By Posted in News and CommentsAccording to an article in Reuters, business bankruptcy cases rose more than 40% over the same period in 2008. There were 7,514 commercial bankruptcy filings for the month, compared with just 5,354 during the same month a year ago, according to Automated Access to Court Electronic Records (AACER), a database of U.S. bankruptcy statistics used… Continue Reading
By Posted in News and CommentsMy friend Luanne Bonnie has opened a solo practice in downtown Decatur, Georgia, specializing in wills, trusts, estates, probate and elder care. The office will serve the Decatur and metro- Atlanta areas. Luanne was formerly a partner in a large Southeast firm. You can find out more information at her website, www.bonnielaw.com. Luanne has plans… Continue Reading
By Posted in News and CommentsAccording to the findings of the American Journal of Medicine, over 60% of consumer bankruptcy cases filed in 2007 were due to medical bills. You can read the report by clicking here. A summary of the results — Using a conservative definition, 62.1% of all bankruptcies in 2007 were medical; 92% of these medical debtors… Continue Reading
By Posted in News and CommentsWhile only indirectly related to Georgia or bankruptcy, it appears another county school system is going down the same road as Clayton County, Georgia. The Burke County Board of Education in neighboring North Carolina has received a notice from Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Council on Accreditation and School Improvement (SACS CASI) (based in… Continue Reading
By Posted in News and CommentsThe Atlanta Turnaround Management Association presents… A Series of Interdisciplinary Educational Programs For Lenders, Attorneys, Turnaround Consultants, Investment Bankers and other Professionals When: June 3, 9, 16 and 23, 2009, from 6:00 to 8:15 p.m. (including refreshment and networking break) WHERE: Grand Hyatt Atlanta in Buckhead 3300 Peachtree Road NE, Atlanta, Georgia, USA30305… Continue Reading
By Posted in News and CommentsBankruptcy Seminar and Pollard Award Luncheon honoring Harry W. Pettigrew May 21, 2009 Register now for the annual Spring Bankruptcy Seminar, followed by the Section’s annual year-end luncheon and the presentation of the David Pollard Award to Harry W. Pettigrew Pettigrew & Associates, P.C. to be presented by J. Michael Lamberth, Lamberth, Cifelli, Stokes, Ellis… Continue Reading
By Posted in News and CommentsOmni National Bank was seized by the FDIC today, becoming the tenth Georgia bank failure in the last few months. Click here for NASDAQ announcement. Update – The FDIC has issued its release (click here). SunTrust will receive the insured deposits. Omni National Bank, Atlanta, Georgia, was closed today by the Office of the Comptroller of… Continue Reading
By Posted in News and CommentsFirstCity Bank in Stockbridge was closed by the FDIC today. It is the ninth Georgia bank closed in the last seven months. Unlike the previous closings, the FDIC did not find a buyer for the Bank. More information is available at the FDIC website. From the Atlanta Business Chronicle: Stockbridge-based FirstCity Bank, which survived two World… Continue Reading
By Posted in News and CommentsIf you are member of the Atlanta Bar Association, you received an email about the upcoming elections (click here for the elections information page). I am a candidate this year for the Members at Large Board of the Atlanta Bar Bankruptcy Section. My reasons for running in the election are quite simple – get… Continue Reading
By Posted in News and CommentsThe Atlanta Journal has an article about the record number of foreclosures scheduled for April in Georgia. The foreclosure problem in metro Atlanta appears to be worsening. More than 10,000 lender-owned properties are scheduled to be sold on courthouse steps next month, according to EquityDepot.net, which tracks foreclosures. The 10,138 figure for 13 counties shatters… Continue Reading
By Posted in Miscellaneous Cases,News and CommentsSix Flags Theme Parks, which includes Six Flags Over Georgia, Six Flags White Water, and American Adventures parks in the Atlanta area, is experience significant financial difficulties and there is speculation that a Chapter 11 Bankruptcy filing might be in its future. From the Associated Press: Shares of Six Flags Inc. fell in premarket trading… Continue Reading
By Posted in News and Comments From the Wall Street Journal Bankruptcy Beat – The House Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law is holding a hearing this afternoon on the collapse of Circuit City and how recent changes to the Bankruptcy Code may be hurting the ability of companies to restructure under court protection. Several of the bankruptcy experts… Continue Reading
By Posted in News and CommentsFreedom Bank of Georgia, based in Commerce, became the seventh Georgia bank failure in the last seven months. Its deposit accounts have been transferred to Northeast Georgia Bank. From the FDIC Notice: On March 6, 2009, Freedom Bank of Georgia, Commerce, GA was closed by the Georgia Department of Banking and Finance. Subsequently, the Federal Deposit… Continue Reading
By Posted in Consumer Bankruptcy Guide,News and CommentsThe new Means Test figures were recently released for cases filed on or after November 1, 2012. The Georgia figures are below, and you can see the entire chart on the U.S. Trustee’s website. Median Income For Georgia Household Size New Median (11/1/2010) 1 $40,378 2 $50,901 … Continue Reading
By Posted in News and CommentsMoody’s has disclosed a list of companies that have a high probability of filing Chapter 11 petitions in 2009. I did not find a direct link to Moody’s, but the list is described in this link. Rite Aid. (Ticker symbol: RAD; about 100,000 employees; 1-year stock-price decline: 92%). This drugstore chain tried to boost its… Continue Reading
By Posted in News and CommentsSee the Senate Press Release: February 27, 2009 The Honorable Lee H. Rosenthal Chair, Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure Judicial Conference of the United States Washington, D.C. 20544 Dear Judge Rosenthal: I am writing to inquire if the Court is complying with two key provisions of the E-Government Act of 2002 (P.L. 107-347)… Continue Reading
By Posted in News and CommentsThis is not Bankruptcy related, but hopefully it will be a good tip for lawyers who try to electronically redact or remove text from documents. For lawyers in states or districts with electronic filing (which includes virtually all Bankruptcy lawyers in Georgia), it is important to know how to properly redact a document in .pdf… Continue Reading
By Posted in News and CommentsThe Emory Law School Bankruptcy Developments Journal will host its Sixth Annual Symposium on March 5, 2009. Click here for more information (though this page is missing the actual date of the seminar) and to register online. The agenda is – 8:50 am – 9:20 am Presentation The Recession and Economic Bailout Speaker: … Continue Reading
By Posted in News and CommentsThe National Business Institute is sponsoring a seminar on May 13, 2009 on Bankruptcy Law and Litigation (click here for information). I will be speaking on the exciting topic of automatic stay litigation. Other topics and speakers are: GETTING STARTED WITH YOUR BANKRUPTCY CASE 9:00 – 10:00, Paul Burke O’Hearn INTRODUCTION TO THE BANKRUPTCY CODE AND… Continue Reading
By Posted in News and CommentsMcDonough-based FirstBank Financial Services was seized by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. today, and the bank was taken over by Regions Bank. From the Atlanta Business Chronicle: Walt Moeling, Bryan Cave Powell Goldstein LLP banking attorney and counsel for the bank, said the failure was due to a combination of market forces and over-concentration in… Continue Reading
By Posted in News and CommentsFor those of you who are interested in what the Bible has to say about personal finances, North Point Community Church and Buckhead Church , and Pastor Andy Stanley, have a current series entitled Balanced. They have also created a website for more information. You can access this website and watch the messages online by… Continue Reading
By Posted in News and CommentsThe Wall Street Journal has launched the Bankruptcy Beat, which you can access by clicking here. This Blog joins other related blogs by the Journal, including the WSJ Law Blog, The Wallet, a personal finance blog, and Deal Journal. In a recent post, the Bankruptcy Beat discusses the Chapter 7 case of Georgia School Superintendent Kathy… Continue Reading
By Posted in News and CommentsThe options for phones and Blackberries has expanded for lawyers in the Northern District. The ban on camera phones has been lifted. Getting the new iPhone is not completely pain free, however, because lawyers must be admitted to the Bar of the Northern District and get an ID card. From Law.com and the Daily Report… Continue Reading
By Posted in News and CommentsCircuit City, which filed Chapter 11 in November 2008 and closed several stores, gave up the fight this week and announced it would liquidate and close. It could not find a lender or buyer and had no choice. This will be a common theme according to the Washington Post article: With the economy in the… Continue Reading