Archive for February, 2008
Friday, February 29th, 2008
Creditors are starting to harass me again for old debt that I don’t believe I’m responsible for. I divorced back in 2003. In the settlement, my ex-husband and I were each assigned a handful of credit accounts. I paid mine off, he filed a chapter 13 bankruptcy. Two credit agencies are now contacting me about (2 different) credit card debts, both of which are the responsibility of my ex-husband according to the divorce settlement.
I have a copy of the bankruptcy matrix which lists both of the credit accounts. I’ve faxed the matrix and copies of the divorce settlement to both credit agencies but both say that since I was the primacy cardholder, that I’m responsible for the account.
My ex-husband and I are no longer in contact, although I do have his cellphone number (but he refuses to discuss this issue). Creditors are not interested in contacting him. In the meantime, my credit rating continues to suffer with these 2 bad debts on my report.
I have the bankruptcy matrix, the case number, and the name of the lawyer that handled the bankruptcy (although he refuses to give me any information about the case). What do I do now? I live in Kansas, if that matters.
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Friday, February 29th, 2008
Creditors are starting to harass me again for old debt that I don’t believe I’m responsible for. I divorced back in 2003. In the settlement, my ex-husband and I were each assigned a handful of credit accounts. I paid mine off, he filed a chapter 13 bankruptcy. Two credit agencies are now contacting me about (2 different) credit card debts, both of which are the responsibility of my ex-husband according to the divorce settlement.
I have a copy of the bankruptcy matrix which lists both of the credit accounts. I’ve faxed the matrix and copies of the divorce settlement to both credit agencies but both say that since I was the primacy cardholder, that I’m responsible for the account.
My ex-husband and I are no longer in contact, although I do have his cellphone number (but he refuses to discuss this issue). Creditors are not interested in contacting him. In the meantime, my credit rating continues to suffer with these 2 bad debts on my report.
I have the bankruptcy matrix, the case number, and the name of the lawyer that handled the bankruptcy (although he refuses to give me any information about the case). What do I do now? I live in Kansas, if that matters.
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Monday, February 11th, 2008
If you’re like many homeowners, your home is encumbered with a second or third mortgage (or deed of trust), and perhaps a home equity loan. Numerous articles describe you as using your home like an ATM machine. Having all these secured debts on your home is tantamount to a juggler having too many balls in the air — at least one must fall, sooner rather than later.
If, for one reason or another, you just can’t keep up, you may be able to avoid foreclosure if you pay the right loan and either blow off the rest, or at least make reduced payments. In almost every case, the right loan to stay current on will be your first mortgage or deed of trust. While I’m always hesitant to tell people to stop meeting their shelter obligations in full and on time, sometimes it’s the only rational thing to do — as wrong as it may feel to many of you. If reducing the amount you throw at your home every month will let you stay there and keep your ahead above water, at least until you can work out a better solution, I’m all for it.
How does this work? When you originally took out the loan to buy your home, you agreed to have the loan (or loans) secured by a mortgage or deed of trust (depending on the state where the property is located). (For the rest of this blog, I will use the term “mortgage” to refer to both mortgages and deeds of trust.) By recording the mortgage in your local land records office, the lender created a lien (legal claim) on the property, which can be enforced by foreclosure if the payment terms of the mortgage document aren’t met. As you probably know, in foreclosure the property is sold to make good on the promissory note underlying the mortgage.
The main loan you used to buy your home is termed a “first mortgage.” Why first? It’s almost always recorded first and gets paid first in case of a sale. In the same manner, a second loan secured by the home is a second mortgage. For example, it’s common to use a first mortgage to pay 80% of the sale price and get a second mortgage for the additional 20%. And that’s not all. In the bubble years, home value appreciation supported additional loans against the home, often in the form of a home equity lines of credit. As with the first mortgage, the lender’s primary remedy for a default on these additional loans is foreclosure. (more…)
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Monday, February 11th, 2008
If you’re like many homeowners, your home is encumbered with a second or third mortgage (or deed of trust), and perhaps a home equity loan. Numerous articles describe you as using your home like an ATM machine. Having all these secured debts on your home is tantamount to a juggler having too many balls in the air — at least one must fall, sooner rather than later.
If, for one reason or another, you just can’t keep up, you may be able to avoid foreclosure if you pay the right loan and either blow off the rest, or at least make reduced payments. In almost every case, the right loan to stay current on will be your first mortgage or deed of trust. While I’m always hesitant to tell people to stop meeting their shelter obligations in full and on time, sometimes it’s the only rational thing to do — as wrong as it may feel to many of you. If reducing the amount you throw at your home every month will let you stay there and keep your ahead above water, at least until you can work out a better solution, I’m all for it.
How does this work? When you originally took out the loan to buy your home, you agreed to have the loan (or loans) secured by a mortgage or deed of trust (depending on the state where the property is located). (For the rest of this blog, I will use the term “mortgage” to refer to both mortgages and deeds of trust.) By recording the mortgage in your local land records office, the lender created a lien (legal claim) on the property, which can be enforced by foreclosure if the payment terms of the mortgage document aren’t met. As you probably know, in foreclosure the property is sold to make good on the promissory note underlying the mortgage.
The main loan you used to buy your home is termed a “first mortgage.” Why first? It’s almost always recorded first and gets paid first in case of a sale. In the same manner, a second loan secured by the home is a second mortgage. For example, it’s common to use a first mortgage to pay 80% of the sale price and get a second mortgage for the additional 20%. And that’s not all. In the bubble years, home value appreciation supported additional loans against the home, often in the form of a home equity lines of credit. As with the first mortgage, the lender’s primary remedy for a default on these additional loans is foreclosure. (more…)
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Monday, February 11th, 2008
Every day thousands of consumers are harassed by debt collectors and many of them have their rights violated by these collectors… In order to remove a bankruptcy, you must remove everything else from your credit report first, here is why…
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Monday, February 11th, 2008
Every day thousands of consumers are harassed by debt collectors and many of them have their rights violated by these collectors… In order to remove a bankruptcy, you must remove everything else from your credit report first, here is why…
Click here to play
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Monday, February 11th, 2008
Every day thousands of consumers are harassed by debt collectors and many of them have their rights violated by these collectors… In order to remove a bankruptcy, you must remove everything else from your credit report first, here is why…
Click here to play
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Wednesday, February 6th, 2008
Get all the facts on you Bankruptcy Credit Report
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Wednesday, February 6th, 2008
Get all the facts on you Bankruptcy Credit Report
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Wednesday, February 6th, 2008
Get all the facts on you Bankruptcy Credit Report
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Tuesday, February 5th, 2008
There are a lot of things people don’t know about bankruptcy.
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Tuesday, February 5th, 2008
There are a lot of things people don’t know about bankruptcy.
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Tuesday, February 5th, 2008
There are a lot of things people don’t know about bankruptcy.
Click here to play
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Tuesday, February 5th, 2008
All about Consumer Credit Counseling…
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Tuesday, February 5th, 2008
All about Consumer Credit Counseling…
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Tuesday, February 5th, 2008
All about Consumer Credit Counseling…
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Friday, February 1st, 2008
By Order, dated January 14, 2008, United States Bankruptcy Judge Martin Glenn for the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York, granted the motion (the "Motion") filed by a group of creditors seeking transfer of venue of the Dunmore Homes, Inc. (the "Debtor") bankruptcy case from the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York (the "Court") to the Eastern District of California, Sacramento Division. A number of other creditors and the Official Unsecured Creditors Committee joined in the Motion. The Motion was opposed by the Debtor, bondholders and two bank creditors.
Background
Dunmore California, a California corporation which was wholly owned by Sidney Dunmore, a California resident, and predecessor to the Debtor, was in the business of, among other things, land development and construction of single family homes throughout Northern and Central California. The financial condition of Dunmore California began to deteriorate in September 2005, and by August 1, 2007, Dunmore California and its subsidiaries had halted nearly all home construction, land development operations and sales. Shortly thereafter, Dunmore California sold all of its assets to the Debtor. As part of that transaction, the Debtor also assumed virtually all of the liabilities of Dunmore California. Fifty-nine days after the sale, on November 8, 2007, the newly formed Debtor, Dunmore Homes filed for bankruptcy relief under chapter 11 in the Southern District of New York.
The Debtor, a New York corporation, is wholly owned by Michael Kane, a California resident, and has no offices, employees or bank accounts in New York. All of its subsidiaries (none of which has filed for protection under the Bankruptcy Code) are located in California. The Debtor's only connection to New York was its incorporation in New York fifty-nine days before the bankruptcy filing.
Among other debts, the Debtor had significant indirect liabilities resulting from its assumed obligations as guarantor or co-borrower on the secured debt of its various California subsidiaries, which totaled approximately $195 million as of the date of filing. The security for this debt is California real property owned at the subsidiary level. Moreover, twenty-four of the Debtor's top thirty creditors are located in California, seven of whom joined the Motion and represent approximately $23,578,998.46 of the Debtor's debt. The two bank creditors who opposed the Motion represent about $56,700,000 of the Debtor's debt. It was undisputed that the vast majority of creditors below the top thirty are trade creditors located in California.
Motion for Change of Venue
The motion for change of venue sought transfer based on consideration of the interests of justice under 28 U.S.C. § 1412, and not that venue was improper under 28 U.S.C. § 1408, which entitles the Debtor to file its petition in the Southern District of New York because it is "domiciled" in New York. Since the issue of whether venue was proper under 28 U.S.C. § 1408 was only raised in a reply brief by one of the movants, the Court would not consider the issue and assumed venue was proper under 28 U.S.C. § 1408. Under section 1412, the Court has discretionary power to transfer a case if the transfer would be in the best interest of justice or for the convenience of the parties.
In considering whether the case should be transferred in the interest of justice, the court considers whether (i) transfer would promote economic and efficient administration of the bankruptcy estate, (ii) the interests of judicial economy would be served by the transfer, (iii) the parties would be able to receive a fair trial in each of the possible venues, (iv) either forum has an interest in having the controversy decided within its borders, (v) the enforceability of any judgment would be affected by the transfer and (vi) the debtor's original choice of forum should be disturbed. In considering the convenience of the parties, the court looks at six factors: (i) proximity of creditors of every kind to the court, (ii) proximity of the debtor, (iii) proximity of witnesses necessary to the administration of the estate, (iv) location of the assets, (v) economic administration of the estate and (vi) necessity for ancillary administration if liquidation should result.
After a careful analysis of all of those factors, the Court found that a transfer of venue was appropriate because, among other things, "the thin nexus of the Debtor to the Southern District of New York, and the overwhelming contacts between the Debtor and Eastern District of California, combined with no overriding factors making it substantially more likely that the Debtor's prospects for a successful reorganization would be enhanced if this Court were to retain jurisdiction, raise serious questions whether the Court would abuse its discretion if it denied the motion to transfer venue in the interests of justice." In re Dunmore Homes, Inc., No. 07-13533 (MG), slip op. at 20 (S.D. N.Y. Jan. 14, 2008).
The Court found that where the Debtor's connections, including the majority of a Debtor's creditors and contacts, were in California, which could create, among other things, geographical hardships on the parties involved, the Court would exercise its discretion to grant the Motion and transfer the bankruptcy case to California.
Authored by:
Mary Johnson
(212) 332-3525
mjohnson@sheppardmullin.com
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Friday, February 1st, 2008
If you have old, unpaid debts, you may be safe from a lawsuit to collect the debt, because a creditor or debt collector has a limited number of years to sue you for the debt. To get a better understanding of time limits for debt collection, check out this newly published article in the Nolopedia, “Time-Barred Debts: When Collectors Cannot Sue You For Unpaid Debts”.
And if you want further information on debt collection & credit, you might also be interested in my previous post, “When Credit Bureaus Report Debts Discharged in Bankruptcy: It Should Be a Crime”.
Posted in Finance | Comments Off
Friday, February 1st, 2008
If you have old, unpaid debts, you may be safe from a lawsuit to collect the debt, because a creditor or debt collector has a limited number of years to sue you for the debt. To get a better understanding of time limits for debt collection, check out this newly published article in the Nolopedia, “Time-Barred Debts: When Collectors Cannot Sue You For Unpaid Debts”.
And if you want further information on debt collection & credit, you might also be interested in my previous post, “When Credit Bureaus Report Debts Discharged in Bankruptcy: It Should Be a Crime”.
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Friday, February 1st, 2008
Please note that bankruptcy cases filed on or after February 1, 2008 (today) will be subject to the Census Bureau’s updated median family income data and the Administrative Expense Multipliers. You can check out the updated figures at the U.S….
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