Section Newsletters

Articles on Debtors and Creditors

Where’s the beef? The FTC 2013 report on debt buyers contains zero evidence of debt collection abuses By Tomio B. Narita Commercial Banking, Collections, and Bankruptcy, February 2013 The FTC recently released its 162-page report titled “The Structure and Practices of the Debt Buying Industry.”
Illinois debtor prisons By Bob Markoff Commercial Banking, Collections, and Bankruptcy, February 2012 The author has been a collection attorney in Illinois for 35 years specializing in enforcing judgments, and has never heard of any consumer sentenced to jail for not paying a bill. There are likely no consumers in an Illinois jail on such a charge. Then why all the media noise about debtor prisons?  
Credit Agreement Act bars evidence of oral promises made by lender By Michael L. Weissman Commercial Banking, Collections, and Bankruptcy, December 2010 A review of General Electric Business Financial Services, Inc. v. Silverman.
The use of receiverships for managing troubled assets By Samuel H. Levine Commercial Banking, Collections, and Bankruptcy, December 2010 Receiverships are something that all lenders should consider in managing distressed real estate. Lenders should also consider creative ways for receivers to manage distressed assets to meet the needs of a particular asset.
You say tomato, I say tomahto: Court holds Illinois Sureties Act applicable to guarantors By Kenneth J. Ashman & Bardia Fard Business and Securities Law, June 2010 The decision in JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A. v. Earth Foods, Inc. makes available to a guarantor those defenses previously only available to a surety under the Sureties Act, and the decision may have repercussions for similar statutes across the United States.
In re Kucharz: Unemployment compensation included in a debtor’s “current monthly income” calculation although it is a “surprisingly difficult question” By Brent Wilson Commercial Banking, Collections, and Bankruptcy, March 2010 Should unemployment compensation be included in the "current monthly income" calculation? With the decision in In re Kucharz, Illinois Bankruptcy Courts are now evenly split on the issue with two courts ruling yes, two ruling no.
When is a credit card agreement an oral contract? Portfolio Acquisitions LLC v. Feltman By Hon. Daniel T. Gillespie & Kathilynne Grotelueschen Civil Practice and Procedure, November 2009  In Illinois, where the statute of limitations is ten years for a written contract and five years for an oral contract, one might well think that a credit card agreement would qualify as a written contract because credit cards are generally issued pursuant to a written card member agreement.
Renegotiating debt? Beware of tax traps By Steven W. Swibel Commercial Banking, Collections, and Bankruptcy, August 2009 In a non-bankruptcy, noninsolvency context, debtors and creditors are often surprised that a debt modification that does not appear to reduce principal or the effective interest rate may nevertheless result in adverse tax consequences.
Renegotiating debt? Tax traps for creditors By Steven W. Swibel Corporate Law Departments, June 2009 Tax consequences of debt modification are not only a debtor’s concern. Creditors are often surprised that debt modification can result in unanticipated adverse tax consequences. 
Loan Modification Agreement Corporate Law Departments, February 2009 The following sample Loan Modification Agreement has been prepared for educational and information purposes only.
Safeguarding your life savings from future creditors By Martin P. Ryan Corporate Law Departments, March 2005 Protecting assets from the claims of creditors has begun to assume a more prominent role in estate and financial planning due to the increasingly litigious nature of society.
Secured creditor bound—The words used in the collateral description of a security agreement can limit a secured party’s lien By Timothy J. Howard & Janice M. Powell Commercial Banking, Collections, and Bankruptcy, March 2003 A security agreement is a special kind of contract for which an important audience is third parties who need to know how much collateral has been encumbered.

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