News & Resources
CARES Act Relief - Monetary Limits On Small Business Bankruptcy Set to Expire Next Month
This past year has been difficult for many businesses who have barely managed to stay afloat during these turbulent times, and who are looking at more uncertainty ahead as prior relief packages are set to expire. While an additional relief package i...
Robert N. Loughran - Associate
Feb 24 2021Corporate Transparency Act – New Requirements to Disclose Ownership Information to the Federal Government
On January 1, 2021, the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) became law. Some important facts about the CTA include:...
Bruce W. Akerly - Founding Member
Feb 24 2021Akerly Law Represents Creditors in Bankruptcy Fight Over Ownership of Legal Malpractice Claim
Akerly Law, led by its appellate specialist Carrie R. McNair, recently represented a creditor with a complicated appellate bankruptcy issue that was one of first impression for the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. At issue, was the ownership of a leg...
Carrie R. McNair - Associate
Feb 24 2021Domestication of Federal Court Judgments - Easy Breezy
When you have a judgment issued by a state court in another state, domestication of the judgment in another state for enforcement purposes is covered by the Uniform Enforcement of Foreign Judgment Act, as adopted by the forum state. ...
Bruce W. Akerly - Founding Member
Jan 26 2021Fifth Circuit Hold Cross-Collaterization Creates One Loan Out of Two
The Fifth Circuit Federal Court of Appeals has held, in a Chapter 13 case, that when two claims are secured by the same personal collateral, i.e., cross-collateralized, the debtor's Chapter 13 plan cannot provide for the surrender of the collateral f...
Bruce W. Akerly - Founding Member
Jan 26 2021SCOTUS Rules That Automatic Stay is Not Violated by Pre-Petition Taking of Property
In Fulton, the City of Chicago's practice was to impound vehicles identified as having overdue parking tickets. Many Chicago residents would subsequently file bankruptcy under Chapter 13 and request that the City immediately return their vehicles or ...
Robert N. Loughran - Associate
Jan 26 2021What Happens to the Ownership Interest in a Single-Member LLC Upon the Death of its Member?
If your spouse, family member, or someone you know, was operating a small business and passes away, what can happen to that business? If that business was organized as a limited liability company in the state of Texas, the business may be able to con...
Robert N. Loughran - Intern
Feb 20 2020Bankruptcy Rule 2004 - What is it? (Part 1)
Bankruptcy Rule 2004 provides, in pertinent part: (a) EXAMINATION ON MOTION. On motion of any party in interest, the court may order the examination of any entity....
Bruce W. Akerly - Partner
Feb 20 2020Changes to the Bankruptcy Code Take Effect in 2020
On August 23, 2019, President Trump signed the Small Business Reorganization Act of 2019, P.L. 116-54 (the “SBRA”). ...
Bruce W. Akerly - Partner
Jan 20 2020Can a Federal Court Enjoin State Court Proceeding?
The All Writs Act, 28 U.S.C. § 1651, allows federal courts to “issue all writs necessary or appropriate in aid of their respective jurisdictions and agreeable to the usages and principles of law.”...
Robert N. Loughran - Intern
Jan 20 2020In 2020 Resolve To...
#1 - Train, Train and Train - Make sure employees are adequately trained, not only on equipment and technology used in the day-to-day exercise of their business duties, but on laws and regulations relating to the business....
Bruce W. Akerly - Partner
Jan 20 2020Repossession of Motor Vehicles in Advance of a Bankruptcy Filing - Mechanics Lien v. Mechanics & Materialman’s Lien
Clients often get confused when dealing with lien right, particular when they involve construction projections and vehicle repairs. As a titleholder in the state of Texas, a situation will inevitably arise where a mechanic, or other service provider...
Robert N. Loughran
Nov 13 2019Texas Increases the Jurisdictional Limits of the "People’s Court"
In Texas, the Court that typically deals with “small claim” – known commonly as the JP Court – has raised its jurisdictional limit from $10,000 to $20,000....
Bruce W. Akerly
Nov 13 2019Drafting Arbitration Clauses That Keep You Out of Court
If an agreement includes a solid arbitration clause, arbitration can be a less expensive, more predictable option for dispute resolution compared to courtroom litigation....
Carrie McNair
Nov 13 2019Published Decisions
Published Decisions 2019...
Reported Decisions
Oct 28 2019Mr. Akerly to teach a class at SMU
Bruce Akerly has been asked to teach a Survey of Law class on Business Entities and Bankruptcy as part of the SMU CAPE program....
In The News
Oct 16 2019Busting the Homestead Exemption - Constructive Trust/Abandonment
To prove abandonment generally requires a showing that the debtor discontinued use of the homestead through some overt act and intent to not return to the property....
Bruce W. Akerly
Oct 15 2019What Exactly is an Abstract of Judgment?
A lis pendens, on the other hand, is a document created by a party to litigation that typically involves a claim that may impact the rights of parties to real property. While lis pendens are recorded in the real property records of the county in whi...
Bruce W. Akerly
Oct 15 2019Failure of A Lender to Correct a Curable Defect in Loan Documents May Result in Forfeiture of all Principal and Interest
The Fifth Circuit recently addressed the question of what happens when a lender fails to correct a curable defect in the loan documents that makes the loan unconstitutional in Texas....
Michael D. Gorman
Sep 19 2019The Small Business Reorganization Act of 2019 Makes Chapter 11 a Better Option for Many Small Business Debtors
On August 26, 2019, the administration signed into law the Small Business Reorganization Act ('SBRA'), which will go into effect on February 22, 2020....
Robert Loughran
Sep 19 2019In the News
Akerly Law PLLC Associate, Carrie R. McNair, has returned to Law School, only this time as a Legal Writing Professor at the University of North Texas College of Law in Dallas....
In The News
Sep 19 2019Stanford - Ponzi Scheme Settlements Versus Private Investors
Richard Stanford bilked his investors for over $132 million in a massive Ponzi scheme. He promised exceedingly high rates on certificates of deposits and used funds collected from subsequent investors to fund his criminal enterprise....
Michael D. Gorman
Aug 14 2019What Exactly Does "Close of Business" Mean?
Frequently, a party will require some action “by the close of business” (COB). What does that mean? While there does not appear to be a case in the United States dealing with this issue, commercial law and a case that reached the UK's equivalent of...
Bruce W. Akerly
Aug 14 2019Does a PACA Trust Give Rise to an Actionable Fiduciary Capacity Claim Under § 523(A)(4) of the Bankruptcy Code?
Section 523(a)(4) of the Bankruptcy Code exempts from discharge a debt “for fraud or defalcation while acting in a fiduciary capacity.” ...
Robert Loughran
Aug 14 2019New Associates
Michael D. Gorman and Carrie R. McNair have joined Akerly Law PLLC as associates. Michael’s practice includes bankruptcy and litigation. Carrie’s practice includes appeals, business law and litigation....
In The News
Jul 17 2019Deciphering the Cryptic World of Cryptocurrency in Bankruptcy
The chances that a cryptocurrency will be an asset in a bankruptcy estate are ever growing....
Robert Loughran
Jul 17 2019Is Two Years Into a Lawsuit Too Long of a Delay to File a Motion to Compel Arbitration?
Debtors filed an adversary proceeding in their Chapter 13 bankruptcy against their mortgage company. The suit was pending for two years before the mortgage company filed a motion to compel arbitration as was permitted in the Debtor’s loan documents....
Michael D. Gorman
Jul 17 2019Can (and Should) a Creditor Receive an Unsecured Claim for Post-petition Contractual Attorneys' Fees?
As a rule, attorneys’ fee claims in bankruptcy are covered by two provisions of the Bankruptcy Code, 11 U.S.C. §§502 (“allowance of claims or interests”) and 506 (“determination of secured status”)...
Bruce W. Akerly
Jun 18 2019Supreme Court Unanimously Adopts an Objective Standard for Discharge Violations
In Taggart v. Lorenzen, the question before the court concerned the legal standard for holding a creditor in civil contempt when the creditor attempts to collect a debt in violation of the bankruptcy discharge order....
Robert Loughran
Jun 18 2019Is it a Violation of Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) For a Debt Collector to Access a Credit Report Post-Discharge?
The FCRA prohibits obtaining a credit report on a debtor unless it is “for a purpose for which the [credit] report is authorized”. Debt collection has been held to be a permissible reason for obtaining a credit report....
Bruce W. Akerly
May 15 2019Is Denial Of Student Loan Debt Under Section 523(a)(8) Of The Bankruptcy Code An “All-Or-Nothing” Proposition?
In a recent decision out of the US District Court for the District of Kansas, Educational Credit Management Corporation v. Metz, the District Court upheld a bankruptcy court’s decision to authorize discharge of interest on a student loan while leavi...
Robert Loughran
May 15 2019Supreme Court Holds the FDCPA Does Not Apply to Nonjudicial Foreclosures
The United States Supreme Court unanimously held that a person engaged in nonjudicial foreclosure proceedings is not a debt collector under the federal Fair Debt Collection Practice Act (“FDCPA”). 15 U.S.C § 1962a(6), where “debt collector” is define...
Robert Loughran
Apr 17 2019Is a Judgment Lien Extinguished When the Personal Debt in Issue is Discharged in Bankruptcy (Revisited)?
In Texas, recordation of an abstract of judgment in the real property records of the county in which a debtor has real property creates a lien in favor of the creditor against such property....
Bruce W. Akerly
Apr 17 2019In the News
In the news July 2019...
In The News
Apr 17 2019Puerto Rico - Tax on Legal and Financial Services
The bankruptcy of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico is unfolding as one of the biggest public bankruptcies in the United States. Puerto Rico has roughly $72 billion in debt and an additional $50 billion that it owes in pensions to its public employees....
Cristina Vanea
Mar 04 2019Dischargeability of Debts Obtained by Oral Misrepresentation
On June 4, 2018, the Supreme Court of the United States decided Lamar, Archer & Cofrin, LLP v. Appling and held that single-asset statements qualify as statements respecting the debtor’s financial condition for purposes of Bankruptcy Code § 523(a)(2)...
Cristina Vanea
Mar 04 2019What Does it Mean to "Charge Off" an Account?
Can you sue or be sued on an account that has be “charged off”? To “charge off” is to treat an account “as a loss or expense because payment is unlikely.” ...
Bruce W. Akerly
Mar 04 2019When is a Pre-payment Penalty Recoverable by a Secured Creditor After a Bankruptcy Case is Filed?
As a general proposition, once a bankruptcy petition is filed, interest is not permitted to accrue on a pre-petition debts. One exception to this rule is when the debt is secured by a pledge of collateral and the value of the collateral exceeds the ...
Cristina Vanea
Mar 04 2019Physical Posession May Be Essential to Reclaimation Priority
Under the Uniform Commercial Code, a seller of goods to an insolvent buyer may be entitled to reclaim possession of the goods if certain requirements are met, like written demand within 10-days of delivery....
Bruce W. Akerly
Jul 11 2018Mr. Akerly to speak at Texas Advance Paralegal Seminar
Mr. Akerly has been asked to speak and present a paper at the Texas Advanced Paralegal Seminar on September 27, 2018, entitled “The Paralegal’s Role in Bankruptcy: How to Read And Understand Schedules and Statements of Financial Affairs, BR 2004 Exam...
Seminars And Publications
Apr 19 2018Mr. Akerly to speak at ACA International Annual Convention in July 2018
Mr. Akerly has been selected to participate in a panel at the ACA International’s annual convention in Nashville, Tennessee on July 25, 2018. The topic of the presentation will be “A Collection Country 2 Step- Exploring Reasonable Investigations Und...
Seminars And Publications
Apr 19 2018Mr. Akerly presents to the North Texas Estate Planning Council
In 2017, Mr. Akerly presented a paper entitled How To Bust A Trust to the North Texas Estate Planning Council and the Rio Grande Valley Estate Planning Counsel...
Seminars And Publications
Jan 15 2018New publication published an article in the Texas Landscape and Nurseryman’s Association Green Magazine
In the last quarter of 2017 Mr. Akerly (with the assistance of associate Cooper Walker) published an article in the Texas Landscape and Nurseryman’s Association Green Magazine entitled The Texas Agricultural Product Lien Statute – A Necessary Tool To...
Seminars And Publications
Jan 15 2018Mr. Akerly selected as 2017 Super Lawyer
Mr. Akerly was, again, selected by his peers as a Super Lawyer for 2017 (Texas Monthly)...
In The News
Jan 15 2018Mr. Akerly to participate on a panel at the conference of the Receivable Management Association
Mr. Akerly to participate on a panel at the conference of the Receivable Management Association...