Consumer Bankruptcy Journal Spring 2017 | Page 39

CASES IN REVIEW

payments consistent with § 1322 ( b )( 5 )." In re Diggins , 561 B . R . 782 ( Bankr . D . Colo ., Dec . 20 , 2016 ) ( case no . 1:10-bk-40335 ).
Chapter 13 — Modification of confirmed plan : In two cases in which the Chapter 13 debtors prepaid the last five and seven months , respectively , of their plans , which each called for $ 100 monthly payments , the court denied the Chapter 13 trustee ' s motion to modify the debtors ' plans so as to require the debtors to make additional $ 100 monthly payments for the remaining duration of their plan terms . In both of these cases , the court said , a balancing of the benefits accruing to the debtors in getting their confirmed plans completed and behind them , with the relatively small additional payments to creditors , clearly favored the debtors . Accordingly , the debtors ' prepayment of their confirmed plans did not justify a finding of cause to further amend their plans . In re Roehm , 2016 WL 7984346 ( Bankr . S . D . Ill ., Dec . 8 , 2016 ) ( case nos . 4:13-bk-41385 , 4:14-bk-40163 ).
Judicial estoppel — Application under circumstances : The Chapter 13 debtor was not judicially estopped from prosecuting an undisclosed wage-and-hour claim where there was no basis in the record for a finding that the debtor was aware of enough facts to know that she had a legal claim until she retained legal counsel about a month before her bankruptcy case was dismissed , and , more importantly , the bankruptcy court never accepted or relied upon the debtor ' s nondisclosure of the claim . She did not receive a discharge , a favorable ruling , or any other benefit ; rather , her bankruptcy case was dismissed due to her noncompliance with her Chapter 13 plan . Sadlowski v . Michaels Stores , Inc ., --- Fed . Appx . ---- , 2016 WL 7448760 ( 9th Cir ., Dec . 28 , 2016 ) ( case no . 14-56654 ).
Means test — Expenses — Secured debt expense : A secured debt deduction under Code § 707 ( b )( 2 )( A )( iii )( I ) is not subject to a requirement of reasonable necessity . Nor is the deduction , in a Chapter 13 case , subject to a good faith inquiry . In re Colon , 561 B . R . 682 ( Bankr . N . D . Ill ., Dec . 29 , 2016 ) ( case no . 1:16-bk-9951 ).
Property of the estate — Exemptions — Of entireties property under Code § 522 ( b )( 3 )( B ): The Chapter 7 debtor ' s right under Code § 522 ( b )( 3 )( B ) to exempt certain real property owned in a tenancy by the entireties with the debtor ' s non-filing spouse was not extinguished by the postpetition death of the spouse . The rights of sole creditors against property held by the debtor as a tenant by the entireties are fixed as of the petition date , and the Bankruptcy Code does not provide for those rights to expand or contract upon the postpetition death of the non-filing spouse . In re Buckley , 2016 WL 7480233 ( Bankr . D . Md ., Dec . 29 , 2016 ) ( case no . 1:16-bk-17946 ), appeal filed , Bellinger v . Buckley , Case No . 1:17-cv-68 ( D . Md ., filed Jan . 10 , 2017 ).
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National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys Spring 2017 CONSUMER BANKRUPTCY JOURNAL 39