A Wholly Unsecured Lien May Be Stripped Off Even if It Predated Ownership
Bankruptcy Judge Michelle Harner held that a wholly unsecured, subordinate lien may be stripped off in chapter 13 even if the lien arose before the debtor owned the property.
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Denial of Modification of a Chapter 11 Plan Is Final and Appealable
Baltimore district judge applies the Fourth Circuit’s ‘substantial and unanticipated’ test to modifications of chapter 11 plans.
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Judge Harner Gives Contours to the Amorphous Notion of ‘New Value’
The ‘new value’ offered by old equity in a chapter 11 plan was insufficient because it was only a small fraction of claims and because the dividend to creditors was also small.
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To Count in Subchapter V, Loans Need Not Benefit Only the Small Business Debtor
If a loan benefits both a debtor and someone else, the loan still may be included in counting whether the debt “arose from the commercial or business activities of the debtor.”
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Maryland Decision Shows the Hardship Imposed on Debtors by Student Loans
Judge Harner does the best she can to ease the burden imposed on a debtor by student loans.
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Arbitration Clause Results in Temporary Stay of ‘Core’ Proceedings in Bankruptcy Court
Decision by Bankruptcy Judge Michelle Harner demonstrates the flaw in the Fourth Circuit’s rule requiring parallel proceedings in bankruptcy court and in arbitration when disputes are both core and non-core.
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Corporate Debtors in Subchapter V May Discharge Nondischargeable Debts
Only individuals in subchapter V of chapter 11 are barred from discharging debts found to be nondischargeable under Section 523(a).
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Three Judges Permit Redesignation under the SBRA, But with Qualifications
The SBRA can be used to extinguish a creditors’ committee previously appointed in a ‘traditional’ chapter 11 case.
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In Chapters 7 and 13, ‘Excusable Neglect’ Won’t Always Justify Filing a Late Claim
A creditor without knowledge of bankruptcy isn’t always entitled to file a late claim in chapters 7, 12, and 13, Judge Harner says.
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Security Interest Perfected on the Filing Date Remains Valid if It Lapses Later
The addition of Section 362(b)(3) is held not to affect the ‘freeze rule’ with regard to lapsing security interests.
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