NACBA President Carey Ebert testifies before House Judiciary Subcommittee

Posted: June 29, 2009

NACBA President Carey Ebert testified before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law on June 16, 2009.  The Subcommittee Hearing focused on Bankruptcy Judgeship Needs.   The link to the witness testimony and a video webcast of the hearing can be found at http://judiciary.house.gov/hearings/hear_090616.html.

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NACBA Statement on Obama Foreclosure Plan

Posted: February 18, 2009

NACBA HAILS OBAMA PLAN FOR JUDICIAL MODIFICATIONS OF MORTGAGES, URGES SWIFT HILL ACTION AND INDUSTRY FORECLOSURE FREEZE UNTIL NEW LAW IS IN PLACE

WASHINGTON, D.C.//February 18, 2009///The following statement was issued today on behalf of the 3,500-member National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys (NACBA) by bankruptcy attorney   and NACBA president Carey Ebert of  Fort Worth, TX:

“At a time when an estimated 6,600 American families are losing their homes to foreclosure every day, we welcome the Obama Administration’s support for changes to existing bankruptcy laws that will allow for judicial modification of home mortgages.    The Obama Administration is the latest major player in this national debate to recognize the fact that judicial modification must be part of the solution to today’s worsening home mortgage foreclosure crisis.

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Data Shows "Foreclosure Prevention" Fixes Fail to Work

Posted: December 18, 2008

PRESS RELEASE: Near Half of Homeowners in “Loan Modification” Programs Face  Higher Monthly Payments; Failure of Voluntary Industry Efforts Hikes Pressure  on Incoming Obama Administration, New Congress to Clear Way for Court-Supervised  Modifications.

WASHINGTON, D.C.//December  19, 2008//Much  hyped “foreclosure prevention programs” relying on voluntary loan modifications  are failing to reach a significant number of troubled homeowners and are often  backfiring when they do so, according to newly updated research released today  by the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys (NACBA). The across-the-board failure of these much  ballyhooed “fixes” for the foreclosure crisis are expected to result in the new  President and Congress facing considerable new pressure to clear the way for  court-supervised loan modifications that will prove more beneficial for homeowners.

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John Rao Testifies Before Senate Judiciary Committee

Posted: December 09, 2008

NACBA Member John Rao testified before the full Senate Judiciary Committee on December 4, 2008 at a hearing on "Credit Cards and Bankruptcy: Opportunities for Reform."
A copy of John\'s testimony is available here.
The other witnesses were:
United States Bankruptcy Judge Thomas Small , Eastern District of North Carolina

Professor Robert M. Lawless, University of Illinois

Associate Professor John Chung, Roger Williams University
Click here to access all witness testimony.

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District Court Grants Injunction Protecting NACBA Members from Gag Rule

Posted: 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.

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NACBA Responds to GAO Study Regarding Higher Bankruptcy Costs

Posted: 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).

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EOUST Proposed Rules

Posted: May 01, 2008

The EOUST has published proposed rules relating to the application procedures and criteria for approval of nonprofit budget and credit counseling agencies, as well as new forms for trustee reporting. NACBA joined with Community Legal Services of Philadelphia, the Consumer Federation of America, and the National Consumer Law Center in submitting comments on the proposed credit counseling rules. In addition to the jointly-submitted comments, NACBA submitted supplemental comments on credit counseling and comments on the proposed trustee regulation. The Comments raised numerous problems with the proposed regulations and suggested changes.

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Ed Boltz Testifies Before Congress

Posted: April 02, 2008

On Tuesday, April 1, 2008, the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law held a hearing on H.R. 4044, an amendment to BAPCPA that would exclude National Guard members and Military Reservists from being subjected to the Means Test while on active duty and for 6 months thereafter.

This is a bipartisan bill, sponsored by Reps. Janice Schakowsky (D-IL) and Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA). The purpose of the bill is to address the is the persistence of a the income that a military debtor may have received while on active duty in that debtor\'s Current Monthly Income, when the debtor may not actually have such income currently.

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Henry Sommer testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee

Posted: December 06, 2007

NACBA President Henry Sommer testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, December 5th in support of S. 2136, the "Helping Families Save Their Homes Act," introduced earlier this year by Senator Richard Durbin (D, IL).   Other witnesses at the hearing included economist Mark Zandi, Chief Economist for Moody\'s Economy.com, Inc., Ms. Nettie McGee, a Chicago homeowner who would be helped by the legislation, Illinois Bankruptcy Judge Jacqueline Cox, Alabama Bankruptcy Judge Thomas Bennett, ABI Resident Scholar Mark Scarberry, and Drexel University professor Joseph Mason.   NACBA has played a key role in advising Senator Durbin\'s staff on the substance of the bill, which would amend the bankruptcy laws to allow for the modification of a home mortgage in Chapter 13.  NACBA has been joined in its efforts to help families save their homes from foreclosure by the National Consumer Law Center, the Consumer Federation of America and the Center for Responsible Lending.  A number of other organizations, including AARP, the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, AFL-CIO, and the National Women\'s Law Center, also are supporting the legislation.  

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NACBA Member Testifies in Congress

Posted: October 03, 2007

On Tuesday, October 2nd, the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law held a hearing on the "United States Trustee Program: Watchdog or Attack Dog??  This hearing was inspired, in part, by the meetings that NACBA members had with their Members of Congress back in February where concerns were raised about the focus and actions of U.S. Trustees in jurisdictions around the country. 
Among the witnesses who testified was NACBA member Paul Uyehara of Philadelphia, PA, who represented the Community Legal Services Language Access Project and NACBA a the hearing.  Read Paul\'s testimony here and his report here.

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President Henry Sommer Testifies Before Congress

Posted: May 01, 2007

On Tuesday, May 1st, NACBA President Henry Sommer testified before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Lawrnon “The Second Anniversary of the Enactment of the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act.” Also testifying about her experiences was a client of NACBA member Wayne Sigmon.  Other witnesses included a representative of the Government Accountability Office (GAO), who provided an overview of the agency’s recent report on credit counseling under the 2005 bankruptcy amendments (“Bankruptcy Reform: Value of Credit Counseling Requirement Is Not Clear.” GAO-07-203, April 6. And Steve Bartlett represented the Financial Services Roundtable.

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National Association Of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys Names Barbara Andelman Executive Director

Posted: December 04, 2006

The National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys (NACBA) announced that Barbara Andelman will serve as its new Executive Director.

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NACBA Survey: Bankruptcy Filings On The Rise Again, Likely To Return To Pre-2005 Law Levels During Next Year

Posted: October 04, 2006

NACBA Surveys 700 U.S. Bankruptcy Attorneys on Eve of October 17, 2006 Anniversary of Controversial Law Change; Over Nine Out of 10 Say Law Has "Simply Increased the Costs of Bankruptcy," With No Benefits.

To view the full survey results, click here.

SURVEY:  BANKRUPTCY FILINGS ON THE RISE AGAIN, LIKELY TO RETURN TO PRE-2005 LAW LEVELS DURING NEXT YEAR
NACBA Surveys 700 U.S. Bankruptcy Attorneys on Eve of October 17, 2006 Anniversary of Controversial Law Change; Over Nine Out of 10 Say Law Has "Simply Increased the Costs of Bankruptcy," With No Benefits.

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Court: Credit Card Companies Put Ahead Of Church Tithing By Controversial 2005 Bankruptcy Reform Law

Posted: September 07, 2006

WASHINGTON, D.C.//September 7, 2006////Thou shalt have no gods before me ... except for MasterCard, Visa and American Express.
That\'s the way the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of New York is reluctantly interpreting the controversial U.S. bankruptcy reform law that went into effect last October. The court says those going through bankruptcy may not tithe to their church or make other charitable donations … until after they have paid off credit card companies and other creditors. Before the new law went into effect, bankruptcy court judges were required to permit debtors to tithe a portion of their income on a regular basis.

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