Amendments to Chambers Guidelines New Chambers Guidelines are posted for Judge Burris and Judge Duncan, including changes highlighted below. Both Judge Burris and Judge Duncan have made the following changes to their Chambers Guidelines: The Judges added supplemental fee amounts for loss mitigation or mortgage loan modification of up to $1,500 and an additional Supplemental Fee Form. A CMECF event to facilitate the filing of this form will be enabled. The Judges added new provisions with this title to their Chambers Guidelines as a result of the new CMECF event available for cases assigned to them consistent with the New CMECF Events for Loss Mitigation/Mediation (Loan Modification) Requests announced on 4/1/2016. Judge Burris has made the additional change to her Chambers Guidelines: Judge Burris has increased the expedited fee amount for the purposes of 2016-1(b)(1) to $4,000 for Consumer and $4,500 for business cases for all cases assigned to her in the Spartanburg division only. Judge Duncan’s revised Chambers Guidelines are also available on the Court’s website. Minor changes have been made throughout the Chambers Guidelines. More significant changes to Judge Duncan’s Chambers Guidelines include: Judge Duncan added a new section regarding contested matters to clarify that parties have a duty to consult regarding contested matters and must be prepared to go forward at the first scheduled hearing in the matter. For chapter 13 confirmation hearings, if the matter remains disputed at the time of the first scheduled confirmation hearing, the matter will be rescheduled to an available dispute date, at which witnesses must appear. Judge Duncan added a new section to address his preference that parties use the available CM/ECF events for section 362 settlement and default orders.
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Chambers' Bulletins
The court has made two CMECF events available for use in chapter 13 cases assigned to Judges Burris and Duncan. The "Request for Loss Mitigation/Mediation" event requests stay relief to initiate loss mitigation discussions, including requests for loan modifications. It does not require creditor consent, no separate motion is necessary, and a court appearance is not required. A proposed order lifting the stay so that consensual discussions may take place is generated for the judge. The "Notification of Permanent Loan Modification" event notifies the trustee and court of a consensual, permanent loan modification. The event requires the attachment of the modification agreement. A proposed order authorizing the trustee to cease making mortgage arrearage payments under the plan (if any were called for) is generated for the judge. Once again, no motion or court appearance is required. The instructions for using the events can be found under Participant’s Guides on the court’s webpage. Copies of the proposed orders generated by the events will be added to chambers guidelines. Judicial Opinions
New CMECF Events for Loss Mitigation/Mediation (Loan Modification) Requests in Judge Duncan and Judge Burris Cases
An update has been posted to the Court's Judicial Opinions webpage. For the "10 Most Recently Posted" Opinions please click on this link.
The Court thanks Katherine Rea for her distinguished service as law clerk in the chambers of Chief Judge David R. Duncan. Katherine leaves the court to join the office of Pamela Simmons-Beasley, Chapter 13 Trustee as of April 4, 2016.
Today is the final day to sign up for the free Loss Mitigation/Mortgage Modification training to be held on February 25, 2016 at 1:30 p.m. The live presentation will be held in Columbia with video broadcast to the Charleston courtroom. For more details, please see the February 17, 2016 Judges Corner Announcement.
We have more than 30 attendees signed up so far. Don't miss out on this great opportunity to learn more about the Loss Mitigation/Mortgage Modification process! Sign up TODAY by 5 p.m. by sending an email to Sarah_Kistler@scb.uscourts.gov.
When filing a Notice and Motion for Loss Mitigation/Mortgage Modification and self scheduling a possible hearing date for such motion, Debtor(s)' counsel should select a 362 hearing date from the self scheduling calendar published on the Court's web site and must also ensure that the date selected allows for a 14-day objection period and otherwise complies with SC LBR 9013-4. Motions for Loss Mitigation/Mortgage Modifications that are incorrectly scheduled for a Chapter 13 consent/dispute date may be stricken, rescheduled, and/or require renoticing.
A free Loss Mitigation/Mortgage Modification training workshop for paralegals and new attorneys will be held at the J. Bratton Davis U.S. Bankruptcy Courthouse on Thursday, February 25, 2016 at 1:30 p.m., with broadcast by video to the Charleston courthouse for attendees in the Charleston division. A limited number of spots to attend by telephone will be offered for those located too far to travel to the Columbia or Charleston courthouses.
The one-hour program will cover best practices and tips and will be hosted by Judge Waites and presented by paralegals with experience in the loss mitigation/mortgage modification process, who have achieved a 70% success rate for their bankruptcy clients.
Those interested in attending should sign up on or before 5 p.m. on Monday, February 22, 2016, by sending an e-mail to Sarah_Kistler@scb.uscourts.gov. Questions regarding the loss mitigation/mortgage modification process and use of the DMM Portal may be submitted in advance to the same email address by the same deadline. Those who are unfamiliar with the DMM Portal may view a training video in advance at https://defaultmitigation.wistia.com/medias/nhd9q9lbh2. Much effort has been made to make this session as informative as possible, and Judge Waites encourages those who are interested in learning more about the loss mitigation/mortgage modification process in his cases to attend.
Judge Waites would like to announce the initiation of a Student Loan Debt Project II and solicit the participation of interested members of the SC Bankruptcy Bar.
In an effort to educate debtors, members of the Bar and the public in general on non bankruptcy programs related to student loan debt, in the first phase of the Student Loan Debt Project last year, the Bankruptcy Court published a Student Loan Primer on its website and formed a partnership with SC Legal Services and American Student Assistance to provide ongoing access to student loan advisers.
The second phase of the project has three goals:
1. To expand training on non-bankruptcy administrative programs for use in managing student loan debt and to learn how these programs affect a debtor who has already filed a bankruptcy case;
2. To develop a library of non-standard plan provisions and contacts helpful to a debtor in Chapter 13 or 11 who seeks to manage student loan debt via a reorganization case; and
3. To identify volunteer attorneys available to represent low income debtors who are unable to afford representation in undue hardships cases and, with the assistance of student loan creditors' counsel, develop forms, protocols, and procedures which would be helpful in resolving such cases. (This may be especially helpful to young attorneys who are interested in gaining trial experience on a pro bono or low bono basis.)
Attorneys or paralegals interested in working on this project during 2016 should advise Sarah Kistler at Sarah_Kistler@scb.uscourts.gov.
Congratulations to the following members of the SC bankruptcy bar who were recognized by the SC Bar Pro Bono Committee in the Volunteer Spotlight in the Agenda/Program Book at the recent SC Bar Convention:
Colleen Brunson and George Cauthen for Ask-A-Lawyer, Case Referrals, Law4Vets;
Dawn Hardesty, Gretchen Holland, and Tara Nauful for participating with SCLawAnswers.org.
Congratulations to Eddye Lane and the SC Bankruptcy Law Association who were recognized for Pro Bono service by Legal Services Corporation (national organization) at its Board Meeting in Charleston on
January 28, 2016.
We are proud of their service!
Please welcome Dawn Hardesty as a Law Clerk in Judge Duncan's chambers. Dawn is a 2010 graduate of the University of South Carolina School of Law. After Law School she clerked for Judge Duncan for two years and then practiced law in Columbia with a focus on bankruptcy and creditor rights . You may reach Dawn at (803) 765-5659 and Dawn_Hardesty@scb.uscourts.gov. The contact information for Katherine Rea remains the same, (803) 765-5658 and Katherine_Rea@scb.uscourts.gov, Judge Duncan also sends his thanks and best wishes to Jacque Phillips on her retirement as his Judicial Assistant.
1. Reporting Loss Mitigation/Mortgage Modification Issues/Request for Hearing:
Upon the issuance of an Order Requiring Loss Mitigation/Mortgage Modification (Portal), certain deadlines are established for the exchange of information to facilitate good faith loss mitigation reviews between a mortgage creditor and debtor.
According to Chambers Guidelines, upon the failure of one party to act within the time frames established in the Order Requiring Loss Mitigation/Mortgage Modification, the other party must report this failure to chambers by correspondence. Based thereon, the Court will set a status hearing to inquire about the delay.
Additionally, Chambers Guidelines states that upon one party’s failure to act in good faith, the other party must report the failure to chambers by correspondence. However, if a party seeks specific relief based upon an assertion that the other party made a demonstrable error in the review, is not acting in good faith during the loss mitigation review or other specific grounds of incompliance with the Court’s Order or Guidelines, that party should file a motion setting forth the particular allegations and specific relief for Court review. Upon a determination of cause, the Court may set a hearing and require attendance of the debtor and a representative of the mortgage creditor who is most knowledgeable on debtor(s)’ loss mitigation/mortgage modification request and any other relevant party, along with their counsel.
In addition, in lieu of a hearing before the Court, any party participating in the loss mitigation/mortgage modification review may request by motion the appointment of a mediator to assist in the resolution of disputes arising from the loss mitigation/mortgage modification review process.
2. Request for Attorneys Fees upon Conversion of Chapter 13 Case to Chapter 7:
Pursuant to SC LBR 3070(c), in connection with a conversion of a Chapter 13 case to Chapter 7, a debtor may consent to payment of outstanding attorneys fees and costs owed to his Chapter 13 Attorney as part of the Chapter 13 Trustee's final distribution. The following forms may be used to request such payment: Consent to Allow Return of Funds to Debtor Attorney Order RE: Return of Funds to Debtor Attorne Upon Conversion