StayViolation.Com

You Have Got To Love The Northern District Of Texas

Bankruptcy courts come with all sorts of efficiencies (or lack thereof).  Most bankruptcy judges are geniuses in the application of the law, but some are just terrible at overseeing or management duties.  They simply tend to promulgate systems and rules that just do not work well in practice.

From a litigation standpoint nobody much beats the Northern District of Texas in how it efficiently processes adversary proceedings.  For example, my office filed an adversary proceeding this morning.  About an hour later the office of the Bankruptcy Clerk had already prepared a summons and a comprehensive scheduling order to serve with the pleadings, and sent them to me via email.  This afternoon the pleadings will be in the mail on their way to the Defendants.

With the increasing sophistication of technology, we will soon be able to package these documents together in a PDF format, upload it through the Postal Service website, and serve the summons, order and Complaint by certified mail over the computer without even leaving the desk.  With the Northern District of Texas it will take a half a day tops to get this done.

The worst Bankruptcy Court in Texas in this regard?  I had better not say.

Recent Settlements

Each case we handle is different and has to be evaluated individually.  That said, prior settlements are helpful in understanding those cases that should be litigated.  Many of the cases we settle do not allow for the public disclosure of creditors or other parties making the settlement accept for a disclosure to the bankruptcy trustee and court.  Therefore, the creditors are not disclosed here.  Recently, we have settled a number of cases.  Here are a few of those settled:

$8,000.00 -- Mortgage lender locks down debtors' home while it is prosecuting its uncontested motion for relief from stay, but before the Court grants the motion.

$7,000.00 -- Mortgage lender begins foreclosure proceedings against debtors' home under the mistaken belief that debtors' bankruptcy had been dismissed.

$7,000.00 -- Car finance company repossesses debtor's automobile after debtor files bankruptcy.  It is uncertain if the finance company had prior notice of the bankruptcy, but the repossession company retained by the finance company refuses to return the automobile because debtor refused to sign a general release absolving the finance company and repossession company of all liability for repossession and any damage to the automobile.  As it turned out there was no damage to the automobile as a result of the repossession, but this was unknown by debtor at the time.

$5,500.00 -- Mortgage lender files and prevails on a motion for relief on debtor's home.  The lender begins foreclosure proceedings as was is right.  However, the mortgage lender also continues to send to debtor demands for the past due payments owed pre-petition.  These demands were not part of the noticed required for the lender to foreclose on debtor's home.

$5,000.00 -- Finance company who had an unsecured credit card debt owed to it at the time of bankruptcy filed and pursued a lawsuit against debtor in another state despite the fact that repeated notices had been mailed to the finance company of debtor's bankruptcy at a correct address.

$3,000.00 -- Automobile lender obtains relief from stay to repossess and sale debtor's automobile.  However, the lender sends out notices to debtor that did not recognize the bankruptcy and which would lead a least sophisticated debtor to believe that he was responsible for any arrearages on the automobile resulting from the sale.

$3,000.00 -- Automobile lender repossesses debtor's vehicle.  Returns it approximately an hour and a half later.  No damage resulted from the repossession.