Law Commons^™

Trustees Beware: Reviewing The Circuit Split On Bankruptcy Trustee Personal Liability, Barry Z. Bazian

Bankruptcy Research Library

(Excerpt)

Imagine that you have been appointed to serve as a trustee in a bankruptcy case. As the “representative of the estate,” one of your responsibilities is to properly manage the estate’s assets. You decide to invest the estate’s funds in several risky penny stocks, relying on minimal research you performed online. Unfortunately, these investments quickly decrease in value, substantially diminishing the value of the estate. Now, of course, the debtor and his creditors are angry and want to sue you for mismanaging the estate’s funds. Can you be held personally liable? In other words, will you have to pay …

Recovery Of Interest On A Tax Underpayment Caused By A Tax Advisor 'S Negligence, Jacob L. Todres

Faculty Publications

(Excerpt)

When a tax advisor renders incorrect advice due to negligence and a plaintiff establishes all the requisite elements of a malpractice cause of action, the most frequently encountered direct damages consist of four elements: additional taxes caused by the negligence, interest on underpaid taxes, penalties, and corrective costs incurred in attempting to eliminate or mitigate all or some of the foregoing damages. This article will focus on the recoverability of interest incurred by a plaintiff on a tax underpayment caused by the tax advisor's negligence. Such interest payment is present in many, if not most, tax malpractice situations because …

The Curious Life Of In Loco Parentis At American Universities, Philip Lee

Faculty Publications

In this article I trace the legal history, through court opinions, of in loco parentis (Latin for “in the place of the parent”) as applied to the relationship between American universities and their students. I demonstrate that until the 1960s, the in loco parentis doctrine allowed universities to exercise great discretion in developing the “character” of their students without respect to their students’ constitutional rights. The demise of this doctrine forced courts, and universities themselves, to redefine the relationship of universities with their students in important ways.

Negligent Vehicular Homicide Caps A Debtor’S Homestead Exemption, Christine Knoesel

Bankruptcy Research Library

(Excerpt)

In an expansive reading of the homestead exemption cap added by the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 (BAPCPA), the First Circuit Court of Appeals, in Larson v. Howell, held that criminal negligence is sufficient to trigger the section 522(q)(1)(B)(iv) homestead exemption cap. 513 F.3d 325, 328 (1st Cir. 2008). In Larson v. Howell, Larson was found guilty of negligent vehicular homicide. In Larson’s bankruptcy case, the homestead exemption cap was applied because the debt arose from a criminal act. Id. at 327. The Court of Appeals reasoned that the cap should apply …