Monthly Archives: December 2010
Lame Duck Governor Gives New Yorker Debtors a Going-Away Present – An Expansion of Bankruptcy Exemptions
On Christmas Eve, without fanfare, Governor David A. Paterson finally signed into law s. 7034-A / A08735A, which will increase the amount of bankruptcy exemptions available to debtors in the State of New York. Additionally, debtors will be able to opt out of the State exemptions and choose the exemptions under Federal law instead. Such flexibility will be welcomed among New York State bankruptcy attorneys, and all debtor advocates should agree that this expansion is a long time in coming. The following are some of the critical changes: THE HOMESTEAD EXEMPTION, under CPLR s. 5206, will rise (1) from $50,000 […]
Gov. Paterson Signs New Exemptions into Law Despite Mayor Bloomberg’s Objection
Gov. Paterson ignored Mayor Bloomberg‘s pleas on Thursday and signed into law new bankruptcy rules – a measure Hizzoner deemed deadly. “This is a bill that will kill people,” Bloomberg fumed this summer after the Daily News revealed the bankruptcy protection bill prevents the city from towing the cars of parking ticket scofflaws. “If nobody follows the parking restrictions because they know their car’s not going to get towed away, they’ll start parking in front of fire hydrants,” Bloomberg warned. Supporters of the bill – designed to protect people in financial distress from losing modest homes, cars, wedding rings and […]
Bank of America Restarts Some Foreclosures
Bank of America Corp. said it restarted about 16,000 foreclosure cases across the U.S. on Monday, but it may be weeks before it is known whether the bank’s submission of new documents will pass muster with local judges. The bank instructed its foreclosure attorneys this week to prepare new affidavits in 7,800 cases where court approval is required to foreclose on a home, out of a total of 102,000 frozen by the bank amid documentation concerns. In states where no court approval is required, attorneys were asked to lift the hold on 8,000 delayed foreclosure sales out of 30,000. The […]
Opening Bankruptcy Court to the States
Imagine a time a year or two into the future. A large American state has reached the limit of its ability to raise taxes and cut spending. It then is unable to roll over its debt. It defaults. Imagine also that a hedge fund has bought a good deal of that debt in the distressed debt markets. It puts all that debt in a newly formed limited liability company, or L.L.C., and when the state in question defaults on the debt, the L.L.C. files a Chapter 11 petition. And then the debtor (the L.L.C.) seeks to enforce that debt, as […]
U.S. Home Values May Drop by $1.7 Trillion This Year: Zillow
U.S. home values are poised to drop by more than $1.7 trillion this year amid rising foreclosures and the expiration of homebuyer tax credits, said Zillow Inc., a closely held provider of home price data. This year’s estimated decline, more than the $1.05 trillion drop in 2009, brings the loss since the June 2006 home-price peak to $9 trillion, the Seattle-based company said today in a statement. The drop in home values pushed more buyers underwater, meaning they owe more on their mortgages than their homes are worth, Zillow said. The percentage of homeowners with so-called negative equity reached 23.2 […]
