From: Fayetteville, North Carolina

NACBA’s April 2009 Member of the Month, Joseph (“Jody”) A. Bledsoe, III , has been an associate with the Law Offices of John T. Orcutt, P.C. Since November of 1996. Jody primarily handles consumer bankruptcy cases (chapters 7 and 13), but he also pursues consumer rights cases (fair debt collection, etc.) within the context of bankruptcy filings, and has plans to soon begin pursuing consumer rights claims in state court, as well. Jody manages John's Fayetteville, NC office, but occasionally covers court and handles matters coming out of the Raleigh and Wilson offices. The Fayetteville office averages about 60-70 case filings per month.

Jody has been involved in several significant cases, including In re Alexander, 344 B.R. 742 (Bankr. E.D.N.C. 2006), which he initiated, briefed and argued in the bankruptcy court. John Orcutt was also involved in the oral argument. In Alexander, the court found that "projected disposable income" is determined by calculating "disposable income" according to the statute and then "projecting" that income into the future (B22C controls), and that the applicable commitment period does not come into play in a case where there is no DMI according to the statutory formula. Jody is gratified to know that portions of his brief in that case have been used by debtors' attorneys across the country in arguing this issue. He also argued the Musselman case in bankruptcy court, and briefed and argued that case on appeal to the District Court. (Musselman v. eCast Settlment Corp., 384 B.R. 801 (E.D.N.C. 2008)). In Musselman, the court affirmed the Alexander findings regarding the calculation of "projected disposable income" and regarding the applicable commitment period. The district court then went further and held that the IRS' Local Expense standards provide the debtor with fixed allowances for purposes of determining disposable income, and that above-median debtors are entitled to deduct future secured payments from "current monthly income," irrespective of the type of collateral. (In Musselman, the debtor deducted future payments for a travel camper). Jody also argued the Ingram case in the EDNC Bankruptcy Court (Case No. 06-02714-8-RDD). In that case, the court allowed the debtor to not file a Schedule I, which it found triggered the applicable of 101(10A)(A)(ii), which in turn allowed the court to set an alternative six-month period for determining current monthly income. Jody uses this mechanism anytime a debtor has projected disposable income based on CMI calculated in the normal way, but where the debtor has suffered a precipitous loss of income immediately before filing so that he or she actually has much less or no disposable income.

Jody received his B.A. in Political Science from North Carolina State University (cum laude) in 1989, and graduated from UNC Chapel Hill law school in 1992. He is especially appreciative of his constitutional law professor Daniel Pollitt, whose class had a profound impact on him.

Early in Jody’s career, he also represented creditors. He recalls that he was asked by the manager of a local finance company to go to a chapter 7 341, and demand that the debtor reaffirm a secured debt on which he was behind, or else he wanted Jody to bring him "his collateral." "What's your collateral?" Jody asked. "Dentures," the client replied. “I advised my client about the concept of redemption, and told him I didn't think used teeth had much resale value. When he still persisted, I took a dollar out of my wallet and gave it to him, and told him to quit while he was ahead. I then sent him a bill for $100 my consultation fee, which he paid!”

Jody has been a member of NACBA since 1997, and has attended all but 2 or 3 conventions since. Jody’s NACBA membership has been very important to him: “The conventions and listservs have been an invaluable resource to me, keeping me prepared and fully knowledgeable on the issues. Equally important, I think, are my NACBA associations. I want to contribute to the number of good decisions that NACBA members have obtained, and not just stand on the sidelines and let someone else do all of the work. I find my fellow NACBA colleagues to be very motivating.”

In May, Jody and his wife will be married 20 years. They have a daughter, 15, and a son, 13.

Jody says: “Being chosen member of the month is a tremendous honor, but it is one I could not have achieved without the help and support of my firm, and especially of John Orcutt. John has always allowed me to chase whatever rabbits I wanted, and his support over the years has made me a much better attorney and person. I also should acknowledge my aunt, Carol Morrison, who hired me fresh out of law school, gave me my bankruptcy "basics" and taught me how to be a lawyer.”