.C. §1322(b) is an impermissible modification barred by §1322(b)(2).
There are many tenants that are, shall we say, “problem children.” They pay late, open late, breach, junk up your strip or building, threaten, the works. Sometimes, the landlord finds it easier just to reach a lease termination agreement with such a tenant, with the parties walking away with a mutual release. If the lease is below market, or the landlord is really motivated to move this tenant along, the landlord even provides some “keys money” to terminate the lease.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit recently affirmed the dismissal of a borrower’s lawsuit against a bank, holding that the district court correctly found that sale orders entered in a prior bankruptcy case were res judicata and precluded the borrower’s new claims.
A copy of the opinion is available at: Link to Opinion.
Adding to the unsettled body of case law on the enforceability of prepetition waivers of the automatic stay, on April 27, 2016, the U.S.
(6th Cir. B.A.P. Apr. 26, 2016)
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) recently reopened the comment period for its proposed amendments to the mortgage servicing related rules under RESPA and TILA that generally would require servicers to provide modified periodic statements to consumers who have filed for bankruptcy.