Cincinnati Bankruptcy Law Blog

Small business owners in Kentucky and Ohio may read about high profile bankruptcy filings in the news. One much anticipated recent bankruptcy filing involves Eastman Kodak Co. Kodak, an American icon, has recently filed for bankruptcy protection under Chapter 11, which is also known as a restructuring.

The hope is that during the next year, the company will be able to sell off some of its assets, such as it extensive intellectual property portfolio, along with negotiating with several of its many creditors, in order to figure out a way that it can survive in an increasingly competitive industry.

Kodak has been the victim of patent infringement on some of its many patents that it holds, some of which continue have real value. Kodak apparently suspects that it may have been the victim of widespread patent infringement because of its volatile financial situation, and its questionable ability to pursue prosecution. However, in an effort to revive the company, Kodak is seeking compensation in several patent infringement lawsuits, including one such lawsuit against Apple.

Ordinary people are not the only ones, of course, who have been struggling with foreclosure during the housing crisis and bad economy. Most recently in the news is the foreclosure action against O. J. Simpson, along with his ongoing bankruptcy. Simpson purchased his Miami home in 2000 for $575,000. Like most properties, it is no longer worth what he paid for it, instead losing at least $100,000 in value.

Simpson, 64, has been struggling, financially and otherwise, for the past 15 years. Although he was acquitted in the 1995 murders of his ex-wife and her friend Ron Goldman, he was held financially responsible for their deaths in the amount of $33.5 million. When Simpson and a ghostwriter released a book about the murders, a judge in an earlier case ruled that Simpson should not be allowed to benefit from the proceeds and awarded the rights to the Goldman family in partial payment on the $33.5 million debt.

Sports agent Leigh Steinberg was the inspiration behind the 1996 hit movie "Jerry Maguire." This real-life super-agent has been involved in the negotiations for some of the biggest player contracts in the NFL. However, he recently filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection.

Among the star football players he has represented are Troy Aikman, Warren Moon, Steve Young and Ben Roethlisberger. Altogether, he earned millions of dollars in compensation for some of these contracts, which have included some of the largest in history.

Unfortunately, a series of events over the past ten years that have dealt the famous player representative several serious financial blows. According to reports, Steinberg is currently in debt for several million dollars, including one $1.4 million he apparently owes a Newport Beach landlord for office space he had leased. According to court documents, Steinberg's only remaining assets include a stock portfolio that will not be sufficient to meet his debts.

Ohio residents, like homeowners across the nation, are currently facing the risk of losing their homes to foreclosure or defaulting on their mortgages.

In an effort to help prevent home foreclosures in Ohio, the Ohio Housing Finance Agency (OHFA) announced new changes to the state's foreclosure prevention program. The changes, which are entitled "Enhancements to Restoring Stability: A Save the Dream Ohio Initiative, have been designed with the hopes of reaching Ohio homeowners who need it the most.

Advertisements found online and on television claim to be able to help troubled mortgage borrowers by performing a modification on their loan that provides financial relief. But many of these companies are in fact scam setups intended to drain desperate consumers of money without providing any of the promised services, and realtors are making an effort to educate homeowners before they become victimized.

Cincinnati foreclosure prevention attorneys note that one realtors' association last week made an announcement through a press release warning consumers of this mortgage scam, which comes at a time of the year when such scams are most prevalent. Scammers use multiple methods of collecting the names and information of potential victims, including combing through foreclosure notices that are public record and regularly published online and in newspapers.

As we all know, homeowners across the nation have been struggling to avoid foreclosure, whether through loan modifications, short sales, deeds in lieu of foreclosure or simply by trying to work with their mortgage lenders. Ohio residents have not been immune from the foreclosure epidemic, and many have experienced the same frustrations of one woman whose situation was recently profiled by a newspaper's watchdog reporter.

Among the many reasons people are forced into foreclosure is illness or injury. When it is, staying in one's home can become a fight to survive. This has been the case for one woman who had made her mortgage payments regularly for well over a decade before a 2008 accident left her unable to work.

After suffering kidney failure, along with blood clots and internal bleeding of mysterious origin, she was unable to keep up with her monthly payments, so she turned to her bank, JPMorgan Chase, and applied for a loan modification.

She was approved for a trial modification, and she did everything she could to make that permanent -- ultimately paying more than $50,000 in mortgage principal and legal fees to Chase.

The student loan system has receiving its fair share of criticism as mountain frustration with both the economy and the government has manifested itself in social movements like Occupy Wall Street. Now some critics are demanding change to a system they feel preys on those seeking student loans and provides incentives for companies to allow the loans to fall into default.

Cincinnati Chapter 7 bankruptcy lawyers note that the current student loan system can quickly turn against those taking government loan money if they later find themselves unable to make their monthly payments. Unlike other forms of debt, student loans are not dischargeable during bankruptcy. In addition, student loans are exempt from statutes of limitations and other refinancing options that other forms of debt can benefit from.

Many homeowners suffering through the foreclosure process are hoping that a new program will provide financial relief as they try to avoid losing their homes. But critics of the new government program believe errors in the procedures of the program will hold it back from providing meaningful relief in the wake of repeated procedural errors committed by banks during the foreclosure process.

Cincinnati foreclosure attorneys note that several major financial institutions in the United States, including Bank of America Corp and JPMorgan Chase, knowingly committed procedural errors when handling home foreclosures and put consumers at a disadvantage when the homeowners were working to keep their homes.