#Bankruptcy laws

[fenrislorsrai]

A few days after the release was discovered in June 2017, Stan met with Southcreek and the Oklahoma Corporation Commission, the state’s oil and gas regulatory agency. At the meeting, the company characterized the incident as a “small spill,” the Ledgerwoods later alleged in court. It was unclear how long the leak lasted, but the saltwater plume had already saturated the soil and killed 2 acres of vegetation by the time it broke the surface, according to state oil regulators. Samples analyzed a month later by Oklahoma State University found that the soil’s concentration of chloride, which occurs in the type of salt water injected into the well, had risen to more than 12 times the state’s acceptable level and was “sufficiently high to reduce yield of even salt tolerant crops.” Other tests showed that chloride levels in the family’s water well had spiked to more than five times what the Environmental Protection Agency deems safe. The tests didn’t look for other contaminants like heavy metals that are often left behind by the oil production process. - - Don began traveling 30 miles round-trip to Walmart to buy bottled water. Stan and Tina’s steel pots rusted after being washed, and their 2-year-old great-niece’s skin became irritated and inflamed after repeatedly washing her hands while they potty-trained her. In a text message, the girl’s mother described her hands as looking like they had “a burn.” - - As is common in American oil fields, property rights in this part of Oklahoma often create split estates, where one person owns the land while another owns the underlying minerals, such as oil and gas. The owner of the minerals has a right to drill, even if the landowner would prefer they didn’t. - - But Oklahoma has more than 260,000 unplugged wells — behind only Texas — according to data from energy industry software firm Enverus. To plug and clean up the state’s wells could cost approximately $7.3 billion, according to an analysis of state records. Oklahoma has just $45 million in bonds. The oil industry’s bonds are “shockingly inadequate,” said Peter Morgan, a Sierra Club senior attorney. “It’s clear that abandoning wells and leaving communities and taxpayers to foot the bill to clean them up is baked into the oil and gas industry business model.” At the Capitol in Oklahoma City, which features repurposed oil derricks outside its main entrance, Republican state Rep. Brad Boles has tried for several years to address the shortfall. This year, he introduced a bill to create a tiered bonding system based on the number of wells a company operates, increasing the highest required bond to $150,000. [passed House, did not gt a vote in Senate] - - A stream of trucks rumbled down the Ledgerwoods’ once-quiet gravel road as workers removed enough dirt to fill 750 dump trucks and pumped more than 71,000 gallons from the Ledgerwoods’ water well. But the dangerous concentrations of chloride didn’t change, according to Fox Hollow’s report. - - Progress in the lawsuit was short-lived. In November 2019, shortly after the Ledgerwoods’ attorney sent discovery requests to Wise Oil & Gas, the company filed in a Texas court for voluntary Chapter 7 bankruptcy — a full liquidation of its assets. Company executives acknowledged they declared bankruptcy to avoid legal fees associated with the Ledgerwoods’ suit, according to court records. - - But two months later, Mullin ruled against the Ledgerwoods. He disagreed that Wise Oil & Gas had entered bankruptcy to shed bad investments and dodge cleanup obligations. He blasted the Ledgerwoods for requesting sanctions against the Cocanoughers. “Merely because the Ledgerwood Creditors have been damaged by the saltwater contamination, this does not provide them with an unfettered right to retaliate or lash out against unrelated and far-removed targets, such as the Cocanougher Sanction Targets,” Mullin wrote. If the Ledgerwoods wanted to continue seeking damages against the Cocanoughers and their businesses, they would have to pay the oil company’s attorneys’ fees, about $107,000, Mullin ruled.

It's worth reading the whole article for a breakdown of exactly HOW a company that poisoned a family's well and farm got out of fixing it or paying compensation.

Not as relevant in this particular case, but uncapped out of service wells like this are a major source of methane, an even more potent greenhouse gas than CO2

[jay-weller]

BANKRUPTCY ATTORNEY IN CITRUS SPRINGS

BANKRUPTCY ATTORNEY IN CITRUS SPRINGS - #jayweller #bankruptcy, #Bankruptcyassistance, #Bankruptcyattorneys, #BankruptcyLawyer, #Chapter13, #Chapter7, #FilingForBankruptcy, #WellerLegalGroup - https://www.jayweller.com/bankruptcy-attorney-in-citrus-springs/

[springlakegbc]

Bankruptcy laws provide a lifeline or second opportunity for individuals and businesses that are unable to fulfill their financial obligations. You can send debtors on their way to financial freedom depending on the sort of bankruptcy by liquidating existing assets or establishing a reasonable payment plan. The debtor can gradually pay off some of the debt in this way without experiencing any extra long-term financial hardships.

[cdntrustee]

LICENSED INSOLVENCY TRUSTEE FEES: WHAT UNDENIABLE EVIDENCE IS NEEDED FOR COURT APPROVAL OF INSOLVENCY TRUSTEE FEES?

LICENSED INSOLVENCY TRUSTEE FEES: WHAT UNDENIABLE EVIDENCE IS NEEDED FOR COURT APPROVAL OF INSOLVENCY TRUSTEE FEES?

Licensed insolvency trustee fees:  How is a licensed insolvency trustee paid? Are your debts or your company’s debts and financial situation causing you so much stress that you are considering speaking to a licensed insolvency trustee (formerly called a bankruptcy trustee or trustees in bankruptcy), but you are worried about the licensed insolvency trustee fees?  Are you concerned about the…

[the-garbanzo-annex-jr]

Source

[married-to-a-redhead]

I have seen a few people post this on their Tumblr. So with all due respect, I am going to do a quick PSA.

That’s not how this works. That’s not how any of this works.

Posting this quite literally does absolutely nothing. Please stop.

I am not sure what legal counsel provided this advice, but they should be immediately disbarred. And publicly ridiculed.

[queenboimler]

random q: does buck still have the jeep??

[gwydionmisha]

Oh No! Alex Jones Can't Use Bankruptcy to Avoid the Sandy Hook Judgments

[dontmeantobepoliticalbut]

The Biden administration announced on Thursday updated guidelines that will make it easier for those struggling with their student debt to discharge it in bankruptcy.

The new bankruptcy policy comes from the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Education, and allows federal student loan borrowers to prove that they’re experiencing financial distress requiring a fresh start. Under the rules, the agencies may recommend that a bankruptcy judge discharge a borrower’s student debt if they find their case warrants it.

Currently, it’s difficult, if not impossible, for someone to walk away from their federal student debt in a normal bankruptcy proceeding.

“Today’s guidance outlines a better, fairer, more transparent process for student loan borrowers in bankruptcy,” said Vanita Gupta, associate attorney general of the U.S.

The announcement comes as the White House is battling to defend its sweeping student loan forgiveness plan in the courts. The Biden administration stopped accepting applications for its program, which would cancel up to $20,000 in student debt for tens of millions of Americans, last week after Judge Mark Pittman of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas called the policy “unconstitutional” and struck it down.

The DOJ has appealed.

Before the Education Department closed its forgiveness portal, roughly 26 million people applied for the relief. Outstanding student debt exceeds $1.7 trillion, and even before the pandemic, some 10 million borrowers were in delinquency or default.

STUDENT DEBT HAS A HIGH BAR FOR BANKRUPTCY DISCHARGE

Student loans are currently treated differently than other types of debt in bankruptcy courts, and legal experts and consumer advocates have long said that the bar for being able to discharge the loans is too high.

In the 1970s, lawmakers added a stipulation that student loan borrowers had to wait at least five years after they began repayment to file for bankruptcy; the move came in response to concerns raised by policy makes and pundits that students would rack up a bunch of loans and then try to discharge them after graduation. In 1990, that waiting period was upped to seven years.

The rules changed again almost a decade later, requiring that people with federal or private student loans prove that their debt poses an “undue hardship” to discharge it in bankruptcy. Congress, however, never spelled out what that term means, and lawyers and advocates say the uncertainty leads to unfairness in the courts.

Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell has said that he’s “at a loss to explain” why student loans are treated differently than other types of debt in the proceedings.

Around 250,000 student loan debtors file for bankruptcy each year, but fewer than 300 walk away from their education debt in the proceeding, according to research published in the Duke Law Journal in December 2020. That’s a success rate of just 0.1%.

[jay-weller]

BANKRUPTCY LAWYER IN LECANTO

BANKRUPTCY LAWYER IN LECANTO - #jayweller #bankruptcy, #Bankruptcyassistance, #Bankruptcyattorneys, #BankruptcyLawyer, #Chapter13, #Chapter7, #FilingForBankruptcy, #Law, #WellerLegalGroup - https://www.jayweller.com/bankruptcy-lawyer-in-lecanto/

[smithpatrick]

How to get back my suspended license

Driving on a suspended license, you could face jail time, a fine, or both jail and a fine. Check if your license has been suspended under these circumstances and how can you get back your suspended license?

https://www.thetexasattorney.com/2018/01/26/reinstating-suspended-drivers-license-filing-bankruptcy/

[paulbonville]

Real Estate Law Massachusetts

Bonville & Howard Attorneys at Law is located in Fitchburg, Massachusetts was formed by Paul Bonville in 1947. Edwin Howard, a practicing Boston attorney, joined Attorney Bonville in 1980. Today, Bonville & Howard bears both of their names.Each member of our legal team possesses their own specialty area of legal expertise. By using a team approach we effectively are able to draw upon the multiple legal minds of our office to create the best custom strategy for unique situations. We are committed to achieving excellent results for our clients. 

Massachusetts Attorneys at Bonville & Howard provides legal services in the following cities: Fitchburg, Leominster, Westminster and Ashburnham, MA.          

Reach Us on (978) 345-4144 & ed@bonvillelaw.com        

154 Prichard St, Fitchburg, MA 01420, USA 

https://www.bonvillelaw.com/

[miralparis]

why am i like this