Harris v. Viegelahn : Basic House-Keeping in Consumer Bankruptcy
Bankruptcy Law Letter July 2015 35 No. 7 Bankruptcy Law Letter NL 1
In a rare unanimous case, the Supreme Court has finally resolved a question that has nagged courts for decades. Harris v. Viegelahn,[ ] involved a Chapter 13 case that was converted to Chapter 7. The question, as addressed by Judge Daniel S. Opperman (ED Mich) depends on whether the case was converted or dismissed. In a converted case, the funds on hand to to the Debtors. Judge Opperman distinguished the 11 USC 348 from 349 base on 11 USC 349 a(a) “Unless the court, for cause, orders otherwise . . .. 349 deals with dismissal as popposed to conversion. In the case at hand, Judge Opperman maintained that the adquedate protedtion payment “ordered for case by the court” had to be paid out tof the remaining proceeeds.