National Association of
Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys NACBA is the only national organization dedicated to
serving the needs of consumer bankruptcy attorneys and protecting the
rights of consumer debtors in bankruptcy. Formed in 1992,
NACBA now has more than 3000 members located in all 50 states
and Puerto Rico. NACBA has also played a critical role in
many important court cases affecting the rights of consumer bankruptcy
debtors by filing amicus briefs in U.S. Courts of Appeal and the
Supreme Court, with many of those case decisions influenced by NACBA's
participation. In addition, NACBA provides the most comprehensive
educational programs in the country for consumer bankruptcy attorneys
with its annual conventions and workshops.
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NACBA's 17th Annual Convention: May 29-31, 2009, Chicago, IL
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Senate Judiciary Committee Passes S. 3197Posted: September 11, 2008 Before adjourning, both the House and Senate approved with unanimous support S. 3197, the "National Guard and Reservists Debt Relief Act." The bill now goes to the President for his signature. The legislation would exempt certain qualifying reserve component members of the Armed Services and National Guard members form the means test's presumption of abuse if a petition is filed within 540 days after they complete active duty. The bill responds to the fact that some who serve in the National Guard and the Reserves encounter financial difficulties and that they should not be subject to the additional proof requirements of the means test. >> Read More
District Court Grants Injunction Protecting NACBA Members from Gag RulePosted: September 09, 2008 In a partial victory for NACBA, the U.S. District Court in Connecticut has granted a preliminary injunction protecting NACBA members from enforcement of Bankruptcy Code section 526(a)(4), the "gag rule" preventing attorneys from counseling clients about incurring debts prior to filing bankruptcy cases. The court, like all others that have decided the issue, found the provision to be unconstitutional. Unfortunately, the court ruled against NACBA on whether attorneys are debt relief agencies, and on the "disclosure", contract, and advertising provisions applying to debt relief agencies. (The court did find the advertising provisions unconstitutional with respect to attorneys who do not represent debtors.) NACBA will be appealing these issues to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, where an amicus brief has already been filed in another case on the first issue. >> Read More
NACBA Responds to GAO Study Regarding Higher Bankruptcy CostsPosted: July 30, 2008 New GAO Study Confirms Law Change Imposed Needlessly Higher Costs for Bankruptcy at the Very Point That Americans Need It Most
So-Called "Bankruptcy Reform? Law Raised Overall Costs to Consumers by 60 Percent, While Failing to Achieve Stated Objectives. WASHINGTON, D.C.//July 30, 2008//A new U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) report issued this week shows that the 2005 federal law change undermining bankruptcy law protections for Americans increased by $556 (about 60 percent) the costs of a Chapter 7 filing, according to the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys (NACBA). >> Read More
Katherine Porter Publishes ArticlePosted: September 02, 2008 Katherine Porter, a law professor at the University of Iowa and frequent speaker at NACBA programs, recently published an article about the credit solicitations that debtors receive after bankruptcy. Bankrupt Profits: The Credit Industry's Business Model for Postbankruptcy Lending reports Consumer Bankruptcy Project data that show that chapter 7 debtors are inundated with offers for both secured and unsecured credit after bankruptcy. The article was just published in volume 93 of the Iowa Law Review. It may be downloaded at no charge at http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1004276. >> Read More
Paul Uyehara testified on behalf of NACBAPosted: October 03, 2007 On October 2, NACBA member Paul Uyehara testified on behalf of NACBA atrnthe House Judiciary Subcommittee on Administrative and Commercial Law hearing on "The United States Trustee Program: Watch Dog or Attack Dog?? Here's Paul's report: " My testimony, much of which was prepared by NACBA president Henry Sommer, explained NACBA's criticisms of the UST program policies and practicesrn- the apparent anti-debtor bias, burdensome document requests, complaints about insignificant or non-existent defects in filings, UST attendance at 341 meetings together with insignificant, irrelevant or just plain nasty questioning of debtors, failure to consider costs and benefits of demands made of debtors, overbearing auditors, erroneous filing of material misstatement notices, and overly aggressive litigation practices. In addition, I highlighted EOUST's ongoing failure to provide interpreters for limited English proficient debtors at meetings of creditors and their half hearted attempts to have the bankruptcy counseling agencies be accessible to these debtors. >> Read More - 1 file
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| Ninth Circuit Supports NACBA Position In Kagenveama Posted: July 31, 2008 Consumer debtors, ably represented by NACBA member Andrew Nemeth (Phoenix, AZ), scored an important victory in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. In Maney v. Kagenveama, the appellate court held that under the plain language of section 1325(b) disposable income for over median income debtors is determined by the section 707(b) formula incorporated in section 1325(b)(3). The court rejected the trustees' arguments that disposable income should be determined by Schedules I and J, that the formula is a "starting point", and that it is a "forward looking concept." >> Read More
BAPCPA Battles Move to the Circuit Courts of Appeals Posted: February 20, 2008 The disputes over several BAPCPA issues are finally starting to reach the Courts of Appeals. NACBA continues to support debtors on the issue of whether the car ownership expense may be taken even if the debtor has no loan or lease payment on the vehicle. Unfortunately, the Eighth Circuit Bankruptcy Appellate Panel recently held that debtors were not entitled to the deduction in the case of In re Wilson. However, NACBA has filed an amicus brief in the Ninth Circuit case of Ransom v. MBNA, America Bank, N.A., (No 08-15066) and in February filed a brief in the Seventh Circuit case of Ross-Tousey v. Neary (No. 07-2503). >> Read More
NACBA Files Twin Briefs In Full Surrender CasesPosted: January 31, 2008 As circuit courts around the country consider the issue of whether a debtor may surrender a 910-car in satisfaction of a creditor's "allowed secured claim", NACBA has weighed in with twin briefs filed in the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals and the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. The briefs lay out the claims process in bankruptcy, discuss the effect of the hanging paragraph, and argue that debtors should be able to surrender 910-cars in full satisfaction of creditors’ “allowed secured claims.” The two cases are In re Meadows, No. 07- 1968 (4th Cir.) and In re Barrett, No. 07-14796 (11th Cir.). >> Read More - 2 files
NACBA Files Amicus Brief in 9th Circuit Debt Relief Agency CasePosted: January 23, 2008 NACBA has filed an amicus brief in Olsen v. Mukasey, the 9th Circuit appeal of a district court decision holding section 526(a)(4)'s prohibition of legal advice to be unconstitutional. The brief argues that attorneys are not debt relief agencies, that the district court was correct in holding section 526(a)(4) unconstitutional, and that the district court erred in upholding the advertising requirements of the debt relief agency provisions. >> Read More - 1 file
NACBA Weighs In on ACP in the Eighth CircuitPosted: January 09, 2008 NACBA has filed an amicus brief in the case of In re Frederickson pending in the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals. In a split decision, the Bankruptcy Appellate Panel held that above-median debtors with disposable income of zero or less were not required to propose a 60-month plan. NACBA's brief agrees with the majority and argues that were debtors have no disposable income, the applicable commitment period is irrelevant. >> Read More - 1 file
Law Professors File Amicus In PeasleePosted: December 19, 2007 A number of law professors have filed an amicus brief in support of the trustee and debtors in Peaslee. The brief provides some very useful historical information and makes a strong argument that negative equity is not purchase money. >> Read More - 1 file
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