From: Goose Creek, South Carolina

NACBA’s February 2010 Member of the Month, John R. Cantrell, Jr, is the owner of Cantrell Law Firm PC, in Goose Creek, SC.   John started practicing bankruptcy law in 1989.  Since about 1995, he has primarily practiced consumer debtor bankruptcy law. In 2002, he joined the South Carolina Bankruptcy Law Association, which is the voluntary state bankruptcy trade group for all bankruptcy lawyers in South Carolina.  Then in 2006, he joined NACBA.  He was admitted to 4th Circuit Court of Appeals in August 2007. 

John has been involved in many significant cases, including: In Re Ballard, C/A No. 07-03203 (Bankr. D.S.C. 9-13-07), the first case in the state to approve the use of 524(i) language in a Chapter 13 plan and also allow cable TV as a telecommunications expense on B22C for an above  median income debtor; In Re Hall, C/A No. 04-09478 (Bankr. D.S.C. 11-21-07), defeated a Chapter 13 motion for relief from stay by challenging local rule non-compliance by creditor and obtained denial of creditor attorney fees; In Re Woodberry, 383 B.R. 373 (Bankr. D.S.C. 2008), the first case in the state to challenge standing of servicer to bring a motion for relief from stay for a securitized trust; the creditor moved for a protective order for the subservicing trust agreement as confidential and a trade secret and the court denied the protective order since documents were publicly filed with the SEC and on the Internet; and In Re Fowler, A/P No. 08-80037 (Bankr. D.S.C. 10-15-08), the first case in South Carolina to raise the issue of debtor damages for a creditor improperly disclosing debtor’s SSN in documents filed with the bankruptcy court; the case was settled for $7,500.00 actual damages to debtor.

He is a frequent speaker on bankruptcy matters, including his participation as moderator of the Profitably Combating Privacy and Discharge Violations session at NACBA’s 17th Annual Convention (Chicago 2009) and as a panelist on the Chapter 7 vs. 13 panel debates at NACBA’s 16th Annual Convention (Hollywood, 2008), the South Carolina Legal Services Bankruptcy Roadshow, Motion for Relief from Stay Defense at the National Association of Consumer Advocates mortgage litigation seminar (2008).

John first joined NACBA in 2006 in order to get a discounted rate to attend the New Orleans annual convention that year, which came shortly after the enactment of BAPCPA.  Although John has found NACBA’s conventions helpful to his practice, he notes that his participation in the NACBA BK listserv has been even more valuable: “If a NACBA member were to ask me what they should do in order to hone their bankruptcy skills, I would suggest that the first thing would be to join the BK listserv and read as many of the messages as you can every day.” 

John credits his participation in fellow NACBA Member Max Gardner’s bootcamps with enabling him to hone his general skills even further with specialized knowledge.  He is especially pleased to cite a transcript of a hearing from a stay relief proceeding, in which he used a lengthy defense, based on the loan being part of a securitized trust, learned at the bootcamp.  Regarding his objection, the creditor attorney is quoted in the transcript of the hearing as saying: “There was an objection filed by Mr. Cantrell. It was not an ordinary objection. I get hundreds and hundreds of objections in this district, and I have never seen one like the one I got from Mr. Cantrell. It caused me great alarm.” John loves causing creditor attorneys ‘great alarm:’ “My participation in NACBA has enhanced my ability to do that successfully.  I also love raising issues of first impression in our state and have had the opportunity to do that several times since joining NACBA.”

John is fluent in American Sign Language and is a volunteer interpreter for the deaf in his church.  For hobbies, he loves to travel, and is a certified scuba diver. John is also a newlywed (see his profile photo!), having just gotten married August 14, 2009, in Florida. John wanted to have each area of his life represented in the wedding, so he had NACBA member, Carmen Dellutri from Fort Myers, as one of the groomsmen in his wedding!  John is still on cloud nine: “She was truly worth waiting for, and I look forward to introducing her to everyone in San Francisco in May.”