Injunction Against Carla Lief, Arizona Document Preparer

On December 8, 2015, Bankruptcy Judge Daniel Collins entered an order enjoining Carla Lief, Carla’s Paralegal Services LLC, an Arizona document preparer, finding that she violated the terms of a 2009 agreement with Bankruptcy Judge Baum. On November 2, 2015 Judge Collins enjoined Ms. Lief from further document preparation work in this district for at least one year.  She ignored that injunction. At the December 8th hearing the Judge determined that Lief’s conduct and actions were “in blatant violation of the terms of the Court’s injunction announced at the November 2, 2015 hearing, and that Lief’s actions constituted the unlawful practice of law in this Court and in this State, as well as violations of 11 U.S.C. § 110(e)(2)(A).”
On June 11, 2009, in Case No. 2:09-bk-01205-RTB (In re Robert Tovmasyan), the Court (Hon. Redfield T. Baum) signed an ORDER REQUIRING BANKRUPTCY PETITION PREPARER CARLA LIEF TO COMPLY WITH 11 U.S.C. ”110, 526, 527, and 528 AND NOT TO ENGAGE IN THE UNAUTHORIZED PRACTICE OF LAW (“Consent Order”) (Docket #68). The Consent Order was signed by Lief. Citing In re Gabrielson, 217 B.R. 819 (Bankr.D.Ariz. 1998), the Order specifically barred Lief from “preparing motions, responses to motions, objections to claims, responding to the Trustee’s Recommendation (including but not limited to Amended or Modified Plans), or preparing any type of pleading.
At the hearing on December 8th Judge Collins ordered that “by December 31, 2015, Lief will place a statement on her website under the “Bankruptcy” tab which references this Order and explains that she has been enjoined by this Court from preparing any documents for use under any chapter of the Bankruptcy Code, pending further order by this Court.”
Side Bar: the Arizona Bankruptcy Clerk’s office will no longer allow document preparers to use electronic document filing.  The Local Rules committee has recommended that document preparers will not be permitted to file pleadings or documents in chapter 13 cases.  These actions are not being taken to punish document preparers, but to protect the public and the efficiency of the court.

The post Injunction Against Carla Lief, Arizona Document Preparer appeared first on Diane L. Drain - Phoenix Bankruptcy & Foreclosure Attorney.