At a time when many homeowners and Americans alike feel that our system is rigged and the banks are doing the rigging, there is a small glimmer of hope coming from the Southern District of the US Bankruptcy Court in New York.
Judge Cecelia Morris has become known as a no nonsense judge when it comes to protecting the rights of all parties who appear in her court. Attorneys contacted for this article clearly appreciate the fact that Judge Morris is a fair and equitable jurist.
On February 1st 2012 an order was issued appointing Bankruptcy Judge Cecelia Morris as the Chief Judge of The US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York for a term of 5 years beginning on March 1st, 2012.
Judge Cecelia G. Morris has served as a United States Bankruptcy Judge for the Southern District of New York since July 1, 2000. She is a graduate of West Texas State University, and received her J.D. degree from John Marshall Law School.
In the past two years, Judge Morris has lead efforts by attorneys representing debtors and secured creditors to implement a model chapter 13 plan and model chapter 13 order.
Judge Morris also pioneered a detailed worksheet that requires explanation of standing, arrearages and other current mortgage information as part of a motion for relief from the automatic stay concerning residential real estate and cooperative apartments.
Most recently she collaborated with other judges and practitioners to develop the Loss Mitigation Program Procedures for the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York, the first court-supervised program in the U.S. to address voluntary modification of home loans.
Her efforts have been invaluable in illuminating the Court’s perspective on the day to day needs of debtors.
Debtors and their Legal Representatives can only hope that as Judge Morris rises through the ranks of the Federal Court system she will continue to work for fairness insuring that debtors can count on the courts for the type of help that was intended when the bankruptcy laws were written.
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