Law Commons^™

Home Foreclosures: Will Voluntary Mortgage Modification Help Families Save Their Homes? Part Ii? : Hearing Before The H. Comm. On The Judiciary Subcomm. On Commercial And Administrative Law, 111th Cong., Dec. 11, 2009 (Statement Of Associate Professor Adam J. Levitin, Geo. U. L. Center), Adam J. Levitin

Testimony Before Congress

The results to date from MHAP are deeply disappointing. Even the most optimistic view of HAMP and HARP’s potential would now project the programs as having only a minor impact on the foreclosure crisis. Until and unless the problems of unemployment; negative equity, and servicer capacity, incentives, and contract restrictions are addressed, we are unlikely to see noticeably different results. These issues cannot be addressed within the current structure of HAMP.

Unfortunately, none of the solutions for foreclosures due to unemployment are particularly satisfying, and without addressing unemployment, foreclosures will remain at elevated levels. Bankruptcy presents possible solutions to negative …

You've Got Your Mother's Laugh: What Bankruptcy Mediation Can Learn From The Her/History Of Divorce And Child Custody Mediation, Nancy A. Welsh

Faculty Scholarship

Due to our current deep economic woes, growing bankruptcy filings, and apparent legislative unwillingness to expand the number of judges, bankruptcy courts are exploring the use of mediation to help resolve adversary proceedings, negotiate elements of reorganizations, and deal with claims that cannot be heard directly in bankruptcy proceedings. In addition, mediation advocates have been consistent in urging greater use of the process to reduce debtors’ and claimants’ costs, bridge the jurisdictional and standing challenges that bankruptcies can pose, and offer claimants the opportunity to be heard and determine their own resolution of claims. At this point, the relatively few …

What Bankers Need To Know About Articles 3 And 4 Of The Ucc, Ingrid Hillinger

Ingrid Michelsen Hillinger

Lectured bankers for 3 hours on key concepts and legal rules governing checks and the check collection process

Bankruptcy Law, Hon. Douglas O. Tice Jr., Suzanne E. Wade, K. Elizabeth Sieg

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

From Feudal Land Contracts To Financial Derivatives: The Treatment Of Status Through Specific Relief, John J. Chung

Law Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Modified Plans Of Reorganization And The Basic Chapter 13 Bargain, David G. Carlson

Articles

A very large number of chapter 13 plans are confirmed each year. Unlike chapter 11 plans (for non-individuals), these plans may be revised after confirmation. The modification provisions of the Bankruptcy Code, however, give very little guidance as to what constitutes a permissible modification. In contrast, confirmation of the original plan is very carefully governed. This article theorizes that modification must honor the basic chapter 13 bargain. According to this bargain, the debtor is entitled to the bankruptcy estate and the creditors are entitled to net surplus income. The article assesses whether the diffuse and disorganized caselaw of modification adheres …

The End Of The (Virtual) World, Joshua A.T. Fairfield

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Worsening Foreclosure Crisis: Is It Time To Reconsider Bankruptcy Reform?: Hearing Before The Subcomm. On Administrative Oversight And The Courts Of The S. Comm. On The Judiciary, 111th Cong., July 23, 2009 (Statement Of Adam J. Levitin, Associate Prof. Of Law, Geo. U. L. Center), Adam J. Levitin

Testimony Before Congress

The clear finding from my research is that mortgage prices are largely insensitive to bankruptcy modification risk. Permitting bankruptcy modification is unlikely to result in higher mortgage costs or lower mortgage credit availability.

The foreclosure crisis is not about to stop any time soon. Judicially-supervised restructuring of mortgages is the only tool we have left in the box. It's a tool we know can work. It's a tool that can save hundreds of thousands of families their homes and help stabilize communities, housing markets, and the economy. It's time to use it.

Free Falling With A Parachute That May Not Open: Debtor-In-Possession Financing In The Wake Of The Great Recession, Jarrod B. Martin, Kristofor Nelson, Eric Rudenberg, Jonathan Squires

Jarrod B Martin

Debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing is one of the most important building blocks of a Chapter 11 bankruptcy case. The recent economic downturn, however, has frozen the DIP financing market. Absent the financing necessary to reorganize, many companies will be forced to liquidate. Who will fill the void in DIP financing as banks exit the market? This note seeks to explore alternative options—local banks, the government, and private equity or hedge funds—that may fill the vacuum left by the banks, and the risks and rewards associated with DIP financing. As these alternate institutions go forward, the landscape of DIP financing may forever …

Bankruptcy Phobia, David A. Skeel Jr.

All Faculty Scholarship

As the recent economic crisis has unfolded, bankruptcy has offered possible solutions at several key junctures. The first of these solutions, often referred to as mortgage modification, was geared toward homeowners who faced the loss of their homes in the months—now several years—since the start of the subprime crisis On the corporate side, Chapter 11 was an obvious alternative when large nonbank financial institutions like Bear Stearns and AIG stumbled in 2008. But regulators repeatedly balked, and the one exception to the avoidance of bankruptcy at all costs—Lehman Brothers—was anomalous. This aversion to bankruptcy, which seems to pervade all sides …

Demand-Side Gatekeepers In The Market For Home Loans, Edward J. Janger, Susan Block-Lieb

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Cuarto Congreso Nacional De Organismos Públicos Autónomos, Bruno L. Costantini García

Bruno L. Costantini García

Memorias del Cuarto Congreso Nacional de Organismos Públicos Autónomos

"El papel de los Organismos Públicos Autónomos en la Consolidación de la Democracia"

Bankruptcy Or Bailouts?, Kenneth M. Ayotte, David A. Skeel Jr.

All Faculty Scholarship

The usual reaction if one mentions bankruptcy as a mechanism for addressing a financial institution’s default is incredulity. Those who favor the rescue of troubled financial institutions, and even those who prefer that their assets be promptly sold to a healthier institution, treat bankruptcy as anathema. Everyone seems to agree that nothing good can come from bankruptcy. Indeed, the Chapter 11 filing by Lehman Brothers has been singled out by many the primary cause of the severe economic and financial contraction that followed, and proof that bankruptcy is disorderly and ineffective. As a result, ad-hoc rescue lending to avoid bankruptcy …

H.R. 200, The "Helping Families Save Their Homes In Bankruptcy Act Of 2009," And H.R. 225, The "Emergency Homeownership And Equity Protection Act": Hearing Before The H. Comm. On The Judiciary, 111th Cong., Jan. 22, 2009 (Statement Of Associate Professor Adam J. Levitin, Geo. U. L. Center), Adam J. Levitin

Testimony Before Congress

Permitting modification of all mortgages in bankruptcy would create a low-cost, effective, fair, and immediately available method for resolving much of the current foreclosure crisis without imposing costs on taxpayers, creating a moral hazard for borrowers or lenders, or increasing mortgage credit costs or decreasing mortgage credit availability. As the foreclosure crisis deepens, bankruptcy modification presents the best and least invasive method of stabilizing the housing market and is a crucial step in stabilizing financial markets.

A Reappraisal Of Attorneys' Fees In Bankruptcy, Michelle Arnopol Cecil

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Automatic Stays And Administrative Expenses: Rights And Remedies Available To Landlords And Tenants In Bankruptcy Proceedings, Judge John M. Tyson

Campbell Law Review

This Article will address the following issues: (1) the rights acquired by and the consequences of a landlord or tenant filing for bankruptcy; (2) the effect of the automatic stay; (3) lifting the automatic stay and regaining possession by a landlord; (4) rent and administrative expense payments during the pendency of bankruptcy proceedings; and (5) the assumption or rejection of the lease.

Thomas Hardy’S Tess Of The D’Urbervilles, Mubashshir Sarshar

Mubashshir Sarshar

No abstract provided.

Rights Of Arrested Person- Case Analysis, Mubashshir Sarshar

Mubashshir Sarshar

No abstract provided.

Violation Of Right To Way, Right To Access Of Light And Right To Access Of Air And Other Easementary Rights, Mubashshir Sarshar

Mubashshir Sarshar

No abstract provided.

Comparative Study Of The Prinicples Of Contract Formation Of India, China, Usa And France, Mubashshir Sarshar

Mubashshir Sarshar

No abstract provided.

Non Resumption Of Cohabatation As A Fault Ground Of Divorce Under The Hindu Marriage Act, Mubashshir Sarshar

Mubashshir Sarshar

No abstract provided.

“Reforma Do Direito Das Sociedades Comerciais Em Espanha” [Company Law Reform In Spain], Bruno Ferreira

Bruno Ferreira

No abstract provided.

“Tendências Recentes Em Torno Do Direito De Preferência Em Aumentos De Capital” [Recent Tendencies Regarding Rights Of First Refusal In Rights Issues], Bruno Ferreira

Bruno Ferreira

No abstract provided.

Breve Recensão: "Il Nuovo Diritto Societario" [Book Review: "New Italian Company Law"], Bruno Ferreira

Bruno Ferreira

No abstract provided.

“Os Deveres De Cuidado Dos Administradores E Gerentes (Análise Dos Deveres De Cuidado Em Portugal E Nos Estados Unidos Da América Fora Das Situações De Disputa Sobre Ocontrolo Societário)” [The Duties Of Care Of Board Members And Managers (An Analysis Of The Duties Of Care In Portugal And In The United States Of America Outside Of Control Dispute Situations)], Bruno Ferreira

Bruno Ferreira

No abstract provided.

Efficiency Of Takeover Defence Regulations, Joy Dey

Joy Dey

Among the prevalent modes of corporate acquisitions, hostile takeovers is quite common. Although earlier such takeover attempts were seen mainly for small firms, it is now employed for large corporations as well, involving multi-billion dollar deals. Due to the fact that hostile bidders making tender offers seek to by-pass the friendly route of negotiations with the target company’s managers in order to seek control, it has the potential of upsetting the normal functioning of the target corporation at any time. This poses a threat not only to the shareholders of the target, but also the management, and thus the need …

'Collective Action Clauses: Sovereign Bondholders Cornered?', Joy Dey

Joy Dey

A default in its debt obligations compels a sovereign borrower to adopt drastic measures in order to contain a spiralling financial crisis. One of such steps is to restructure a debt which is in default. Every sovereign debt restructuring results in considerable loss to the claims of the bondholders, therefore, equitable measures must be adopted during debt restructuring to ensure that sovereigns do not misuse the restructuring process to their advantage, otherwise termed ‘debtor moral hazard’. However, recent spate of restructurings, especially by Latin American countries, like Argentina, Brazil, Mexico and Uruguay, have seen ingenious use of collective action clauses …

The Failure Of Adversary Process In The Administrative State, Bryan T. Camp

Bryan T Camp

In a series of hearings in 1997 and 1998, Congress heard allegations that the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS” or “Service”) was abusing taxpayers during the process of collecting taxes. The resulting distrust of the tax bureaucracy led Congress to create a special adversary proceeding providing for judicial review of IRS collection decisions. The proceeding is beguilingly titled “Collection Due Process” (and commonly referred to as “CDP”). My study of CDP’s structure, operation, and of 976 court decisions issued through the end of 2006 demonstrates that it has failed to fulfill its promise. Of the over 15 million collection decisions made …

The Case For The Tax Collector, Marie T. Reilly

Journal Articles

This article considers the question: Is a transfer of property via a noncollusive, properly conducted property tax foreclosure process entitled to respect in bankruptcy against the trustee's fraudulent transfer avoiding power? It answers this question in the affirmative. Part II examines the Court's opinion in BFP v. Resolution Trust Corp. and how courts have applied it in fraudulent transfer challenges to tax foreclosure transfers. Most courts have read BFP as requiring a comparison between the conditions under which the tax foreclosure at issue occurs and mortgage foreclosure. If the tax foreclosure process does not require public sale with competitive bidding, …

Bankruptcy Bondage, Margaret Howard

Scholarly Articles

Initially, it might seem an affront to the history of slavery in this country to suggest that similar concerns are raised by an expectation that debtors pay their debts. Nevertheless, certain aspects of the Bankruptcy Code present genuine constitutional difficulties under the Thirteenth Amendment. These difficulties have been recognized for several decades, albeit as a matter of speculation. Now, however, un- der the 2005 Amendments to the Bankruptcy Code, this issue is no longer speculative. Under the 2005 Amendments, an individual debtor may be put into a chapter 11 proceeding involuntarily, and re- quired to make payments under a plan …