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Full-Text Articles in Law
Fines, Fees, And Filing Bankruptcy, Pamela Foohey
Fines, Fees, And Filing Bankruptcy, Pamela Foohey
Scholarly Works
This essay was written in conjunction with the “Court Debt”: Fines, Fees, and Bail, Circa 2020 symposium held during the Association of American Law Schools' 2019 annual meeting. The essay details the extent to which "court debt" -- civil and criminal fines, fees, and interest -- can be dealt with by filing bankruptcy. In short, although filing bankruptcy on balance may help people deal with court debt and other debts, the barriers that people face to filing raise questions about the accessibility of civil courts and suggest that the consumer bankruptcy system itself is yet another place in which race …
Access To Consumer Bankruptcy, Pamela Foohey
Access To Consumer Bankruptcy, Pamela Foohey
Articles by Maurer Faculty
This essay examines the state of access to justice in the context of consumer bankruptcy from two vantage points: (1) how people decide that their money problems are legal problems addressable by filing bankruptcy; and (2) the barriers people face in using the consumer bankruptcy system. To shed new light on how people decide to use bankruptcy to address their financial troubles, I analyze a sample of narratives accompanying consumers' complaints about financial products and services submitted to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. I also chronicle the evolution of research regarding consumer bankruptcy’s “local legal culture,” systemic racial bias, and …
'No Money Down' Bankruptcy, Pamela Foohey, Robert M. Lawless, Katherine Porter, Deborah Thorne
'No Money Down' Bankruptcy, Pamela Foohey, Robert M. Lawless, Katherine Porter, Deborah Thorne
Scholarly Works
This Article reports on a breakdown in access to justice in bankruptcy, a system from which one million Americans will seek help this year. A crucial decision for these consumers will be whether to file a chapter 7 or chapter 13 bankruptcy. Nearly every aspect of their bankruptcies — both the benefits and the burdens of debt relief — will be different in chapter 7 versus chapter 13. Almost all consumers will hire a bankruptcy attorney. Because they must pay their attorneys, many consumers will file chapter 13 to finance their access to the law, rather than because they prefer …
"No Money Down" Bankruptcy, Pamela Foohey, Robert M. Lawless, Katherine Porter, Deborah Thorne
"No Money Down" Bankruptcy, Pamela Foohey, Robert M. Lawless, Katherine Porter, Deborah Thorne
Articles by Maurer Faculty
This Article reports on a breakdown in access to justice in bankruptcy, a system from which one million Americans will seek help this year. A crucial decision for these consumers will be whether to file a chapter 7 or chapter 13 bankruptcy. Nearly every aspect of their bankruptcies — both the benefits and the burdens of debt relief — will be different in chapter 7 versus chapter 13. Almost all consumers will hire a bankruptcy attorney. Because they must pay their attorneys, many consumers will file chapter 13 to finance their access to the law, rather than because they prefer …
When Faith Falls Short: Bankruptcy Decisions Of Churches, Pamela Foohey
When Faith Falls Short: Bankruptcy Decisions Of Churches, Pamela Foohey
Scholarly Works
What does a church do when it is about to go bust? Religious organizations, like any business, can experience financial distress. Leaders could try to solve their churches’ financial problems on their own. Perhaps leaders do not view the problems as addressable with law. Or perhaps they do not think, as a moral or spiritual matter, that they should resort to the legal system, such as bankruptcy, to deal with their churches’ inability to pay its debts. Yet about ninety religious organizations seek to reorganize under the Bankruptcy Code every year. This Article relies on interviews with forty-five of these …