Author Archives: doug

Massachusetts adds local rules to implement new small business bankruptcy cases

By doug | Published: April 23, 2020

The Small Business Reorganization Act took effect in February of 2020, adding a streamlined Chapter 11 bankruptcy process for businesses with less than $7M in debt, and in April the bankruptcy court in Massachusetts issued some new local rules for handling these cases. Local rule 1002 -1 implements the requirement that the judge assigned to […]

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Yes, you can discharge utility bills in bankruptcy — and still keep the lights on

By doug | Published: April 22, 2020

In my experience, one of the most underused provisions of the bankruptcy code involve the ability to discharge utility bills with very little consequence to the debtor. In a Chapter 7 case, utility bills are nearly always classified as unsecured debts, and are discharged 100% simply by listing them on Schedule F accompanying a voluntary […]

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Analysis of the key differences between small business and traditional Chapter 11 bankruptcy cases

By doug | Published: April 21, 2020

Bankruptcy courts nationwide began implementing a new law, the Small Business Reorganization Act, in February, 2020, just in advance of one of the sharpest, swiftest economic swoons in memory. The new law, sometimes tagged with the initials SBRA, creates a streamlined version of Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization for small companies and entrepreneurs who want to […]

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Americans are asking for mortgage forbearances, but should be wary of the consequences

By doug | Published: April 20, 2020

Three weeks after the passage of the CARES Act, so far the main response of the federal government to the corona virus quarantines, almost three million Americans had signed up to skip their mortgage payments under the act’s forbearance program. That amounts to about 5.5% of American homeowners and $651 billion in missed payments according […]

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Will the First Circuit screw up the Small Business Reorganization Act?

By doug | Published: April 17, 2020

The newly enacted Small Business Reorganization Act, creating a new subchapter V in Chapter 11 of the bankruptcy code geared toward smaller enterprises, gives bankruptcy lawyers a whole new toolbox when it comes to helping entrepreneurs with less than $7.5 million in debts. One of the new sections, 11 USC s. 1190, appears to specifically […]

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Controversy swirls over creditors ability to snatch stimulus checks

By doug | Published: April 16, 2020

The possibility of Covid-19 stimulus checks — $1,200 for most Americans — ending up in the pockets of banks and bill collectors instead keeps popping up in the headlines, with much of the reporting driven by David Dayen of the American Prospect e-zine. Dayen has posted that Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin was aware a technical […]

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Bankruptcy lawyers should not try to scare debtors into filing cases

By doug | Published: April 15, 2020

As the federal government gets ready to start sending stimulus payments to millions of Americans in mid-April of 2020, this office has become aware of a mini-movement among a group of bankruptcy attorneys looking to frighten debtors (i.e. their potential clients) into worrying about the payments being scooped up by debt collectors seeking so-called “garnishments.” […]

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How does a discharge of debt under the Small Business Reorganization Act differ from an ordinary Chapter 11 discharge?

By doug | Published: April 14, 2020

With the Small Business Reorganization Act (SBRA) up and running as of February, 2020, Chapter 11 of the bankruptcy code now has two separate sections that offer corporate debtors (and a few individuals) a discharge of their debts. This is something of a new frontier in American bankruptcy law, as up to now each chapter […]

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Massive mortgage bailout bill comes with some catches

By doug | Published: April 13, 2020

Homeowners who are struggling with their finances while “stay-at-home” orders are in effect and shut downs affect most businesses got some relief in late March of 2020 when the CARES Act was signed in to law. The $2 trillion dollar bailout package, designed to float the economy while the United Staes battles an unseen enemy, […]

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Are stimulus checks really exempt from seizure by a bankruptcy trustee?

By doug | Published: April 9, 2020

If the government were to mail out free money, who should get first dibs on it — the recipient or his creditors? What would seem to be an inane question in normal times has become a live issue in the spring of 2020. To fight the massive economic repercussions of the corona virus shutdown, the […]

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