How the Amici Came Together for the Fifth Circuit's Disappearing Exemptions Cases

When a case is heard at the Supreme Court, the docket is filled with briefs of amicus curiae trying to say something that will catch the court's attention.   With so many briefs filed, they sometimes cancel each other out in a flutter of pdf files sounding variations on the same themes.   However, amicus briefs are much less common at the Court of Appeals level.  Recently I was part of an effort where a panel of the Fifth Circuit reversed itself in one instance and reversed a district court in another.   The cases are Hawk v. Engelhart (In re Hawk), 871 F.3d 287 (5th Cir. 2017) and Lowe v. DeBerry (In re DeBerry), 2018 U.S. Appl LEXIS 5772 (5th Cir. 3/7/18).    In this post, I would like to share how our amicus briefs came together as well as some tips on amicus practice before the Fifth Circuit.

District Court Rules that Proceeds of a Texas Homestead Sold Post-Petition Lose Their Protection After Six Months in a Chapter 7 Case

Overruling a bankruptcy court decision, a District Judge in the Western District of Texas has ruled that proceeds from sale of a homestead can be recovered if not timely reinvested in a Chapter 7 case.   The Court ruled that the Frost decision applied equally in both a Chapter 13 and a Chapter 7 setting.   Lowe v. DeBerry, No. 5:15-cv-1135-RCL (W.D. Tex. 3/10/17).    The opinion can be accessed through PACER here.    The opinion raises serious questions about whether an exemption can ever be truly final.