Part of a Larger Trend

While Outwrite’s Chapter 7 filing in particular came as a surprise (the bookstore had admitted financial troubles in recent months, but had apparently held a fundraiser to help with relocation costs even as it was paying a bankruptcy lawyer to help it draw up plans for winding down), its place in the grand scheme of booksellers these days is nothing new.

With online giants like Amazon underselling most of its competition, many independent (and even not-so-independent, ahem, Borders) brick-and-mortar sellers have felt a serious strain.

Individual Chapter 7 vs. Business Chapter 7

When Outwrite filed its Chapter 7 petition, the bookstore cited only $78,311 in assets, compared with its debts exceeding $500,000. Most of those assets, it seems, took the form of office supplies and inventory the store still had on hand.

It’s not entirely uncommon to see individual Chapter 7 bankruptcy cases with similar disparities in debt and assets. Here’s why Chapter 7 bankruptcy tends to work well for those with few assets to their name:

• Chapter 7 bankruptcy offers a full discharge of certain debts, meaning that filers are not required to repay those debts. For a business like Outwrite, choosing Chapter 7 makes sense when there’s no clear way to earn the money needed to repay creditors. For individuals, Chapter 7 can provide relief from debts that are unrealistically higher than a filer’s income (such as exorbitant medical bills or credit card debts).
• Filers can keep their necessities. Chapter 7 bankruptcy is a form of protection, not punishment. Filers are granted several “exemptions,” which outline property a filer can keep in order to make a fresh financial start after the bankruptcy case is finished. Any property or assets that the court deems unnecessary to reasonably make a living may be sold in a liquidation sale.
• Chapter 7 offers relief from creditors. Chapter 7 filers enjoy the legal protection of the automatic stay during their bankruptcy cases. This stay prevents creditors from taking any collection actions against them. Once a debt is discharged in bankruptcy, creditors have no legal claim to it, and cannot rightly take collection action.
• Chapter 7 moves quickly. In a matter of months, filers can complete the bankruptcy process and restart their lives uninhibited by the debts of their past. In their lives after bankruptcy, filers are free to rebuild their wealth.

But this week, the sub shop decided to avoid bankruptcy court by ceding control of its operations to Avenue Capital, one of its major creditors. According to sources, the deal will involve a takeover of corporate management by Avenue, while franchise operations should continue to operate normally.

Bankruptcy & Bankruptcy Alternatives for Individuals

At the corporate level, the Quiznos decision to avoid bankruptcy made sense: in exchange for eliminating some of the sandwich chain’s debt, Avenue got to take corporate control. If the new owner plays its cards right, it could make the changes necessary to turn Quiznos around and return it to profitability.

Individuals may face similar choices. Here’s how to navigate the world of debt-relief options.

• Creditor negotiation: Essentially the Quiznos route, this method of easing debt may benefit both parties. Debtors get some of their debts forgiven by their creditors, and creditors don’t have to worry about having those debts completely eliminated by the bankruptcy court. In some cases, individuals can negotiate with creditors for modified repayment terms (such as lower interest rates, reduction in principal, or lowered monthly payments) in exchange for refraining from filing bankruptcy. Note: if you’re interested in creditor negotiation, be sure to let your creditors know that you’re considering a bankruptcy filing, and be sure to get any new agreements in writing.
• Credit Counseling: This bankruptcy alternative involves visiting with a credit counseling professional to work through a debt-elimination plan. These plans may be comprehensive, including budget outlines, repayment schedules, and suggestions for future credit and debt usage. Note: if you’re considering credit counseling, be sure check your local Better Business Bureau for complaints against the firm.
• Debt Settlement: In debt settlement, the debt settlement agency communicates with a debtor’s creditors to negotiate better debt repayment terms. While potentially very effective, debt settlement can also end in disaster (when firms unscrupulously take consumer money without actually helping them resolve their debt issues). Note: if you’re considering debt settlement, be sure to consult with the BBB and other online resources to determine the quality of the company you’re working with.

When to Choose Bankruptcy

It’s important to note that, while bankruptcy is not the right choice in all debt situations, it remains the only debt elimination solution that is regulated at the federal level and offers filers protection from debt collectors and creditors through the court's automatic stay.

The court approved the settlement by issuing an Order Granting Final Approval, but on August 12, 2011, the defendants filed a brief challenging that order, in regards to attorney fees and costs of the case. The result of this appeal won’t be known until at least later this year: the deadline for Appellants to file relevant briefs with the court is January 23, 2012, and Appellees have until February 24, 2012.

Will You Get Settlement Money?

The lawsuit was brought because Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion improperly reported debts that had been discharged in bankruptcy on consumers’ credit reports. Rather than noting that these debts were “discharged through bankruptcy,” the credit bureaus noted that they were “120 days late” or that they had been charged off by the credit issuer.

Incorrectly reporting the status of a debt is illegal (which is why the lawsuit was filed), but it also caused a lot of grief for the people affected. When a debt is still reported as active, debt collectors may try to collect on that debt.

The result was that people who had filed for bankruptcy and gone through the entire bankruptcy process precisely to eliminate their debts and stop getting hassled by debt collectors were having to deal with debt collectors anyway (along with the stress of trying to sort out why their credit reports were incorrect).

You are eligible to collect some of the settlement if…

• You are a member of the “class” represented by this class action case. To be a part of the class, you must have received a Chapter 7 bankruptcy discharge AND had a credit report issued by one of the defendants (i.e. the three credit reporting bureaus) between March 15, 2002 and May 11, 2009 with incorrectly reported discharged debts.
• You must have submitted a claim form with relevant information no later than November 30, 2009.

If you missed the deadline, however, don’t worry too much. Even though the settlement amount seems large, it will be spread out over so many individuals that it likely won’t result to more than a few dollars per person.

If, however, you’re interested in exploring other legal options regarding errors on your credit report, you may want to consult with a lawyer about the recourse available to you.

Like many other “bankruptcy tourists” in the Republic of Ireland, Quinn apparently wanted to take advantage of the United Kingdom’s more lenient bankruptcy laws to make his case. He was thwarted, though, just recently, when a court ruled that he had misled the Northern Ireland bankruptcy authorities about the hub from which he conducted most of his business.

Now, filing for bankruptcy in the Republic of Ireland (which is independent of the U.K., unlike Northern Ireland, which is under the U.K.’s aegis), Quinn will have to wait about 12 years before the bankruptcy is cleared from his credit record. In the U.S. Chapter 7 bankruptcy remains on a person’s credit report for 10 years, but its impact diminishes with time.

“A Personal Vendetta”

In a move that does nothing to make him seem more sympathetic, Quinn has now reportedly accused Anglo-Irish Bank of holding a “personal vendetta” against him, and for that reason making his bankruptcy filing more troublesome.

Briefly, Quinn’s history with Anglo-Irish Bank (AIB) is this:

• During the housing bubble, AIB extended itself beyond its means with ill-advised real estate loans.
• Convinced the bank would rebound from its troubles, Quinn invested in its stock, gaining as much as a 28 percent stake in the company.
• In addition to investing in the bank, Quinn also borrowed money to reinvest, putting himself largely at the bank’s mercy, should it collapse.
• In 2008, AIB was forced to nationalize to avoid complete collapse. The process resulted in eliminating investments Quinn had with the bank worth about €2.8 billion.

Now Quinn owes AIB more than €2 billion. The now-nationalized bank has since received an order from a Dublin bankruptcy court to collect that money from Quinn. During the course of his bankruptcy, he will likely have to pay most or all of what he owes, or surrender assets to compensate the bank.

At present, it seems the bank is legally pursuing collection of the loan, though Quinn maintains that its officers pushed him into making unwise investments that led to the debt in the first place.

If there’s any kind of “lesson” we can take away from this tale of wealth and woe, it’s one of relief: it’s always refreshing to realize that our debts are not quite as overwhelming as they might be.

The suit claims that the bank actively deceived many people involved in the bankruptcy process, including Chapter 7, Chapter 13, and Chapter 11 trustees; bankruptcy judges; creditors; creditor attorneys; debtors, debtors in possession, and debtors’ attorneys; and the Office of the United States Trustee.

Among the charges being leveled against Chase are that the bank did the following:

• Committed fraud, perjury, and intentional misrepresentation in bankruptcy court by producing false title transfer evidence (sources claim that the bank used PhotoShop in some cases) in order to “prove” its stake in thousands of bankruptcy cases.
• Provided manufactured evidence to willfully deceive those involved in the bankruptcy process about who truly held class members’ non-negotiable promissory notes.

What Is Chase Actually Accused Of?

In plain English, Chase is facing charges of providing false evidence regarding home mortgages in bankruptcy cases. Specifically, the lawsuit alleges that:

• Chase fabricated documents that recorded its chain of ownership of residential mortgage loans. In order to be able to claim ownership of mortgage debt in bankruptcy court (or any court), a person must have a hard copy of the mortgage’s promissory loan (also called a Master Loan Note, or MLN). Because of electronic mortgage registration systems and securitization of mortgages (two factors that greatly contributed to the expansion and burst of the housing bubble), however, most banks no longer hold paper MLNs.
• Chase presented falsified documents in bankruptcy court. In order to “prove” that it was the lender to whom a bankruptcy filer owed money, Chase allegedly presented these fabricated documents to bankruptcy courts (because it did not have actual documentation).
• Chase rewarded lawyers for speedy action. During a bankruptcy case, filers are protected from collection actions like foreclosure by the automatic stay. But creditors can petition the court to lift that stay in order to collect on certain debts. In Chase’s case, the charges claim, the bank rewarded attorneys for producing false documents quickly and convincing the court to lift the stay quickly so that Chase could foreclose or collect money on a bankruptcy filer’s home.

Who Is Affected By the Class Action Suit?

The class named in the suit (Ernest Michael Bakenie v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., filed in the Central District of California) includes bankruptcy filers who live in California. To find out whether you are a member of the class, you can consult with a bankruptcy lawyer in your area.

Plaintiffs in the suit are seeking damages, restitution, injunctive relief, and disgorgement of profits.