Epicentre Contractors Turn to Bankruptcy

Contracting has always been a tough business. Subcontractors often make payroll and provide supplies and labor to a project months before they are paid by the general contractor or owner.
In the case of Charlotte’s Epicentre, a stop work order strangled cash flow for both the developer and the contractors. We’re still seeing clients whose financial [...]

Bankruptcy and Divorce

All too often money problems lead to divorce, and visa versa. Be sure to include a competent bankruptcy attorney on your legal team alongside your family law counsel.

Mortgage Modification Mixups

My law partner, Rick Mitchell, and I are disgusted by the false promises and abysmal performance of the nation’s mortgage lenders who claim to be participating in the “Making Homes Affordable” program.  Homeowners were lured into this program with the expectation that they would get an answer within the “modification period” (usually 3-6 months) and [...]

Bankruptcy 101: What Every Lawyer Needs to Know About Bankruptcy

In this economy, most attorneys — no matter what their practice area — have established relationships with clients who are now either in financial difficulty, or are affected by someone else’s financial difficulties. Divorce attorneys, personal injury attorneys, real estate attorneys, employment law attorneys, and construction law attorneys are just a few of the [...]

Foreclose or Declare Bankruptcy?

Clients in financial difficulty often ask whether they are better served allowing their home to go into foreclosure or whether bankruptcy might be a better option for them.
Not since the Great Depression have so many people had to learn so much about credit law. Five years ago most of the clients we now see in [...]

Who Defaults, and Why?

This month we’ve run a series for distressed homeowners and published NC foreclosure data. To round out our coverage on the topic I want to discuss a paper written by James E. Rogers of the University of Arizona’s College of Law because it runs counter to what people generally believe is happening with people “walking [...]

Surviving USAirways Layoffs & Furloughs

Charlotte has fared better than other cities at the hands of USAirways, but it hasn’t been easy for those who’ve been laid off, furloughed or left doing the work of their former coworkers.
CEO Doug Parker says analysts predict the airline will lose $600 million this year and obviously such losses are untenable. Management will continue [...]

Moving Through the Python, Bankruptcy Cycles

Today’s economy is force-feeding the bankruptcy python: developers who can’t pay their subcontractors force the subs into bankruptcy. Most small contractors and subcontractors are owned by individuals who guaranteed the business’s debts and will eventually seek personal bankruptcy protection. Bankruptcies always come in waves.