The Connecticut Bar Associationand the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Hartford, CT challenging the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act ("BAPCPA"). The lawsuit argues that the BAPCPA illegally hampers the attorney-client relationship and hinders the ability of attorneys to represent their clients.

The lawsuit states "The status injects the government directly into the heart of the attorney-client relationship in a way that would be both grave and unprecedented."

The Justic eDepartment was looking into the lawsuit.

The two plaintiffs have asked Judge Christopher F. Droney for a preliminary injunction stating that attorneys are not covered by the provision until the case is settled.

The case is Connecticut Bar Assn. et al. Case No. 3"06-cv-00729-CFD

Ray

Interest rates have steadily crept up this past year forcing many homeowners to default on their mortgage payments. The Federal Reserve has raised interest rates sixteen times since June of 2004.
Many homeowners have financed their homes with adjustable-rate mortgages, and interest-only mortgages and are now finding themselves in trouble.

"Homeowners who negotiated ARM's in 2004 and 2005 could face interest rate increases that boost monthly payments by as much as 50 percent. One in eight of these people is expected to default on their loans -- as many as 1 million, according to First American Real Estate Solutions, which compiles national real estate data.

The full article will be available on the Web for a limited time:

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/print?id=1946250

Pam