External links

• Bush Industries Official Website

History

It was started by the Church of the Message of Christ, in 1907, who bought a timber-built tile-roof house, first started off by selling books relating to Christianity, over the years it changed its name from Kyomoon Seogwan, Jongro Seogwan and in 1963, by adopting the name “Jongro Seojuk Center”, it became the leading bookstore of Seoul. Slowly over the 90s, the 300 strong employee base dwindled to a meager 50, and finally in 2002, not being able to reverse its $11.5 million deficit, it declared bankruptcy. It apparently looked for a third party buyer, but no one came to their rescue.

It declared bankruptcy in 2002, June, right in the middle of the Soccer World Cup 2002. The reasons for its bankruptcy were rumored being for its lack of parking space, introduction of internet book stores (this has little credence as other major book stores like Kyobo or Youngpoong has grown bigger every year), and general lack of customer service, the fact that one had climb through five different floors to look for a book, and its inadequate size. There was also voices criticising its flippant position of being so sure of its future, relying on old customers, being ran by people who believed that Jongro Seojuk would survive. It cared nothing for the growing expansion of the new Kyobo Moongo which opened its doors in 1981, it did not try to improve or change its image or store to match changing times. In essence, marketing failed, and customer-company relationship had become literally non-existent by the 1990s. It still managed to rake in a few loyal customers till the mid 90s, but after 2000, Jongro Seojuk was overshadowed by the new, and more modern book stores in Jongro.

Centenary Loss

The bankruptcy was quietly forgotten by many because of the World Cup, but millions of people remember the only book store that did not fail them if they looked for a book. After its bankruptcy, numerous people regretted the loss of the only cultural literary tradition in Korea that would’ve neared its centenary celebrations.

See also

• List of bookstore chains

In late 1996, Indiana-based H.H. Gregg Appliances and Electronics had arranged to purchase Sun in an $87.5 million deal that would have paid $5 per share to the owners of Sun’s 17.5 million outstanding shares. However, H.H. Gregg withdrew from the deal over concerns regarding Sun’s financial condition.

The company ceased operations in 1998 after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in September of that year, and after attempts to sell the company as a going concern failed. Some locations were purchased by H.H. Gregg Appliances and Electronics, and were reopened as H.H. Gregg locations.

References

External links

• Company profile (business.com)

Take No Action

Bankruptcy prevents a person’s creditors from obtaining a judgment against them. With a judgment a creditor can attempt to garnish wages or seize certain types of property. However, if a debtor has no wages (because they are unemployed or retired) and has no property, they are “judgment proof”, meaning a judgment would have no impact on their financial situation. Creditors typically do not initiate legal action against a debtor with no assets, because it’s unlikely they could collect the judgment.

If enough time passes, seven years in most jurisdictions, the debt is removed from the debtor’s credit history.

A debtor with no assets or income cannot be garnished by a creditor, and therefore the “Take No Action” approach may be the correct option, particularly if the debtor does not expect to have a steady income or property a creditor could attempt to seize.

Self Money Management

Debt is a result of spending more than one’s income in a given period. To reduce debt, the most obvious solution is to reduce monthly spending to allow extra cash flow to service debt. This can be done by creating a personal budget and analyzing expenses to find areas to reduce expenses.

Most people, when reviewing a written list of their monthly expenses, can find ways to reduce expenses. Common areas for expense reduction would include reducing food expenses by eating out less often, taking public transportation instead of driving a car, and eliminating enhanced telephone and cable television services.

Negotiate With Creditors

Creditors understand that bankruptcy is an option for debtors with excessive debt, so most creditors are willing to negotiate a settlement so that they receive a portion of their money, instead of risking losing everything in a bankruptcy.

Negotiation is a viable alternative if the debtor has sufficient income, or has assets that can be liquidated so that the proceeds can be applied against the debt.

Negotiation may also buy the debtor some time to rebuild their finances.

Debt Consolidation

Debt is a problem if the interest payments are greater than the debtor can afford. Debt consolidation typically involves borrowing from one lender (typically a bank), at a low rate of interest, sufficient funds to repay a number of higher interest rate debts (such as credit cards). By consolidating debts, the debtor replaces many payments to many different creditors with one monthly payment to one creditor, thereby simplifying their monthly budget. In addition, the lower interest rate means that more of the debtor’s monthly payment is applied against the principal of the loan, resulting in faster debt repayment. It may be necessary to have a co-signor or other security, such as a car, if the borrow’s credit is not sufficient on their own.

Formal Proposal to Creditors

If the debtor cannot deal with their debt problems through personal budgeting, negotiation with creditors, or debt consolidation, the final bankruptcy alternative is a formal proposal or deal with the creditors.

Different countries have different legal procedures for compromising debts. In the United States, a debtor can file a Chapter 13 Wager Earner Plan. The plan will typically last for up to five years, during which time the debtor makes payments that are distributed to their creditors.

In Canada, a Consumer Proposal can be filed with the assistance of a government-licensed proposal administrator. Forty-five days after filing the proposal the creditors vote on the proposal, which is considered accepted if more than half of the creditors, by dollar value, vote to approve the proposal.

Individual Voluntary Arrangement

In the UK the Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA) represents the main formal alternative to a debtors bankruptcy petition. The IVA is part of the Insolvency Act 1986 and essentially allows a debtor to reach a formal repayment arrangement with their creditors usually over a 5 year period. In most cases the debtor does not repay their debts in full to their creditors however the IVA proposal essentially allows for any remaining debt to be written off by the creditors at the end of the 5 year repayment period. As with bankruptcy petitions the number of IVA proposals has been increasing rapidly in the UK in recent years.

Lon Horiuchi

In 1998 Lodge acted as the presiding Judge in the case of Idaho vs Lon T. Horiuchi, which involved the indictment of the FBI sniper who shot three people during the Ruby Ridge Standoff. Lodge cited the Supremacy Clause and dismissed the charges against Horiuchi, which angered many who felt the leniency was unmerited.

Investigation into Banking Practices

Lodge was investigated by the 9th Circuit Court over his relationship to the US Bank (Then WestOne Bank) during the 1980s, which drew criticism when he presided over his inlaws’ bankruptcy proceedings, while the bank overlooked the non-disclosure of over $1 million in assets which then became the property of the judge’s wife, Patty Lodge. On June 28, 1995, he was subsequently forbidden from presiding over any cases that involved the bank, though he continued to preside over such cases when the bank was officially renamed.

The Oregon Observer would later lay out what it claimed were 16 examples of bankruptcy fraud that Lodge had knowingly been involved in, and Republican Representative Helen Chenoweth-Hage drew flak for receiving earlier reports of Lodge’s dealings and failing to act on them.

Sami Al-Hussayen

In 2004, Lodge presided over the trial of Sami Omar Al-Hussayen - accused of recruiting Islamic fanaticals into participating in Jihad against the United States. On May 13th he ruled to disallow a defence witness to refer to a blood drive that Hussayen had run after September 11th to help the victims, nor that he had widely condemned the attacks.

Canonically erected on December 17, 1913, the territories of the diocese were taken from the former Diocese of Seattle.

Approximately 90,000 Catholics in Washington state are served by the Diocese.US Church offers abuse settlement, 2007-1-5, BBC News, Retrieved 2007-6-30 There are 82 parishes in the diocese. http://www.deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,695216117,00.html

The current bishop of the Diocese of Spokane is William S. Skylstad. Bishop Skylstad was elected to a three-year term as president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops on 15 November 2004.

Sex abuse settlement and bankruptcy

Under Bishop Skylstad the diocese declared bankruptcy to protect it from claims of people molested by priests.

The Diocese of Spokane as part of its bankruptcy has agreed to pay at least US$48 million as compensation to people abused by priests. This payout has to be agreed with by the victims and a Judge before it will be made.

According to Federal Bankruptcy Judge Gregg W. Zive, money for the settlement would come from insurance companies, the sale of church property, contributions from Catholic groups and from the diocese’s parishes.

High schools

• Desales Catholic High School, Walla Walla
• Gonzaga Preparatory School, Spokane
• Tri-Cities Prep, Pasco

Colleges

• Gonzaga University, Spokane
• Bishop White Semminary, Spokane

See also

• Roman Catholic sex abuse cases
• Cases of child sexual abuse in the Roman Catholic Church

External links

• Roman Catholic Diocese of Spokane
• Catholic Hierarchy Profile of the Diocese of Spokane

References

Choosing Chapter 13

An individual who is badly in debt can file for bankruptcy either under Chapter 7 ( liquidation, or straight bankruptcy), under Chapter 13 (reorganization) or Chapter 11, Title 11, United States Code.

Debtors may also be forced into bankruptcy by creditors in the case of an involuntary bankruptcy, but only under Chapters 7 or 11. However, in most instances the debtor may choose under which chapter to file.

The debtor’s financial characteristics and the type of relief sought plays a tremendous role in the choice of chapters. In some cases the debtor simply cannot file under Chapter 13, as he or she lacks the disposable income necessary to fund a viable Chapter 13 plan (see below). Furthermore, Section 109(e) of Title 11, United States Code sets forth debt limits for individuals to be eligable to file under Chapter 13 the debt limits for filing Chapter 13 of unsecured debts of less than $336,900.00 and secured debts of less than $1,010,650.00. These debt limits are subject to annual cost of living increases and represent values updated through April 1, 2007.

Under Chapter 13, the debtor proposes a plan to pay his creditors over a 3 to 5 year period. During this period, his creditors cannot attempt to collect on the individual’s previously incurred debt except through the bankruptcy court. In general, the individual gets to keep his property, and his creditors end up with less money than they are owed.

Disadvantages of Chapter 13

The disadvantage of filing for personal bankruptcy is that a record of this stays on the individual’s credit report for 10 years. During the pendency of a Chapter 13 case the debtor is not permitted to obtain additional credit without the permission of the bankruptcy court. Moreover, creditors may not be willing to risk lending money to such an individual. However, this disadvantage is not unique to Chapter 13; it may also apply to individuals currently in a Chapter 11 case or those who are in or have recently been in a Chapter 7 case.

Advantages of Chapter 13

The advantages of Chapter 13 over Chapter 7 include: the ability to stop foreclosures and to have a mortgage that has been accelerated declared reinstated upon bankruptcy plan completion; to achieve a super discharge of debts of kinds not dischargeable under Chapter 7; to value collateral; to bifurcate the security interest of creditors in certain property that creditors are either charging too much interest for, or are over-secured, or both, and in some cases; to prevent collection activities against non-filing co-signers (co-debtors) during the life of the case.

The Chapter 13 Plan

A Chapter 13 plan is a document filed with or shortly after a debtor’s Chapter 13 bankruptcy petition.

The plan details the treatment of debts, liens, and the secured status of assets and liabilities owned or owed by the debtor in regard to his bankruptcy petition. In order for plans to take effect, it must meet a number of requirements. These are specified in § 1325 and include:

• providing that unsecured creditors will receive at least as much through the chapter 13 plan as they would in a chapter 7 liquidation
• either not be objected to, repay all creditors in full, or commit all of the debtor’s disposable income to the Chapter 13 plan for at least three years (or five years for a debtor who makes an above median income)

Statistics

2003 Statistics

Bankruptcy filings by individuals:

• Chapter 7 filings: 1,156,284
• Chapter 11 filings: 959
• Chapter 13 filings: 468,562

Bankruptcy filings by businesses:

• Chapter 7 filings: 21,008
• Chapter 11 filings: 9,185
• Chapter 12 filings: 698
• Chapter 13 filings: 5,201

The total number of bankruptcies rose 7.4 percent over the previous twelve months. These totals were for the 12-month period ending September 30, 2003.

Source: November 14 2003 News Release, Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. (External link to PDF file: [1])

2004 Statistics

TOTAL bankruptcies:

• Chapter 7 filings: 1,153,865
• Chapter 11 filings: 10,368
• Chapter 12 filings: 238
• Chapter 13 filings: 454,412

Bankruptcy cases filed in federal courts fell 2.6 percent in fiscal year 2004 according to the
Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. During the 12-month period ending September 30, 2004, 1,618,987 bankruptcies were filed, down from the 1,661,996 bankruptcy cases filed in fiscal year 2003.

Source: November 14 2003 News Release, Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. (External link to PDF file: [2])

See also

• Chapter 7
• Chapter 11
• Chapter 12

External Links

• Graphical view of the procedure under the Bankruptcy Code post BAPCPA

• National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys

References

• August 11, 2002 - US Airways enters protection
• December 9, 2002 - United Airlines under protection
• April 1, 2003 - Air Canada files
• September 30, 2004 - Air Canada emerges
• September 14, 2005 - Northwest Airlines files
• September 14, 2005 - Delta Air Lines files, putting 4 of the top 7 carriers in the United States under bankruptcy protection
• September 27, 2005 - US Airways emerges, in conjunction with its acquisition by America West
  
• February 1, 2006 - United Airlines emerges
• April 30, 2007-Delta Airlines emerges
• May 31,2007-Northwest Airlines emerges

See also

• Airline (discussion of financial aspects)
• List of defunct airlines
• List of airlines

External links

• Air Transport Association compilation of bankruptcies