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Posts published by “Alan C. Hochheiser”

Alan Hochheiser is a leading practitioner in the areas of creditors’ rights and bankruptcy law. He advises and represents businesses, regional and national banks, credit unions, equipment lessors and other lenders, as well as secured and unsecured creditors. Among his accomplishments, he has successfully resolved non-dischargeable claims based upon fraud conversion and breach of fiduciary issues and has successfully handled the assumption of leases in the bankruptcy of a major airline. Al has been named to Thomson Reuters’ list of Ohio Super Lawyers, ALM’s list of Cleveland’s Top-Rated Lawyers and is peer-rated AV Preeminent by Martindale-Hubbell, the worldwide guide to lawyers. He currently chairs the ABA Business Law Section Consumer Bankruptcy Committee. For more information, see https://mauricewutscher.com/attorneys/alan-c-hochheiser/

Economy, Pandemic Drove Up Bankruptcy Filings in 2023 With No Abatement Expected This Year

A look back at bankruptcy trends and litigation in 2023 reveals a spike in bankruptcy filings driven by economic factors and fallout from the pandemic while in upper courts several interesting cases were decided involving proofs of claim, stay violations, and discharge issues.

Consumer Bankruptcy in the Age of COVID-19

The last year and a half was a time to be remembered in bankruptcy law. It started with an eye on increasing the ability of small businesses to utilize the Chapter 11 process in a more efficient and less expensive way, which led to a record number of commercial filings, a reduction in consumer filings, and a test of the bankruptcy system. What will the second half of 2021 look like?

2019 Bankruptcy Year in Review: What We Have Seen and What to Expect in 2020

The year 2020 offers to be an interesting one for bankruptcy litigation. With several issues before the Supreme Court, at least one will have a material effect on financial services. In addition, higher credit costs will spur an increase in the number of bankruptcy filings, both on the consumer and commercial side. With the California Consumer Privacy Act taking effect on Jan. 1, it will not be long before we see issues arising from it percolating into bankruptcy cases. 

Should ‘Possible’ Changes in a Debtor’s Financial Condition Allow Modification of a Confirmed Chapter 13 Plan?

The United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Michigan recently allowed a debtor to modify his confirmed Chapter 13 plan based upon a mistake by the debtor’s counsel. The result of the modification was to reduce the plan to 36 months from 60 and reduce the repayment to unsecured creditors by 80 percent. A copy of In re Luman is available at: Link to Opinion. The debtor identified having total unsecured debt of $84,543.08 and mistakenly proposed a plan to pay these unsecured creditors $5,000 over 60 months. However, the Bankruptcy Code would have required a 36-month plan…