GCK On Law
Courts Split as to whether the Automatic Stay prevents removal of State Court Actions
Removal of claims related to bankruptcy cases is governed by 28 U.S.C. §1452, which provides, in relevant part: A party may remove any claim or cause of action in a civil action * * * to the district court for the district where such civil action is pending, if such...
Conflict in interpreting Dewnsup and Nobelman and stripping down/stripping off consensual liens
In Dewnsup v. Timm, 502 U.S. 410, (1992), the Supreme Court addressed the question of whether Chapter 7 debtors could strip down a consensual lien against their real property. In that case, the property was encumbered by a first deed of trust securing payment of...
Courts Disagree Whether Unsecured Creditors can recover Post Petition Attorneys’ Fees
Courts have disagreed on the issue of whether an unsecured creditor can recover fees incurred post-petition. Compare, In re SNTL Corp., 380 B.R. 204 (9th Cir. BAP 2007) (unsecured creditor was entitled to include contract based attorney’s fees incurred post-petition...
Bankruptcy Courts Disagree on Limits to Debtors Amending Schedules Upon Reopening a Case
Bankruptcy Rule 1009(a) provides that schedules “may be amended by the debtor as a matter of course at any time before the case is closed.” This facially simple provision, however, has led to a split among the courts as to whether a debtor has an automatic right to...
2019 Illinois Tax Amnesty Program for Illinois Income Tax, Sales and Use Tax, Employment Tax, and Franchise Tax
On June 5, 2019, Governor J.B. Pritzker enacted legislation that provides Illinois taxpayers an opportunity to comply with previous tax obligations. The legislation establishes an amnesty program for “any tax” imposed by the State of Illinois and collected by IDOR...