COURSE SYLLABUS: BANKRUPTCY 727. Fall Tuesdays and Thursdays 10:45-12:00 in Room A225

Transcription

1 COURSE SYLLABUS: BANKRUPTCY 727 Fall 2014 Professor Gary E. Sullivan Office: A244 Office Phone: Class Hours: Tuesdays and Thursdays 10:45-12:00 in Room A225 Required Texts: Westbrook & Warren, THE LAW OF DETORS AND CREDITORS (6th ed. 2009) ( W&W ) BANKRUPTCY AND ARTICLE 9: STATUTORY SUPPLEMENT (version 2011 or more current) Additional cases as indicated infra Supplemental cases or handouts: as provided in class ASSIGNMENTS: From time-to-time, I may assign problems for students to work out and turn in in class. Assignments due "in class" must be ready at the beginning of the indicated class. Assignments turned in after the beginning of class will be considered late. You must check your regularly for announcements, assignments, and other information relating to your classes and assignments. Please let me know if you want to receive s at a personal address rather than your law school address. COURSE OBJECTIVES: The primary objective of this course is to provide students a foundational survey of bankruptcy law, with special emphasis on consumer bankruptcy. A typical class will involve lecture and class discussion, along with working out problems from the textbook or handouts. Occasionally, we might have a guest speaker specializing in a particular bankruptcy-related practice area to help round out our education. GRADING: Grades will be assigned consistent with law school policies. For this class, 90% of the grade will be based on the final examination. The remaining 10% will be based on a combination of: (i) being prepared for class, (ii) participating in class discussions, and (iii) turning in complete written assignments on time (collectively, good faith effort points ). Each student will begin the semester with the same amount of good faith effort points. You may lose points by not preparing for class, not participating when called on, not turning in written assignments on time, and/or turning in written assignments that do not reflect a serious effort on 1

2 your part. FINAL EXAM: The final exam will be a mixture of (i) objective questions (multiple choice, true/false or some combination thereof) and (ii) essay questions and/or problems. CLASS ATTENDANCE: You are expected to be in class. Please notify me in advance if you will be unable to attend any class. LAPTOP COMPUTERS: Laptop computer may be used in the classrooms for the purposes of note-taking or in-class exercises. I reserve the right to curtail their use, however, if I believe they are being used for non-class-related activities or are distracting you or other students from our discussion. IN-CLASS WORK: Many classes will involve working through problems in the textbook or otherwise involving both individual and small group efforts. ADA POLICY: The Law School is committed to meeting the needs of students with physical, learning, and other disabilities, and provides appropriate accommodations and services tailored to each person s specific requirements. The Law School s assistant deans and the University s Office of Disability Services work together to help individuals with disabilities achieve and maintain individual autonomy. Students with disabilities are encouraged to contact Claude Arrington, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at or carrington@law.ua.edu so that the individual s needs for support services can be evaluated and accommodated in a timely manner. OFFICE HOURS: I do not have set office hours. If I am in my office, I am available. If you would prefer to make an appointment, please feel free to contact me via . Topic Coverage: PART I: STATE LAW DEBT COLLECTION I. JUDGMENT COLLECTION AND PRIORITIES W&W: read 1-32, 33-42, Problem Set 2 W&W: Problem Set 3 2

3 W&W: 71-79, Problem Set 4 and Barney s Problem Part I PART II: CONSUMER BANKRUPTCY I. INTRODUCTION TO BANKRUPTCY W&W Stern v. Marshall, 132 S. Ct. 56 (2011) II. ELEMENTS COMMON TO CONSUMER BANKRUPTCIES A. Property of the Estate W&W Problem Set 5 B. The Automatic Stay W&W Problem Set 6 III. LIQUIDATION BANKRUPTCY A. Eligibility W&W Milavetz, Gallop & Milavetz v. United States, 130 S. Ct (2010) Problem 6.2 Problem Set 7 B. Exemptions W&W Schwab v. Reilly, 130 S. Ct (2010) Problem Set 8 C. Homesteads, Trusts and Exemption Planning W&W Problem Set 9: Problems 9.1, 9.2, 9.4 3

4 D. Claims and Distributions W&W , 228 Travelers Cas. & Sur. Co. of Am. v. Pac. Gas & Elec. Co., 549 U.S. 443 (2006) Problem Set 10 Problem Set 11 E. Discharge W&W , 251 Problem Set 12 F. Debtor s Postbankruptcy Position: Reaffirmation; Nondiscrimination W&W Problem Set 13 IV. CHAPTER 13 BANKRUPTCY A. Elements of an Acceptable Plan 1. Payments to Secured Creditors W&W Problem Set Payments to Unsecured Creditors (Priority and General) Modification and Dismissal W&W Hamilton v. Lanning, 130 S. Ct (2010); Ransom v. FIA Card Services, 131 S. Ct. 716 (2011) Problem Set 15 4

5 B. Threshold Eligibility W&W Problem Set 16 C. The Consumer Bankruptcy System W&W Marrama v. Citizens Bank of Massachusetts, 549 U.S. 365 (2007) Problem Set 17 Barney s Problem Part II 5