Consumer Bankruptcy

Recent legislation and judicial decisions have changed consumer bankruptcy practice substantially over the last year. This panel will provide perspectives and analysis from the judiciary and debtors’ and creditors’ attorneys regarding the various legislative changes that have been enacted or proposed since early 2020, and will explore the ever-changing landscape of bankruptcy practice today. The panelists will also discuss the impact of recent Supreme Court and First Circuit decisions on consumer cases.

Sponsored by ABI's Consumer Bankruptcy Committee It is commonly understood that student loans are nearly impossible to discharge in bankruptcy. The standard has become mythical — akin to a “certainty of hopelessness.” Are the Brunner and totality-of-the-circumstances tests realistic standards? If not, what should legislators consider as an alternative? Will successful litigation break the mythical standard, and what could that look like? The prevalence of these cases is increasing every day, as courts are asked more often to evaluate the appropriateness of, and apply, these impossible standards. Simultaneously, the total amount of U.S. student loan debt continues to accelerate toward $2 trillion. Join ABI’s Consumer Committee as two consumer bankruptcy experts, Ed Boltz and Ray Hendren, debate what can — and should — come next.

This panel will discuss options and issues surrounding distressed shopping centers, retail spaces, apartments, office buildings, and other distressed real estate assets, plus proactive planning for distressed real estate assets.

The Judges Roundtable will provide opportunities for discussion and interaction with our exciting panel of judges from around the country. Participants can engage in a small group format on the following three topics: (1) What happens when the various COVID moratoria on enforcement end; (2) who gets the benefit of post-petition appreciation of an asset when a case converts from chapter 13 to chapter 7; and (3) measuring the success of the Small Business Reorganization Act of 2019.

This panel will focus on the changing tides of chapters 7 and 13 due to recent legislation, including the CARES Act, Consolidated Appropriations Act, Bankruptcy Administration Improvement Act of 2020 and other nonbankruptcy legislation/policies that have an impact on bankruptcy filings. The panelists also will take a peek at what is on the horizon for potential new legislation.

This panel will address recent developments relating to the automatic stay, including City of Chicago v. Fulton and its aftermath, as well as discharge and post-discharge violations.

This panel will discuss changes in the CARES act and consolidated appropriations act as well as general housing issues.

State law and bankruptcy law intersect in any number of ways in any given bankruptcy case. This panel will focus on a few of the issues that arise in this context and discuss recent case law, as well as practice tips and strategy. More specifically, the panelists will cover the abstention doctrine and how bankruptcy courts analyze various state law claims under that doctrine; the potential impact of a bankruptcy case on divorce proceedings, including automatic stay and discharge issues; and the limitations on pursuing state court claims, such as standing, collateral estoppel and third-party releases. We hope you will join us and contribute your questions and experiences to the conversation.

This panel will discuss such personal-injury issues as mesh, malpractice and abuse cases in chapters 7 and 13. The discussion will include interviewing the client, appropriate disclosure of such claims, property of the estate, judicial estoppel, medical liens, federal and state exemptions, and settlements.

This panel will provide a consumer bankruptcy legal update on significant cases from 2020, and explore what's happened so far in 2021.