Galloway, Johnson, Tompkins, Burr & Smith

Galloway Johnson offers national and local bankruptcy services on behalf of secured and unsecured creditors in proceedings filed under Chapter 7, Chapter 11, Chapter 12, and Chapter 13 of the Bankruptcy Code. The Firm can manage high volume, bankruptcy portfolios and provides comprehensive representation to its creditor clients nationwide.

As part of its comprehensive mortgage default practice, the Firm also provides end to end legal services to financial institutions including banks, credit unions, mortgage servicers, institutional investors, private firms, and other commercial clients.

Creditors' rights attorneys at the firm provide the following bankruptcy services on a national, regional, statewide, or portfolio basis:

• Proofs of Claim
• Plan Reviews and Objections to Confirmation
• Defense of Claim Objections
• Mortgage Disputes and Litigation
• Vehicle Disputes and Litigation
• Lien Avoidance Actions Brought by Debtors and Trustees
• Cramdowns
• 910 claims
• Motions for Relief from Stay
• Defense of Preference and/or Fraudulent Transfer Actions Brought by Trustees or Debtors
• Payment Compliance and Monitoring
• Reaffirmation Agreements
• Bankruptcy Loss Mitigation Services
• Defense of Debtor and Trustee Motions
• Adversary Proceedings and Litigation
• Discharge violations
• Discharge Audits and Reviews
• General Bankruptcy litigation
• Reclamation
• Pursuit of 503(b) Administrative Claims

Representative Cases:

• Successfully negotiated settlement with Chapter 11 Debtor regarding Creditor's valuable proprietary data that Debtor attempted to use as a marketing tool in the auction and sale of Debtor's assets.
• Successfully appealed Bankruptcy Court ruling against mortgage servicer to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals; the Court of Appeals reversed and remanded the Bankruptcy Court's ruling finding that judicial estoppel does not prevent a creditor from filing inconsistent Proofs of Claim in successive bankruptcy proceedings when the prior bankruptcy cases were dismissed without Debtor receiving a discharge.
• Successfully represented mortgage servicer in contested Chapter 13 proceeding where Debtor purchased mortgaged real estate from the borrower with the borrower paying the mortgage in full at closing; the Bankruptcy Court found that the due on sale clause applied, and the non-borrowing Debtor could not circumvent the due on sale clause; further, 11 U.S.C. 1322(b)(2) prohibited Debtor from modifying the terms of the Deed of Trust; the Bankruptcy Court lifted the automatic stay and allowed the mortgage servicer to foreclose.
• Defended the validity of mortgages and deeds of trusts brought in adversary proceedings arising from Chapter 13 and 7 bankruptcy filings due to alleged legal description errors, spousal consent issues and faults in lien execution.
• Successfully represented mortgage servicer in annulling the automatic stay retroactively under 11 U.S.C. 362(d) to validate a post-petition foreclosure sale conducted after Debtor and her non-filing husband filed her eighth Chapter 13 proceeding to stop the foreclosure; the Bankruptcy Court found that Debtor did not file her case in good faith and that the equities favored the creditor.
• Successfully represented mortgage servicer in declaring Debtors vexatious litigants in two bankruptcy proceedings after Debtors filed multiple bankruptcy proceedings and state and federal court litigation to impede foreclosure.
• Successfully represented mortgage servicer in preference action based on allegation that an otherwise valid foreclosure allowed the mortgage servicer to receive more than it would have received in a hypothetical Chapter 7 case because Debtor had significant equity in the Property, and the Property could have been sold to pay unsecured creditors; the Court found that Debtor could not void the foreclosure when the value of the real estate was less than total secured debt owed on the Property.
• Obtained favorable settlement from Chapter 13 debtor by way of a discharge objection due to fraudulent business dealings.
• Successfully defended Creditor in $750,000.00 clawback attempt by the estate of a large corporate Chapter 11 bankrupty in the Western District of Missouri.
• Successfully represented law firm in investigation by United States Trustee regarding the firm’s factual disclosure practices in its Motions for Relief which lead to no formal filings by the United States Trustee.

Galloway offers its clients a team of professionals that reflect both our commitment and our clients’ commitment to diversity. Diversity enhances the quality of our legal services just like it enhances our clients’ businesses. Our goal is to attract and develop the most talented and motivated professionals while insuring fairness, respect and opportunity for advancement regardless of race, gender, age, religion, national origin, disability, sexual orientation or other protected status.

Our firm’s commitment to diversity is reflected in our member's civic, legal, and industry leadership.

Galloway commits to the Louisiana State Bar Association’s Diversity Pledge
Galloway is proud to support the LSBA’s Diversity Statement of Principles and make the following commitment:

Those signing this Statement of Principles hereby commit themselves to foster diversity in the legal profession. The LSBA recognizes that diversity is an inclusive concept that encompasses race, color, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, age, religion, national origin, disability and other aspects of diversity.

We believe that with greater diversity, we can be more creative, effective and bring more varied perspectives, experiences, backgrounds, talents and interest to the practice of law and the administration of justice. We further believe that a diverse group of talented legal professionals is critically important to the success of every law firm, corporate or government legal department, law school and public service organization and every other organization that includes attorneys.

We recognize that to fully and equitably pursue justice, our profession must reflect the full spectrum of our communities. To this end, we pledge to make our best efforts to increase the diversity in our hiring, retention and promotion of attorneys and the elevation of attorneys to leadership positions within our respective organizations. We believe that all members of the bar should participate equally and fully in our profession. Ultimately, we believe that diversity, in the legal profession is good for the profession, good for business, good for our communities and critical for enhancing the public’s confidence in the judicial system.

Galloway believes that achieving diversity within our organizations and creating inclusive environments are evolutionary processes that require a continued effort and commitment on our part. We pledge to promote and participate in appropriate diversity awareness training programs. We further agree to participate in programs to measure our progress in the pursuit of these stated principles.

Galloway sponsors 21st Annual Minority Job Fair
Galloway was proud to serve as a Gold Level sponsor of the 21st Annual Minority Job Fair, hosted by the Louisiana State Bar Association. Our directors and associates who attended were pleased to see a fantastic number of talented law students take advantage of this year’s event. We believe that our leadership in such endeavors forms an essential part of our commitment to diversity in the legal profession.