Filing a lawsuit against a debtor is not a creditor’s first choice.  A lawsuit usually comes after many months and sometimes years of chasing after a non-paying debtor. Creditors know that even if they file a lawsuit, it can be quickly neutralized with bankruptcy.

When a debtor fails to respond to a creditor lawsuit, the creditor will win a “default judgment” which will give them the power to take …

Tags: Creditor Judgement Lawsuit wage garnishment

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When a debtor files bankruptcy they are required by law to list all creditor claims against them. If a debtor fails to list all creditor claims in bankruptcy, that unlisted debt may not be discharged even if the bankruptcy case is eventually discharged.  Here are some of the claims that a creditor may have against a debtor:

A secured claim.  A secured claim is a debt owed to the creditor which is backed by some property. For example, a car loan is a …

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When a debtor purchases a product with credit, the creditor has a secured interest in the property. What that means is that anything you buy with credit, including furniture, vehicles, jewelry, electronics, computers, clothes and books can be treated as a secured item during bankruptcy.  For example if you purchased a $3,000 laptop using your credit card, the credit card company could technically as for that particular item back, or ask you to …

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… debtors filed for Chapter 7 relief on Aug. 7, 2008, they scheduled the plaintiff as an unsecured creditor. And at the time they did not schedule any claims against the plaintiff.  But when the plaintiff filed a complaint saying that the debt should not be eligible for bankruptcy discharge, the debtors responded by saying that the debt was paid and that the consent judgment was coerced out of them.  The debtors also filed a counterclaim for damages cased by their arrest and incarceration. …

Tags: Bankruptcy Creditor Law

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… mistakes with their filing.  One of the most common bankruptcy mistakes is forgetting to list a creditor on the bankruptcy filing.  Let’s take a look at what happens when you forget to list a creditor on your bankruptcy filing:

#1 – If your bankruptcy has not already been discharged and is still pending, your bankruptcy attorney can amend the filing to add an “unsecured” creditor. This is fairly simply and should not result in any serious problems.

#2 – If your bankruptcy …

Tags: Bankruptcy bankruptcy law Creditor

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… Tree Servicing LLC) the bankruptcy court dismissed two debtors claim that they were harmed by a creditor when the their personal information was included in a proof of claim.

The details of the bankruptcy case:

“The debtors alleged that Green Tree Servic­ing violated state and federal law by including their per­sonal information in a proof of claim and motion for stay relief filed with the bankruptcy court. The court dismissed the debtors’ cause of action under the state’ unfair …

Tags: Bankruptcy bankruptcy law Creditor Law

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… Kirkland), No. 08-2017 (10th Cir. 07/14/09), the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found that a creditor must provide supporting evidence to support their claim or provide an explanation for its failure to do so.

The details of the bankruptcy case:

A Chapter 13 bankruptcy debtor scheduled a credit card debt for $5,004 with an account number ending in 2787. NextBank, N.A./B-Line, LLC filed a claim against the debtor with the same account number for $5,328.19; but failed to include …

Comment by Alvina Lofton: … with paying any creditor is to always keep my receipts …

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You are protected under the Bankruptcy Protection Act if a creditor tries to collect on a discharged debt.

The relief you will have after your bankruptcy is discharged is huge.  Just imagine going from one day not knowing how you are going to pay your bills to the next day having several of your debts wiped clean.  This relief is substantial for most people, but sometimes creditors try to collect on debts that have already been discharged.

If this …

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If you fear that you are falling behind, canceling credit cards before your creditor does sometimes makes sense.

In her book, Bounce Back From Bankruptcy, Paula Langguth Ryan warns of the consequences of letting your credit card company cancel your credit cards before you do.  The reason you want to cancel first is simple.  It will look better on your credit reports if it shows that your account was canceled by you and not by the creditor.

For this reason, if it …

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Often when a debtor has failed to repay a loan or credit card debt, the creditor will attempt to seek a judgment by filing a lawsuit against the debtor.  Once a creditor has won a judgment, they will have the power to collect on that judgment by using aggressive collection tactics such as garnishing wages and seizing the debtor’s bank account.  Usually a non-secured debt is only collectible for 7 years; but once a judgment is won by the non-secured creditor, that …

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In the bankruptcy case of debtor J. Reed, creditor West Texas Truck Center, Inc. was inadvertently left off of Reed’s creditor list.  It was only after the creditor West Texas Truck Center filed a lawsuit against Reed that she added the creditor to her bankruptcy case.  That’s when the creditor filed a motion to deny Reed’s discharge of the debt ($5,197.52).

Initially Reed’s debt was made “non-dischargeable” by the …

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… in the bankruptcy case of Lumb, William B.; In re (Lumb v. Cimenian), (Bankr. 1st Cir. 2009) a creditor may have violated the bankruptcy discharge by pursuing a non-debtor spouse for repayment of a discharged debt.

The details of the case:

The debtor, the defendant and another person formed a partnership that acquired title to real property. The partners decided that the debtor would hold the title in his name alone. The partnership agreement did not say when the property would be …

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