Category Archives: Uncategorized

Can a bankruptcy debtor get rid of a lien on the house she owns wither husband, if the lien is tied to a debt incurred only in the husband’s name? No, says Massachusetts bankruptcy judge Janet Bostwick in the Hector case. There, the wife re-opened her Chapter 7 bankruptcy when she learned that a lien […]

A debtor in New Hampshire had his case thrown out of court for not taking a credit counseling course — even though he had completed the course twice! The seemingly baffling result is due to the exacting requirement of bankruptcy code section 109 (h), which demands that the counseling be taking within 180 days immediately […]

Orlando bankruptcy lawyer Jonathan Alper has written a nice piece reminding us that debtors — and sometimes lawyers, too, often don’t apply the means test rules on business debt correctly. A quick primer: Debtors usually must pass a Chapter 7 “means-test” in order to qualify to file under that chapter and discharge debt outright without […]

Could a bankruptcy judge force a debtor to keep operating a particular business? In the usual course of practicing bankruptcy law, such a ridiculous question wouldn’t even come up. Bankruptcy judges see more failed businesses and their downcast owners then anyone else. And there is no way that they are going to make a business […]

The Lawrence Eagle -Tribune has reported the death of the Honorable Michael T. Stella, Jr. at age 65. Judge Stella, who retired from full-time service in 2004, was never a bankruptcy judge; instead, he served as a Massachusetts district court judge, most always presiding in the Lawrence District Court. This position nevertheless gave him a […]