Success Stories

Individual And Business Bankruptcy

Health Care Provider Stays In Business After Other Law Firms Said No Chance

A health care provider lost significant income as a result of managed care. The company was behind on its payables and owed more money to its bank than its assets were worth. Through expert testimony, we established a low liquidation value for the assets and stripped the bank’s lien in excess of the asset valuation, making the bank a largely unsecured creditor that was paid, along with all other creditors, at 10 cents on the dollar over several years. Had the company liquidated, these creditors would have received nothing. Three other bankruptcy firms turned this case down and advised the client there was no chance of success.

Individual Gets More Time To Pay Taxes And A Lower Interest Rate

A wealthy individual owed approximately $400,000 in past-due taxes. The IRS wished to levy on the client’s retirement plan (giving rise to further taxes) and would allow only one year outside of bankruptcy for repayment. Through bankruptcy, we obtained a repayment plan of six years at 6 percent interest with no penalties, compared to the effective rate outside of bankruptcy (interest and penalties) of 18 percent.

Roofing Supply Company To Stay Open, Pay Zero Taxes For Several Years

An extremely profitable roofing supply company lost in litigation and was hit with a large judgment. The judgment creditor was about to close down the company. The successful Chapter 11 case we led provided 30 cents on the dollar to creditors (including the judgment holder) over four years, equaling a write-off of 70 percent of the debt. Our careful bankruptcy planning will also allow the company to use its Net Operating Loss such that it will owe no income tax for two-three years.

Home Saved From Foreclosure

Families sometimes face hard economic times. Our client had lost his job and had difficulty finding a comparable job. He had fallen behind on his home mortgage, accumulated significant credit card debt, and faced the loss of his home through foreclosure. Through a Chapter 13 filing, the client was able to eliminate nearly all of his credit card debt and catch up on his mortgage payments — saving his home.

Creditor Successes

Loan Fraud Exposed; Lender Gets Monthly Payments Despite Chapter 7 Filing

Our client had extended a second trust deed loan to a man who stated in his application that he was not a party to any lawsuit. The borrower filed a Chapter 7 bankruptcy after his home was foreclosed by the senior lienholder. When our investigation revealed a pending lawsuit against the borrower in an out-of-state court, we argued in the bankruptcy court that the loan by our client was fraudulently obtained and should be nondischargeable. The borrower agreed to stipulate to entry of judgment and make monthly payments to our client.

Bonding Company Pays Debt, Interest, Fees

A subcontractor who went bankrupt owed our client $200,000. We filed suit against the contractor’s bonding company and obtained a judgment after trial for all the client’s damages, plus interest and attorneys’ fees. The bonding company paid $265,000.

Interstate Bankruptcy Scheme Stymied; Foreclosure Sale Completed

The morning our client was to finalize a foreclosure sale in California, a deed of trust was recorded in the name of an entity whose principal had filed bankruptcy in Florida. On our emergency request, the Florida court set a hearing in just eight days to permit our client’s sale to proceed. Our investigation produced evidence showing that the debtor’s gambit was part of a scheme of interrelated bankruptcies. The judge granted relief from stay with extraordinary relief binding any future bankruptcy case. Our client was able to complete the foreclosure sale only three weeks after engaging WS.

Lien Enforced After Bankruptcy

Our client held a judgment lien against the property of a borrower who had been discharged in bankruptcy. The borrower reopened the bankruptcy case and filed a motion to avoid the lien. Such motions are usually granted without a hearing; in this case, we noticed several areas we felt we could attack. We filed an opposition that enabled our client to collect $48,000 on its lien when the debtor’s home was sold.

Rent Collection/Real Estate Transactions

Payment Of Back Rent Negotiated

A doctor who owned a shopping mall faced financial ruin when his anchor tenant, a large department store, filed for bankruptcy. The department store occupied a large site and owed a great deal of rent. We helped our client, the doctor, make an informed choice based on understanding the plusses and minuses of all options. The client chose to aggressively enforce his right to the rent and evict the tenant so he could market the space and find a new tenant, which we were able to accomplish.

Payment For Foregoing An Option To Buy

Our client, a real estate developer, had acquired an option to purchase land that he intended to lease to a national automotive service franchise. The party who granted the option went into bankruptcy and attempted to reject the developer’s offer in order to seek a more lucrative sale. We litigated vigorously on behalf of our client. As a result, despite the fact that the law was probably in favor of the party in bankruptcy, the debtor and his new buyer elected to pay our client to agree to voluntarily terminate the option. Our client was quite pleased with the $300,000 he received.

Despite Tricky Bankruptcy Proceeding, Buyer Recovers Investment

Our client purchased an apartment building at a foreclosure sale. Because the foreclosing seller had not fully complied with the law, there was a latent defect in the title. Months later, the former owner, now in bankruptcy, tried to have the sale set aside based on the irregularity. Our client had already spent hundreds of thousands of dollars, improving the building and was at risk of losing that investment. As a result of our aggressive and creative defense of his position, our client was awarded a lien for all out-of-pocket expenses, including a significant portion of the attorneys’ fees. The former owner paid the lien in full.

Mortgage Broker Completes Transaction With Borrower In Bankruptcy

Our client, a mortgage broker, was in the middle of a refinance to cure mortgage arrearages when his borrower had to file for bankruptcy to stop a foreclose sale. The refinancing was still viable, but completing the transaction required detailed knowledge of the applicable bankruptcy law. The mortgage broker referred us to his client, whose lawyer was not experienced in this area. We filed a motion on behalf of the debtor that enabled the refinancing to succeed, saving the property from foreclosure. The mortgage broker, who had paid our fee in advance, billed all of it back to his client through closing costs. The property was saved for his client from foreclosure.

For more information, contact a California bankruptcy and creditor rights lawyer at Weintraub & Selth, APC. We are a debt relief agency. We help people file for bankruptcy relief under the Bankruptcy Code.