A Creditor’s Prospective on Dischargeable and Nondischargeable Debts in Bankruptcy
NCBA Legal Learning Webinar
Learn to identify when a debt may be subject to a dischargeability challenge and how to prosecute. This topic will focus on the procedural and legal aspects of discharge and nondischargeable matters in bankruptcy. The panel will discuss discharge under each chapter of bankruptcy and its requirements. The material will also review exceptions to discharge, especially those that a creditor will most likely encounter. While there are many exceptions to discharge under the bankruptcy code, some are more common than others. How is a debt determined nondischargeable? What is the bankruptcy procedure for objecting to discharge? Who has the burden of proof in these actions? Ultimately, what happens after discharge is entered? These are the issues and topics that will be discussed in-depth by our panelists, Keri P. Ebeck of Bernstein-Burkley, P.C. and Nicole Noel of Kass Shuler, P.A.
CLE PENDING
Keri P. Ebeck
Bernstein-Burkley, P.C.
Keri is a partner and co-manager in the Bankruptcy & Restructuring practice group of Bernstein-Burkley, P.C. in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. As a Partner, she handles commercial, consumer, and real estate bankruptcy matters, as well as she is the co-manager of the bankruptcy group. Keri is certified by the American Board of Certification in consumer bankruptcy and is a member of the standards committee for the ABC. Keri is the past Chair of the Allegheny County Bar Association Bankruptcy and Commercial Law Section, which is responsible for studying bankruptcy and commercial law and informing its members of proposed changes to related legislation. Keri is current Treasurer of the Allegheny County Bar Association and is also currently servicing as the Chair of the Finance and Investment Committees for the Allegheny County Bar Association. Keri is also serving as the Vice-President of Membership for the Pennsylvania Creditors’ Bar Association.
A member of the American Legal & Financial Network (ALFN), Keri was awarded the 2022 American Legal Financial Network’s Industry Achievement Award and is a past ALFN 2017 JPEG: Picture the Future Award, which recognizes stand-out young professionals for their achievements and commitment to the mortgage servicing industry. She is the chair of the ALFN’s Bankruptcy and a member of its Women in Legal Leadership Committees and is a member of Legal League 100.
Keri is also a member and the finance committee chair of the Judith K. Fitzgerald Western Pennsylvania Bankruptcy American Inn of Court and a member of the Turnaround Management Association. She is licensed in Pennsylvania and New Jersey and is admitted to practice before the U.S. District Court for the Eastern, Middle, and Western Districts of Pennsylvania; the U.S. District Court of New Jersey; the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio; the U.S. District Courts of Northern and Southern Districts of Indiana; the U.S. District Courts for the Eastern, Northern, Southern, and Western Districts of Texas; the Third Circuit Court of Appeals; and the U.S. Supreme Court.
Keri has spoken on bankruptcy and collection topics nationally at the ALFN Answers annual conference as well as ALFN’s Bankruptcy conference since 2013. Keri also speaks, plans sessions and moderates regularly for the Allegheny County Bar Association, NBI and Pennsylvania Bar Institute on bankruptcy, collections and repossessions. Keri has also presented several on site client seminars as well as hosted webinars for clients, prospective clients and industry representatives on bankruptcy and collections. Keri was recently recognized in the 2021, 2022 and 2023 edition of Pennsylvania Best Lawyers for Bankruptcy.
Keri is a certified mediator and registered to handle mediations for the Western District of Pennsylvania District and Bankruptcy Courts. Keri is an active volunteer with Make-A-Wish Foundation, Greater Pennsylvania and West Virginia Chapter. Keri is also a board member of the Trojan Education Foundation.
Nicole Noel
Kass Shuler, P.A.
Nicole Mariani Noel is a Shareholder at Kass Shuler, PA., practicing in the fields of Bankruptcy, Creditors’ Rights and Insolvency, Real Estate, Consumer and Business Litigation since 2009. Nicole heads the Bankruptcy practice group for the firm and handles cases throughout Florida, including the Northern, Middle, and Southern districts, as well as District of Colorado, Eastern and Southern District of Texas, all three Districts in Tennessee, and Northern and Southern District of Illinois. Nicole is the President for the Tampa Bay Bankruptcy Bar Association (TBBBA) for the 2024-2025 Bar year. Nicole formerly chaired the Bankruptcy Practice Group for the American Legal and Financial Network (ALFN) and the Case Law Update Subcommittee for the Real Property Finance and Lending Committee of the Real Property Probate and Trust Law Section of the Florida Bar. Nicole’s published work includes Was Brown a Rash Decision? (The Cramdown, Summer 2014); Incompatible Personalities: Investigating the Mutually Exclusive Nature of § 1322(b)(2), (5) (ABI Journal, November 2012) and Stripping Down Your Spouse: Tenancy by the Entirety Property Ownership under § 506 (ABI YLC Newsletter, September 2012). She recently authored a chapter on Bankruptcy in Florida Foreclosure Law published by Fastcase.
Nicole is active in the community and is an adjunct professor at Stetson University College of Law, St. Petersburg College and Hillsborough Community College teaching Bankruptcy, Real Property Finance, Business Law and Civil Litigation. Nicole participated in the 2016 NextGeneration program held by the Bankruptcy Judges during the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges (NCBJ). She was honored to become a Fellow for the Florida Bar Leadership Academy. She has also been named one of ALFN’s Junior Professionals and Executives Group (JPEG)’s stand-out young professional to watch in 2016 and most recently received the 2023 Industry Achievement Award for the ALFN. This award is given to professionals whose overall achievements and work within the financial services industry has helped provide opportunities in advancing the legal and financial services industries, through education, training, leadership, mentoring or acting as a role model. Award recipients will have displayed the highest level of professionalism and leadership, and who have been a continued advocate for the industry and ALFN for an extended period of time.
Nicole received her undergraduate degree from The Florida State University and her Juris Doctor and Masters of Business Administration degrees from Stetson University College of Law and Stetson University School of Business Administration. Nicole was born and raised in St. Petersburg, Florida and is enjoying embarking on her greatest adventure, being the mother of two daughters, along with her husband.
CLE Information
National Creditors Bar Association is a national provider of legal educational content. NCBA’s goal is to provide its members with as many opportunities as possible to earn Continuing Legal Education (CLE) credits. Some NCBA webinars state that they are pending approval. If a webinar is pending approval, it means that NCBA’s education staff is awaiting confirmation of approval for CLE credit from the accrediting body of a particular state; it should be noted that individual states have different response and approval rates. NCBA expects that the course will be approved for the credit amount and type listed, but approval is not guaranteed. An attorney can still take the course at their own discretion, though.
It is not uncommon for a course which is pending approval to not be approved until after the webinar has taken place. Once an official decision notice arrives from the state, NCBA will notify attorneys who have completed the course as soon as possible via email, and will re-issue any certificates of completion to reflect the updated state reporting numbers. However, it is recommended that attorneys do not view webinars that are pending approval close to their CLE deadline, as NCBA cannot guarantee that a course will be approved in time.
National Creditors Bar Association will seek MCLE accreditation, with the assistance of the ABA MCLE, for this webinar. NCBA will seek General CLE credit hours in 60-minute-hour states, and in 50-minute states, subject to each state’s approval and credit rounding rules. States typically decide whether a program qualifies for MCLE credit in their jurisdiction 4-8 weeks after the program application is submitted. For many live events, credit approval is not received prior to the program. A link for CLE requests will be provided to webinar attendees who have met the attendance and engagement requirements.