Author Archives 
Bankruptcy Pleading Standards After Twombly and Iqbal
by Drew Broaddus on 3/19/10 | 0 Comment(s)
On March 16, 2010, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Michigan (which covers Detroit, Bay City, and Flint) announced on its website that the next meeting of the Debtor/Creditors’ Rights Committee of the Business Law Section of the State Bar will include an educational program on Bankruptcy Pleading Standards after the Read more>>
U.S. Government Revises Means Test Numbers For Bankruptcy Filers
by Drew Broaddus on 3/12/10 | 0 Comment(s)
As I have discussed on the O’Connor, DeGrazia, Tamm & O’Connor website (and as several bankruptcy attorneys have discussed here), in order to qualify for Chapter 7 protection, individuals must satisfy the “means test,” which is a formula designed to keep filers with higher incomes from filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. 11 U.S.C. § 707(b). Read more>>
Several Eastern District of Michigan Bankruptcy Judges to Participate in Continuing Legal Education Seminar About Consumer Bankruptcy Issues
by Drew Broaddus on 3/05/10 | 0 Comment(s)
On February 8, 2010, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Michigan (which covers Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, Lansing, Traverse City, and Marquette) posted a notice on its website regarding an “Institute for Continuing Legal Education Seminar” to take place April 19, 2010 in Plymouth, Michigan. The notice (available here) indicates that the featured Read more>>
Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals Looks At Student Loan Hardship Discharge in Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Cases
by Drew Broaddus on 2/26/10 | 0 Comment(s)
As various bankruptcy attorneys have discussed on this site, and as I recently discussed on our firm’s website, student loans are not usually discharged in bankruptcy. However, these debts can be discharged under limited circumstances through a hardship discharge. In the case of Jennifer Cassim v Educational Credit Management Corp., the U.S. Court of Appeals Read more>>
Eastern District of Michigan’s Chief Bankruptcy Judge to Participate in Roundtable Discussion About Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Issues
by Drew Broaddus on 2/19/10 | 1 Comment(s)
On February 17, 2010, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Michigan (which covers Detroit, Bay City, and Flint) posted a notice on its website regarding “A Late Afternoon Roundtable Discussion” to take place on Wednesday March 10, 2010 in Southfield, Michigan. The notice (available here) indicates that the discussion will be moderated Read more>>
Someone Has Filed a Proof of Claim in My Bankruptcy Case. What Should I Do?
by Drew Broaddus on 2/12/10 | 0 Comment(s)
Last week on this site, I discussed In re: Wingerter. B-Line, LLC v. Wingerter, a recent Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals decision which addressed the issue of what creditors must do to file a valid proof of claim. The important feature of the Wingerter case, from a commercial debtor’s perspective, is that Chapter 7 and Read more>>
Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals Looks at Bankruptcy Proof of Claim Requirements in B-Line L.L.C. v Wingerter
by Drew Broaddus on 2/05/10 | 1 Comment(s)
As I recently discussed here, one important step in a Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy case is the filing of the “proof of claim.” A proof of claim is a document a creditor files with the Bankruptcy Court to prove that the debtor owes a debt to that particular person or entity. One recent Read more>>
Eastern District of Michigan Bankruptcy Court Issues Notice Regarding Tax Refunds in Chapter 13 Cases
by Drew Broaddus on 1/29/10 | 0 Comment(s)
On January 27, 2010, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Michigan (which covers Detroit, Bay City, and Flint) posted a notice on its website regarding the treatment of tax refunds in Chapter 13 cases. The notice (available here) reports that on January 20, 2010, in an action brought by the Internal Revenue Read more>>
Eastern District of Michigan Encourages Bankruptcy Attorneys to Learn More About Income Tax Issues
by Drew Broaddus on 1/22/10 | 2 Comment(s)
Tax season is again upon us – as evidenced by the instruction booklet I received in the mail earlier this month – which brings up some potentially complicated issues for consumer bankruptcy attorneys. Some of these issues were discussed in two relatively recent articles by John O’Connor on this site, “Be Careful With Tax Refunds Read more>>
What is Involuntary Bankruptcy?
by Drew Broaddus on 1/15/10 | 0 Comment(s)
Many of the entries on this site deal with the decision to file bankruptcy. (See here for examples). However, there are instances where an individual can be forced into bankruptcy when they have not actually filed a petition. This is called an “involuntary bankruptcy” and is covered by 11 U.S.C. Sec. 303. Such proceedings Read more>>

