Please note that this writer is not licensed to practice law in Oregon. This means that he is not legally permitted to give any legal advice or perform any legal services. This Bulletin and the entire contents of this website is written only for attorneys. and is not intended for the public. If any non-attorney is reading this, you must consult an attorney about ANYTHING you read here. Nothing in this website is intended to be nor should be read as being legal advice to anyone.
Here is a handy list of the titles of recent Bulletins from this website on issues of direct relevance to bankruptcy and debtor-creditor attorneys. Just click on the title to link to that story. I have two kinds of daily "Practice-Critical Bankruptcy Bulletins" on this website: 1) summaries of court opinions--mostly from the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, the Bankruptcy Appellate Panel of the 9th Circuit, and the Oregon U.S. District Court and Bankruptcy Court, with occasional forays elsewhere; and 2) stories about the local and national economy, legislation, bankruptcy statistics and anything else of interest to professionals in this field. The following list is from this second category of Bulletins. A short excerpt follows each title. Please feel free to comment on any story--just click on the blue word "COMMENTS" immediately after the body of that Bulletin. I respond to all comments.
The Hope for Homeowners Program Launched on Oct. 1, 2008: What Do I Need to Know About It?
Excerpt: "In the rush of events on the national financial scene of the last few weeks and months it is difficult for a bankruptcy practitioner to to keep straight the various governmental interventions much less understand their consequences on her clients and on her practice. This Bulletin shines some light on one of the initial major events--The Housing and Economic Recovery Act signed into law on July 30, 2008-- and critical aspects of its Hope for Homeowners Program, which has now been in effect since October 1."
Posted: October 22, 2008
What Post-Bankruptcy Credit Solicitations Reveal About the Creditor Industry's Public Policy Arguments
Excerpt: "A recent law review article, Bankrupt Profits: The Credit Industry’s Business Model for Postbankruptcy Lending, "examines what the credit industry’s behavior toward recently bankrupt families reveals about its internal profit models and the likely causes of consumer bankruptcy." This article looks at the contentious issue of what causes debtors to file bankruptcy by analyzing "original empirical data from the first-ever detailed longitudinal study of bankrupt families," the Consumer Bankruptcy Project. The phase of the study pertinent to this article involved a dozen interdisciplinary researchers and more than a thousand Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 debtors from five federal judicial districts. Here are the most important aspects of this lengthy but fascinating article."
Posted: October 20, 2008
Ratio of Ch. 13's Is Declining in U.S. After Big Post-BAPCPA Increase, Oregon's Ch. 13 Ratio Is Holding Steady
Excerpt:"As reported in a prior Bulletin on this website entitled Oregon's Slice of the Bankruptcy Pie, although Oregon's recent per capita Chapter 7 filing rate is virtually the same as the national rate, Oregon's per capita Chapter 13 filing rate is much LESS than the national rate. This Bulletin will compare the trends in the ratio of Chapter 13's to Chapter 7's nationally to the trends in Oregon. These two trends are quite different. Examining both of them may tell us more where Oregon is heading than looking just at Oregon's.
Posted: October 16, 2008
What Must I Know about the NEW Nat'l Guard & Reservists Debt Relief Act of 2008? (Passed by Congress, & Presented to the President on Oct. 9, 2008)
Excerpt: "The National Guard and Reservists Debt Relief Act of 2008 passed the U.S. Senate by Unanimous Consent on September 30, 2008, and the House passed it with a roll call vote on October 3. The bill was presented on October 9 to the President to sign into law. Here is the Act as passed by Congress. I was not able to find any statements whether or not the President intends to sign it, but given the overwhelming Congressional support and the politically sensitive population assisted, I presume he will . The law primarily changes one subsection of the Bankruptcy Code, so it is easy to become familiar with it before its effective date."
Posted: October 14, 2008
What You and Your Clients Need to Know About Yesterday's $8.6 Billion Countrywide/Bank of America Settlement
Excerpt: "What is this a settlement of? It is the largest ever predatory lending settlement in history. It resolves many but not all lawsuits filed by states' attorneys general alleging that Countrywide Financial or one of its affiliates intentionally sold customers risky loans that it knew were unaffordable, using deceptive advertising and rewarding staff for promoting loans with higher rates and fees than customers qualified for."
Posted: October 7, 2008
Oregon's Economy Continues to Weaken, Says U. of Oregon Index of Economic Indicators (and That Was BEFORE the Events of the Last Few Weeks)
Excerpt: "The Oregon Economic Forum announced last week that the University of Oregon Index of Economic Indicators fell in August 2008 by 0.8% to 100.3 (100.0 = 1997 benchmark). That index is down from 102.4 six months earlier in February, down from 103.1 a year earlier in August 2007, and down from 106.8 & 106.2 two and three years earlier, in August 2006 and 2005, respectively."
Posted: October 6, 2008
Portland Housing Prices Continue to Decline
Excerpt: "So much of what is going on in this country's economy appears tied to the value of real estate, as in how much those "Troubled Assets" addressed by the $700 billion Congressional bailout bill are really worth. And perhaps no other index is tied so closely to the pace of personal bankruptcy filings than that of home values. So to get some good ideas where the Portland area's bankruptcy filings are heading and how quickly, here's a quick but enlightening look at Portland's home values."
Posted: October 1, 2008
Bankruptcy Mortgage Modification Cut Out of Bailout Bill: So What's In This Weekend's Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 for Homeowners?
Excerpt: "As of Friday the mortgage modification amendment to the Bankruptcy Code was taken off the table by Democrats during the intense negotiations In the Capitol over the bailout bill, as announced in a closed-door meeting to Democrat legislators by Barney Frank, Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee. Despite this bankruptcy provision being one of the main provisions of Barney Frank's and Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd's responses to Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson's original proposal, it apparently became a "poison pill" sacrificed in order to reach compromise during the weekend."
Posted: September 29, 2008
Is BAPCPA Meeting the Goals of its Proponants?
Excerpt: "Those who work in the bankruptcy world day in and day out have infinite anecdotal experience on the effects of BAPCPA on their clients, whether creditors or debtors. Especially for those who represent only creditors or only debtors, their one-sided experience may mostly just reinforce their preconceived opinions about the Act. Especially for them, but for everybody in this bankruptcy world, it is good to get out of their trenches, now nearly two years after BAPCPA's effective date, and look at a purportedly neutral analysis of the law's effects."
Posted: September 26, 2008
BAPCPA's Effect on Trustees, US Trustees & the Bankruptcy Courts
Excerpt: "This summer the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), on request of a number of members of Congress, released a report entitled Dollar Costs Associated with the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005. In it the GAO presents the financial effect of BAPCPA on the U.S. Trustee Program, on trustees, and on the federal judiciary."
Posted: September 19, 2008
BAPCPA's Increase in Debtors' Attorney Fees and Costs
Excerpt: "This summer the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), on request of a number of members of Congress, released a report entitled Dollar Costs Associated with the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005. In it the GAO presents its conclusions about post-BAPCPA increases in the cost of filing bankruptcy for consumer debtors ."
Posted: September 18, 2008
Oregon Chapter 13 Distributions to General Unsecured Creditors: How Different from the Rest of the Country? Differences Btw. Trustees Long and Lynch?
Excerpt: "Comparing the Oregon Chapter 13 cases administered by the trustees Fred Long and Brian Lynch against the national averages, for the Chapter 13 cases which were successfully completed during Fiscal Year 2007 (Oct. '06 - Sept. '07), 1) there is a substantially larger portion of 0% plans in the Oregon cases than the national average; 2) the portion that had paid 70% or more to general unsecured creditors is about the same as the national average; and 3) the portion that paid between 1% and 69% is somewhat lower than the national average."
Posted: September 16, 2008
The Hope for Homeowners Program Launched on Oct. 1, 2008: What Do I Need to Know About It?
Excerpt: "In the rush of events on the national financial scene of the last few weeks and months it is difficult for a bankruptcy practitioner to to keep straight the various governmental interventions much less understand their consequences on her clients and on her practice. This Bulletin shines some light on one of the initial major events--The Housing and Economic Recovery Act signed into law on July 30, 2008-- and critical aspects of its Hope for Homeowners Program, which has now been in effect since October 1."
Posted: October 22, 2008
What Post-Bankruptcy Credit Solicitations Reveal About the Creditor Industry's Public Policy Arguments
Excerpt: "A recent law review article, Bankrupt Profits: The Credit Industry’s Business Model for Postbankruptcy Lending, "examines what the credit industry’s behavior toward recently bankrupt families reveals about its internal profit models and the likely causes of consumer bankruptcy." This article looks at the contentious issue of what causes debtors to file bankruptcy by analyzing "original empirical data from the first-ever detailed longitudinal study of bankrupt families," the Consumer Bankruptcy Project. The phase of the study pertinent to this article involved a dozen interdisciplinary researchers and more than a thousand Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 debtors from five federal judicial districts. Here are the most important aspects of this lengthy but fascinating article."
Posted: October 20, 2008
Ratio of Ch. 13's Is Declining in U.S. After Big Post-BAPCPA Increase, Oregon's Ch. 13 Ratio Is Holding Steady
Excerpt:"As reported in a prior Bulletin on this website entitled Oregon's Slice of the Bankruptcy Pie, although Oregon's recent per capita Chapter 7 filing rate is virtually the same as the national rate, Oregon's per capita Chapter 13 filing rate is much LESS than the national rate. This Bulletin will compare the trends in the ratio of Chapter 13's to Chapter 7's nationally to the trends in Oregon. These two trends are quite different. Examining both of them may tell us more where Oregon is heading than looking just at Oregon's.
Posted: October 16, 2008
What Must I Know about the NEW Nat'l Guard & Reservists Debt Relief Act of 2008? (Passed by Congress, & Presented to the President on Oct. 9, 2008)
Excerpt: "The National Guard and Reservists Debt Relief Act of 2008 passed the U.S. Senate by Unanimous Consent on September 30, 2008, and the House passed it with a roll call vote on October 3. The bill was presented on October 9 to the President to sign into law. Here is the Act as passed by Congress. I was not able to find any statements whether or not the President intends to sign it, but given the overwhelming Congressional support and the politically sensitive population assisted, I presume he will . The law primarily changes one subsection of the Bankruptcy Code, so it is easy to become familiar with it before its effective date."
Posted: October 14, 2008
What You and Your Clients Need to Know About Yesterday's $8.6 Billion Countrywide/Bank of America Settlement
Excerpt: "What is this a settlement of? It is the largest ever predatory lending settlement in history. It resolves many but not all lawsuits filed by states' attorneys general alleging that Countrywide Financial or one of its affiliates intentionally sold customers risky loans that it knew were unaffordable, using deceptive advertising and rewarding staff for promoting loans with higher rates and fees than customers qualified for."
Posted: October 7, 2008
Oregon's Economy Continues to Weaken, Says U. of Oregon Index of Economic Indicators (and That Was BEFORE the Events of the Last Few Weeks)
Excerpt: "The Oregon Economic Forum announced last week that the University of Oregon Index of Economic Indicators fell in August 2008 by 0.8% to 100.3 (100.0 = 1997 benchmark). That index is down from 102.4 six months earlier in February, down from 103.1 a year earlier in August 2007, and down from 106.8 & 106.2 two and three years earlier, in August 2006 and 2005, respectively."
Posted: October 6, 2008
Portland Housing Prices Continue to Decline
Excerpt: "So much of what is going on in this country's economy appears tied to the value of real estate, as in how much those "Troubled Assets" addressed by the $700 billion Congressional bailout bill are really worth. And perhaps no other index is tied so closely to the pace of personal bankruptcy filings than that of home values. So to get some good ideas where the Portland area's bankruptcy filings are heading and how quickly, here's a quick but enlightening look at Portland's home values."
Posted: October 1, 2008
Bankruptcy Mortgage Modification Cut Out of Bailout Bill: So What's In This Weekend's Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 for Homeowners?
Excerpt: "As of Friday the mortgage modification amendment to the Bankruptcy Code was taken off the table by Democrats during the intense negotiations In the Capitol over the bailout bill, as announced in a closed-door meeting to Democrat legislators by Barney Frank, Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee. Despite this bankruptcy provision being one of the main provisions of Barney Frank's and Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd's responses to Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson's original proposal, it apparently became a "poison pill" sacrificed in order to reach compromise during the weekend."
Posted: September 29, 2008
Is BAPCPA Meeting the Goals of its Proponants?
Excerpt: "Those who work in the bankruptcy world day in and day out have infinite anecdotal experience on the effects of BAPCPA on their clients, whether creditors or debtors. Especially for those who represent only creditors or only debtors, their one-sided experience may mostly just reinforce their preconceived opinions about the Act. Especially for them, but for everybody in this bankruptcy world, it is good to get out of their trenches, now nearly two years after BAPCPA's effective date, and look at a purportedly neutral analysis of the law's effects."
Posted: September 26, 2008
BAPCPA's Effect on Trustees, US Trustees & the Bankruptcy Courts
Excerpt: "This summer the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), on request of a number of members of Congress, released a report entitled Dollar Costs Associated with the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005. In it the GAO presents the financial effect of BAPCPA on the U.S. Trustee Program, on trustees, and on the federal judiciary."
Posted: September 19, 2008
BAPCPA's Increase in Debtors' Attorney Fees and Costs
Excerpt: "This summer the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), on request of a number of members of Congress, released a report entitled Dollar Costs Associated with the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005. In it the GAO presents its conclusions about post-BAPCPA increases in the cost of filing bankruptcy for consumer debtors ."
Posted: September 18, 2008
Oregon Chapter 13 Distributions to General Unsecured Creditors: How Different from the Rest of the Country? Differences Btw. Trustees Long and Lynch?
Excerpt: "Comparing the Oregon Chapter 13 cases administered by the trustees Fred Long and Brian Lynch against the national averages, for the Chapter 13 cases which were successfully completed during Fiscal Year 2007 (Oct. '06 - Sept. '07), 1) there is a substantially larger portion of 0% plans in the Oregon cases than the national average; 2) the portion that had paid 70% or more to general unsecured creditors is about the same as the national average; and 3) the portion that paid between 1% and 69% is somewhat lower than the national average."
Posted: September 16, 2008
by Andrew Toth-Fejel
Bankruptcy Litigation Support for Attorneys
Andy@BLSforAttorneys.com
Please note that this writer is not licensed to practice law in Oregon. This means that he is not legally permitted to give any legal advice or provide and legal services. This Bulletin and the entire contents of this website is written only for attorneys. and is not intended for the public. If any non-attorney is reading this, you must consult an attorney about ANYTHING you read here. Nothing in this website is intended to be nor should be read as being legal advice to anyone.
© 2008 Bankruptcy Litigation Support for Attorneys
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