2005 Bankruptcy Reform, Electronic Filing Requirements "Impede Consumers Trying To Save Their Homes From Foreclosure" Says Attorney In Federal Suit

In Chicago, Illinois, Courthouse News Service reports:

• The combination of Bush-era bankruptcy law reform and a new electronic filing rule in the Northern District of Illinois bankruptcy court reduced competition among lawyers, increased legal fees and hindered the public from trying to rescue their homes from foreclosure, a lawyer argues in a federal lawsuit. Attorney Thomas Holstein claims that the two actions, which he describes as "two sides of the same coin," are "overly broad and restrictive." In particular, Holstein says the mandatory electronic filing rule adopted by the bankruptcy court just months after the Bush reforms went into effect wrongfully "impedes consumers trying to save their homes from foreclosure under Chapter 13."

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• Holstein argues that the filing of a bankruptcy case is "an entirely clerical act" that doesn't require the skills of a licensed attorney. However, the bankruptcy court's mandatory e-filing rule holds that only lawyers are allowed to register for the service, Holstein says. He bases his challenge on federal antitrust law, which he says favors competition and is based on the principle that increased competition stimulates lower prices in the public interest.

For more, see Lawyer Says E-Filing Rule Is Anticompetitive.