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The goal of BAPCPA is to shift bankruptcy filers from Chapter 7 to Chapter 13. The basis for this goal is the assumption that Chapter 7 filers repay much less of their debt than do Chapter 13 filers. Therefore, shifting debtors from Chapter 7 to Chapter 13 will increase debt repayment and lessen the amount of bankruptcy costs shifted to society as a whole. In order for this reasoning to be valid, it is necessary to substantiate the claim that Chapter 13 actually leads to substantial debt repayment. This paper examines the validity of this assumption using a random sample of filers from the Eastern Washington U.S. Federal Bankruptcy Court District in 2003 and 2005. The authors find that filers do, indeed, repay a substantial portion of their debts. This suggests that Chapter 13 is effective in generating debt repayment. However, Chapter 13 repayments also create major administrative costs, and frequently provide little benefit to general unsecured creditors. Moreover, the effectiveness of Chapter 13 bankruptcies is substantially reduced (by nearly a 2.5 to 1 ratio) if debtors do not successfully complete the repayment plans. As such, BAPCPA appears to miss an opportunity to further reduce the social costs of bankruptcy.

I examine the recent evolution of the law with respect to repurchase agreements. Repurchase agreements (repo) are short-term debt contracts that were central in the expansion of liquidity during the run-up to the financial crisis. The irresponsible and disruptive lending within the housing market was related to excessive financial institution leverage made possible through repo. A key issue in the law relating to repo is the status of the collateral in the event of bankruptcy of the borrower. I trace the development of this aspect of the law through interpretations of the bankruptcy code by the courts, as well as through legislated changes to the code.

The paper uses critical theory to analyze the impact of financial services advertising on consumer behavior in the run up to the Great Recession. One influential advertising campaign, the Citibank Live Richly campaign, is examined as an important situational variable, setting the context for poor consumer decision-making regarding financial services and consumer debt-related products. Critical realism is offered up as a promising methodology to examine the broader institutional and regulatory framework surrounding financial services advertising.

The purpose of this article is to describe Chapter 12 of the Federal Bankruptcy Code and recent changes in federal bankruptcy legislation that affect family farmers and fishermen. Chapter 12 provides debt relief to financially stressed family farmers and, since 2005, fishermen with regular income. It was first enacted in 1986, in response to the farm financial crisis of the early- to mid-1980s, and was subsequently renewed by Congress until being made a permanent part of the Bankruptcy Code on July 1, 2005. This article provides an overview of the history and procedural aspects of Chapter 12 bankruptcy for family farmers and fishermen who are experiencing financial distress. It also discusses changes to the Bankruptcy Code enacted in 2005 under the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act (BAPCPA) that affect the agricultural community.

The chapter deals with income tax evasion, including beginning discussion of the high-profile Wesley Snipes prosecution. The chapter then turns to Medicare fraud prosecutions. The changing nature of organized crime activity in Florida is the next subject covered in the chapter. The employment of “crews” and how they were prosecuted in the Middle District is included. Next the chapter turns to environment disputes, especially plaintiffs’ actions against large-scale developments considered to be outside federal guidelines. Issues such as manatee protection, protecting wetlands, and massive developments that violated existing rules and generally threatened the environment were often before federal judges. Middle District judges adjudicated endangered species questions as well. Finally the chapter turns to bankruptcy in the Middle District Court from 2000 to the present and a number of new additions to the Bankruptcy bar are featured.