In In re Perez (Zamora v. Perez), BAP No. CC-20-1280, the Ninth Circuit Bankruptcy Appellate Panel (“BAP”) upheld the Bankruptcy Court’s overruling of the Chapter 7 Trustee’s objection to the Debtor’s homestead exemption under Section 522(g) of the Bankruptcy Code...
Bankruptcy Appellate Panel
In Order for the Community Property Presumption to Apply, Courts Must Know When the Property Was First Acquired
In Brace v. Speier (In re Brace), Case No. 17-60032 (November 9, 2020), the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (“Ninth Circuit”) held that the Bankruptcy Appellate Panel’s (“BAP”) and the bankruptcy court's determination that California’s community property...
No Part of Creditor’s Claim Can Be Disputed In Order to File an Involuntary Bankruptcy Petition
In State of Montana Dept. of Revenue v. Blixseth, No. 18-15064, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held that a creditor only has standing to file an involuntary petition against a debtor if the entirety of its debt is not subject to a bona fide dispute. If the amount...
Bankruptcy Courts Can Determine Tax Liability Under Section 505 if it Might Affect the Estate At the Time of Filing
In Bush v. United States of America, No. 16-3244, decided September 20, 2019, the Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit held that the Bankruptcy Court has jurisdiction to determine the amount of tax liability under Section 505 if it could possibly effect the...
Actual Intent to Cause Injury is Not Required Under Bankruptcy Code Section 523(a)(6)
In In re Hamilton, BAP Nos. SC-17-1126 and SC-17-1123, the Ninth Circuit Bankruptcy Appellate Panel ("BAP") considered the intent requirement for non-dischargeability of a debt under Section 523(a)(6). The debtor argued that the Supreme Court case of Kawaauhau v....
Valuation for Cramdown is “Replacement-Value” Not “Foreclosure-Value”
In Sunnyslope Housing Ltd. Partnership, the Ninth Circuit held that for chapter 11 cramdown purposes, the valuation of property need not account for the potential extinguishment of subordinated affordable housing covenants which, if extinguished through foreclosure,...
Ninth Circuit Applies California Supreme Court’s Holding in Carmack v. Reynolds, Holding That Spendthrift Trust Distributions Are Property of the Estate and Confirming the Types of Distributions Which Need to Be Turned Over
On August 16, 2017, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, more than two years after it issued an order certifying a probate question to the California Supreme Court, held that a bankruptcy estate is entitled to the full amount of spendthrift trust distributions due to...
Contingent Interest in Commissions Earned Post-Petition Can Be Bankruptcy Estate Property
In re Anderson, BAP No. ID-16-13156-JuFB, filed on August 11, 2017, the Ninth Circuit Bankruptcy Appellate Panel upheld the Bankruptcy Court's finding that the debtors' contingent real estate commissions were estate property. The debtors were real estate agents. When...
Statutory Tax Lien Can Be Set Aside as Against a Bona Fide Purchaser
In In re Mainline Equipment, Inc., Case No. 15-60069, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held that the County of Los Angeles ("County") could not enforce its tax liens on personal property against a bona fide purchaser when the County had failed to perfect its liens....
Revocation of Bankruptcy Discharge Statute of Limitations Is Not Jurisdictional
In Weil v. Elliott, decided June 14, 2017, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decided the statute of limitations for the filing of an action to revoke a debtor's discharge is not jurisdictional and can be waived if not timely raised as an affirmative defense. The...