Timothy McCollough of Laurel, Montana sued Johnson, Rodenburg and Lauinger ( a debt collection law firm) for violations of the Federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Mr. McCollough was awarded $311,000.00 in damages because of the unlawful acts taken by the debt collectors. Mr. McCullough’s story is not unique. This is a story that is [...]
April 2009
If your employer if in chapter 11 or bankruptcy liquidation under chapter 7, you could lose your health insurance. What can you do to protect yourself? Get the summary plan description and find out what health insurance benefits you had under the plan. Find out if COBRA continuation coverage be offered to terminated employees Find [...]
Your employer’s bankruptcy puts your rights under a pension plan or a 401k retirement plan at risk. You must take steps to protect yourself if your employer is in bankruptcy or chapter 11. Get a current summary plan description of the pension or retirement plan from the plan administrator If you don’t have one, [...]
Student Loans are a necessary evil for most individuals looking to pursue higher education. They were for me, and as I look back, I didn’t have to worry about the economy or a difficult job market after I dealt with the bar exam. Historically, when times get tough, many people go back to school, and [...]
In re Kesler, 2009 WL 650421 (Bky.S.D.Ill. March 9, 2009), held that $29,118.18 in carpenter’s apprentice training costs were non-dischargeable as “educational loans” within the meaning of section 523(a)(8) of the bankruptcy law. The bankruptcy court rejected the debtor’s argument that because no actual monetary loans were ever made to him, his obligation to pay [...]
Bankruptcy deals with secured and unsecured debts. Credit card bills are generally unsecured, unless the card was issued by a specific store with a properly executed security agreement. Debts owed on most credit cards, like Visa or MasterCard, are almost always unsecured. That means they will simply be discharged in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy. And [...]
