According to section 109 of the bankruptcy code, you (or you and your spouse jointly) are generally ineligible to file a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy if your unsecured debts (i.e. credit card debt, medical bills, taxes, student loans) are more than $383,175.00 or if your secured debts (i.e. mortgages, car loans) exceed $1,149,525.00. If your debt exceeds these limits, unfortunately, the only bankruptcy that you can […]
Maryland Contractors: Generally, if you perform work on a home or a yard and the person who lives there pays you to do the work, including an owner or a tenant (we are going to refer to those person in this article as “customers” although you may call them “homeowners”), you need to be a licensed home improvement contractor through the Maryland Home Improvement […]
Maryland Contractors: Generally, if you perform work on a home or a yard and the person who lives there pays you to do the work, including an owner or a tenant (we are going to refer to those person in this article as “customers” although you may call them “homeowners”), you need to be a licensed home improvement contractor through the Maryland Home Improvement Commission […]
If you are considering filing bankruptcy, it is highly recommended that you speak to an experienced attorney to discuss your options. Before doing so, it is helpful to know what chapter of bankruptcy is right for you and whether you qualify for it. There are multiple types of bankruptcies, each with their own specific processes and benefits, but the most common types for consumers are […]
The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that a custom home designer and builder who brought an action against a competing builder and designer could possibly have a claim in violation of the Architectural Works Copyright Protection Act for similar plans. The designs in this case were for Centennial Style Homes in Williamsburg. The City of Williamsburg limits permissible architectural styles. The Appeals Court […]
In a decision by Judge Brian Kenney of the Eastern district of Virginia, Bankruptcy Court, an ophthalmologist was told she could not eliminate her student loans through bankruptcy. However, the evidence established that the ophthalmologist was living in her car; she failed to show that she was able to find employment in a position other than being an ophthalmologist. They also ruled that she failed […]
The United States District Court for the District of Maryland ruled that a subcontractor, who brought a Maryland case as a result of performing work on a project located in the State of Maryland, would instead be forced to bring that case in the District of Columbia. This was because the project was performed for the District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority and the […]
In the case of Sieber v. Rose, the United States Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit, upheld the Bankruptcy Court’s determination that a Debtor’s failure to list an exempt property barred that Debtor from claiming those exemptions later. This decision the Court reached was that Debtor had acted in bad faith to conceal the assets of the estate and hinder administration by the credits. However, it […]
Judge Rice of the Maryland Bankruptcy Court reinforced earlier precedent which held that retirement funds remain retirement funds and are exempt (i.e. people filing bankruptcy or “debtors” get to keep them) even if they are taken out of a 401k or an IRA or are Social Security payments. This is the case, however, only if the funds can be directly traced to the retirement account. […]
One of the benefits of forming a separate legal entity such as a corporation or limited liability company (LLC) is that owners generally cannot be held personally liable for breach of company contracts. The Maryland Court of Special Appeals has recently ruled in Serio v. Baystate Properties, LLC that the protection from liability is fairly comprehensive. In Serio an LLC owned by the Defendant promised […]