Notable Case Updates
- In re Mirabal (23-10862, 2024 BL 438307 (Bankr. D.N.M. 2, 2024)
- A post-petition judgment lien against the Debtor’s home was declared nondischargeable under Section 523(a)(2)(fraud). The Debtor moved to avoid the liens under 11 U.S.C. § 522(f)
- Judge Collins went on to hold that “§ 522(f) does not preclude avoidance of a lien recorded against a debtor’s homestead after their bankruptcy was filed, at least until the underlying bankruptcy case is closed.” Since the case before him had not been closed, he avoided the Nondischargeable Judgment Lien and said that the “Debtor’s homestead exemption protects her equity in the Property against [the creditor’s] post-Petition Date Nondischargeable Lien.”
- District Case Filings – Cases in the Southern District of Ohio continue to rise and we are 2% higher in the filing trend at the same time last year (https://www.ohsb.uscourts.gov/sites/ohsb/files/case-filing-stats/January%202025%20Filings.pdf)
- National Updates:
- January Chapter 11 Commercial Filings Increase 16 Percent Over Last Year
- Overall commercial bankruptcy filings rose 11 percent in January 2025, with the 2,358 filings ticking up from the 2,126 filings in January 2024
- Small business filings, captured as subchapter V elections within chapter 11, increased 7 percent to 171 in January 2025, up slightly from 160 in January 2024
- Total bankruptcy filings increased 13 percent to 41,492 in January 2025 from the 36,629 filings recorded in January 2024
- Individual bankruptcy filings also increased 13 percent in January to 39,134, up from the January 2024 individual filing total of 34,503
- Consumer Finance Protection Bureau (CFPB)
- This watchdog organization has been shut down and all employees have been ordered to cease most work (https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-consumer-financial-protection-bureau-what-is-the-cfpb-refunds/)
