M. Jonathan Hayes

Senior Counsel

Mr. Hayes has been an Adjunct Professor of Law at the University of West Los Angeles (previously University of LaVerne School of Law) for the past 30 years where he has taught Bankruptcy, Business Organizations, Contracts, Advanced Bankruptcy Issues, Commercial Law, and Taxation. Before that, he was on the adjunct faculty of Whittier School of Law for four years. He maintains a blog directed primarily for his students at www.profhayesuwla.com.

Mr. Hayes is the author of three books entitled, “A Summary of Bankruptcy Law, Third Edition” published in December 2016; “Bankruptcy Jurisprudence from the Supreme Court, Second Edition” published in 2016; and “Melvyn ‘Deacon’ Jones: My 40 years with the Blues Legends,” published in 2004. All are available on Amazon.com.

Mr. Hayes maintains a blog at www.centraldistrictinsider.com. He is a regular contributor to the Supreme Court Corner at www.considerchapter13.org. His BankruptcyProf blog can be found in the Library of Congress Archives here.

Mr. Hayes is married and has four children. He has lived in Northridge for 38 years.

Committed to Quality Counsel

Jon Hayes has prosecuted and defended complaints to declare debts non-dischargeable, to deny the discharge and other bankruptcy-related litigation matters. He has defended several fraudulent conveyance actions brought by trustees in so-called Ponzi schemes. He has filed many Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 petitions for clients and has handled many bankruptcies that are commenced because of tax problems of the debtors.

Recent Cases

Mr. Hayes’ recent Chapter 11 cases include representing a chain of 28 retail clothing stores, an architectural firm, a clothing manufacturer with 110 employees, a specialty vodka manufacturer, six adult health care facilities, a 66-room hotel in Laguna Beach, a small trucking company, a medical clinic, a company that owned two Baskin Robbins stores, a former major league baseball player with $40 million in assets; a company which had 225 lawsuits pending against it on the date of filing being defended by the debtor’s insurance company; a company which owned 20 oil wells; a company which owned a large hotel in Culver City which was sold during the case for $25 million, a “dot com” company; a Condominium Homeowners Association fending off a $9 million judgment creditor; a furniture manufacturing company ($4 million annual sales); a chain of carpet stores ($10 million annual sales); an employee leasing company ($30 million in annual sales); a wireless entertainment equipment sales company; a litigation attorney; a sunglass wholesaling company; a bait tank and machine shop; and a small commercial center.

From 2012 through 2022, Jon has filed or otherwise taken over approximately 143 chapter 11 cases including 112 cases for individuals primarily trying to save their homes and other real property. In the past, he has represented three franchisees in the Econo-Lube bankruptcy filing adversary proceedings for each demanding more than $10 million in total and settling each successfully. He represented the Creditor’s Committee in the Lucy’s LaundryMart and SBB Roofing chapter 11 cases. He was lead counsel for the Creditor’s Committee in the Breath Asure, Inc. Chapter 11 and the B.C. Oil, Inc. Chapter 11.

Mr. Hayes has prosecuted and defended about thirty-five bankruptcy appeals to the Bankruptcy Appellate Panel, the district court, and the 9^th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Recognition from the Legal Community

On November 10, 2022, Mr. Hayes received the Attorney of the Year Award from the Central District Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys Assn (“cdcbaa”). The award is given to the attorney who “exemplifies compassion, understanding and concern for the individual consumers.” The award was presented to him at the cdcbaa annual Calvin Ashland Awards Dinner.

On November 3, 2016, Mr. Hayes received the Hon. Thomas B. Donovan Excellence Award from the Central District Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys Assn (“cdcbaa”). The award is given for “excellence in writing or advocacy, service to the court or service to the bar.” The award was presented to him at the annual Calvin Ashland Awards Dinner of the cdcbaa.

On June 21, 2012, Jon Hayes received the Hon. William J. Lazarow Award from Public Counsel and the Debtor Assistance Project for Outstanding Pro Bono Service to the Community.

In 2013, Mr. Hayes sat on the 9th Circuit Merit Selection Committee responsible for choosing candidates for the open judgeship position in the Riverside Division of the Central District of California. In 2014, Mr. Hayes sat on the 9th Circuit Merit Selection Committee responsible for choosing candidates for the open judgeship position in the Woodland Hills Division of the Central District of California.

Recognition for Bankruptcy Mediation

Jon Hayes has been a member of the panel of mediators of the Bankruptcy Mediation Program for the Central District of California since the program’s inception in 1995. He estimates that he has presided over at least 125 mediations in total.

He received has received the following awards and commendations:

• 2016-2017 Mediator Who Settled the Most Number of Mediations, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Central District of California, San Fernando Valley Division
• 2014-2015 Most Frequently Chosen Mediator, San Fernando Valley Division (2-way tie)
• 2013-2014 Most Frequently Chosen Mediator, San Fernando Valley Division; Mediator Who Settled the Most Number of Mediations, San Fernando Valley Division
• 2003-2004 Most Frequently Chosen Mediator, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Central District of California, Los Angeles Division
• 2000-2001 Most Frequently Chosen Mediator, Los Angeles Division; Mediator Who Settled the Most Number of Mediations, Los Angeles Division

Societies & Groups

• Lawyer Representative to the Central District Judicial Conference, 2014 to 2021.
• Former President, 2013 and 2014, and current member of the Board of Directors of the Central District Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys Association (“CDCBAA”).
• Former member of the Board of Directors of the Los Angeles Bankruptcy Forum, 2013 to 2020.
• Former member of the California State Bar Board of Legal Specialization, Bankruptcy Law Advisory Commission (“BLAC”), 2010 to present. He was Vice-Chairman for the year 2016-2017 and is Chairman for the year 2017-2018. The BLAC prepares and grades the bi-annual examination for candidates for legal specialization and chooses those who are entitled to be certified.
• Former director of the Bankruptcy Litigation Clinic at the University of West Los Angeles where law students from UWLA are used to help parties deal with litigation in bankruptcy court.
• Former of the Board of Editors of the California Bankruptcy Journal since 2001.
• Former member of the Board of Directors and member of the James T. King Bankruptcy Inn of the Court in Los Angeles.

Articles Written

• “Demystifying Bankruptcy Appeals,” Los Angeles Daily Journal, August 24, 2022.
• "Remember, landlords are sacred cows in bankruptcy," Los Angeles Daily Journal, May 20, 2021.
• "Small Business Chapter 11 update, where are we eight months in?" Los Angeles Daily Journal, October 26, 2020.
• "Congress, it's time to get rid of that stupid means test!" Los Angeles Daily Journal, April 30, 2020.
• “Thinking out loud about the new Small Business Chapter 11,” Los Angeles Daily Journal, November 27, 2019.
• “Lawyers are People Too,” for the Central District Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys Assn Newsletter. Interviews with Paul Winkler, Dennis McGoldrick, Pat Green, Daniela Romero, Stella Havkin, Judge Maureen Tighe, Marcus Tiggs, Amy Goldman, Nancy Clark, Amrane Cohen, Christine Kingston, and Aki Koyama.
• “Community Property or No? Battle of the Presumptions,” Central District Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys Assn Newsletter, No. 17, March, 2016.
• “Thoughts on Justice Antonin Scalia,” The Academy, National Assn of Chapter 13 Trustees, February 29, 2016
• “Predictions on In re Bellingham,” The Academy, National Assn of Chapter 13 Trustees, February 16, 2014
• “The Section 1111(b) Election: A Primer,” California Bankruptcy Journal, December 2011 (with Roksan D. Moradi-Brovia).
• “How Does an Above-Median Chapter 13 Debtor Compute Her Plan Payments?,” Preview of the United States Supreme Court Cases, American Bar Association, Issue No. 6, Vol. 37, March 22, 2010 (analysis of Hamilton v. Lanning).
• “11 U.S.C. §523(a)(19) Application of Denial of Discharge to Securities Law Violators,” American Bar Association, Journal of the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Committee, Vol. 15, No. 3, Summer 2009 (with Robert J. Haupt and Robert N. Sheets).
• “A Chapter 13 Primer for the Non-Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Attorney,” California Bankruptcy Journal, January, 2009 (with James T. King).
• “Chapter 7 Bad Faith, Substantial Abuse and Dismissal with Prejudice: Totality of the Circumstances Needs to be Rethunk,” California Bankruptcy Journal, January, 2005.
• “The Expanding Liability of Corporate Directors and Officers: Now You Have to Worry About “In the Vicinity of Insolvency,” A Judicially Created Gun for Creditors, with Morton S. Rosen, California Bankruptcy Journal, March, 2004.
• “Attorneys Should Follow Simple Bankruptcy Law Rules of Thumb,” Los Angeles Daily Journal, August 30, 2002.
• “The Bankruptcy Discharge: It’s Not As Easy As It Looks,” California Bankruptcy Journal, October, 2000.
• “Formulating and Confirming a Chapter 11 Plan of Reorganization,” Journal of Legal Advocacy & Practice, University of La Verne School of Law, Volume 2, 2000; and
• “Fighting the Abusive Chapter 13,” Los Angeles Daily Journal.

Cases

• In re Reynoso, 315 B.R. 544 (9th Cir. BAP 2004), affirmd 477 F.3d 1117 (9th Cir. 2006).
• In re Kagenveama, 541 F.3d 868 (9th Cir. 2008)(“on the brief” for the NACBA Amicus Brief)
• In re Penrod, 611 F.3d 1158 (9th 2010) )(“on the brief” for a group of professors Amicus Brief)
• Sherman v. SEC (In re Sherman), 658 F.3d 1009 (9th Cir 2011)(successful representation of an attorney against the Securities and Exchange Commission)
• Williams v. Sato (In re Sato), 512 B.R. 241 (Bkrtcy C. D. CA. 2014 J. Tighe)(successful prosecution of non-dischargeability complaint)
• Avery v. Obedian (In re Obedian), 546 B.R. 409 (Bkrtcy C. D. CA. 2016 J. Kwan) (successful claim that home was community property)
• In re Kashikar, 567 B.R. 160 (9th BAP 2017) (pro bono, successfully reversed order on student loan)
• In re Lua, 2017 WL 2799989, (unpublished) (9th Cir 2017) (on the brief for the NACBA Amicus Brief) (successfully reversed order denying exemption to debtor)
• In re Taylor, 2017 WL 3429029 (unpublished) (9th BAP 2017)(successfully reversed order of $153,000 in sanctions against an attorney)
• Best Service Co. v. Bayley (In re Bayley), 678 F. App’x 593 (9th Cir. 2017) (successfully defended bankruptcy court’s order that creditor violated the automatic stay)
• Kassas v. State Bar of California (In re Kassas), 49 F.4th 1158 (9th Cir. Aug. 2022) (debt owed by disbarred attorney to client security fund is discharged reversing the bankruptcy court).
• In re Baroni, 36 F.4th 958 (9th Cir. 2022) (relates to what is property of the estate when a chapter 11 is converted to chapter 7).

Presentations

• “Bankruptcy Appeals: Tip and Tricks,” for the Southern District Bankruptcy Forum, March 16, 2023 with Misty Perry-Issacson.
• “Demystifying Bankruptcy Appeals,” for the Central District Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys Assn (“cdcbaa”), four 90-minute sessions from February 8, 2023 to March 1, 2023.
• “Supreme Court decisions; old, new and coming up,” for the San Fernando Valley Bar Association, February 24, 2023 with Judge Alan Ahart (Ret.).
• “Recent Supreme Court decisions and their legacy,” for the San Fernando Valley Bar Association, September 24, 2021 with Judge Alan Ahart (Ret.).
• “Recent Supreme Court Cases of Interest to Bankruptcy Practitioners,” October 27, 2017, for the San Fernando Valley Bar Assn with Judge Alan Ahart (Ret.).
• “Reviewing the proposed new bankruptcy act,” May 28, 2022, California Bankruptcy Forum Insolvency Conference with Amrane Cohen.
• “City of Chicago v. Fulton: What does rejection of the majority rule mean?” for the Los Angeles County Bar Assn, May 27, 2021, with Prof. Mark Scarberry, Pepperdine University School of Law and Sasha Gurvitz.
• “Evidence in Bankruptcy Court,” for the Central District Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys Assn (“cdcbaa”), March 20, 2021 with Judge Barry Russell.
• "Discharge Violation Injunctions: In re Marino says fine print doesn't save the creditor," Business Law Section of the California Lawyers Assn, November 17, 2020 with Leonard Gumport and Christopher Burke.
• "10 Things Every Lawyer Should Know About Bankruptcy in the Age of COVID-19," Solo and Small Firms Section of the California Lawyers Association, October 8, 2020 with Cathy Ta, Mike O'Halloran and Gary Rudolph
• "Fallout of Taggart's Test," July 9, 2020, National Association of Chapter 13 Trustees (NACTT) annual meeting with Christopher Hawkins, Atlanta, GA and Keith Rucinski, Chapter 13 Standing Trustee for the Northern District of Ohio.
• "CARES Act - Adjusting to the New Landscape and Understanding the Impact on Small Business Chapter 5", for the Central District Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys Assn (“cdcbaa”), May 30, 2020 with Aki Koyama, Nancy Clark, Nicholas Gebelt.
• “Day One: Retainers, Trust Accounts and Getting Started on the Right Foot,” November 22, 2019, Federal Bar Assn of Los Angeles with John Sheller and Arthur Margolis
• “Chapter 7, Chapter 13 and the Stay - Oh My! Do Not Fear - the Bankruptcy Experts Are Here,” March 22, 2019, 2019 Annual Association of Family Law Specialists Spring Seminar, with Judge Victoria Kaufman, Jeff Golden and Susan Luong
• “Recent Supreme Court Cases of Interest to Bankruptcy Practitioners,” December 14, 2018, for the San Fernando Valley Bar Assn with Judge Alan Ahart (Ret.).
• Moderator of “5th Annual Consumer Bankruptcy Review” with five bankruptcy judges for Orange County Bar Assn, Commercial Law and Bankruptcy Section, October 23, 2018 at Chapman University, Fowler School of Law
• “Equal Access to Justice,” for the Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference in Anaheim, CA, July 25, 2018 with Scott Bovitz and Michael O’Halloran
• “Automatic Stay and Discharge Injunctions Violations,” for the Central District Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys Assn (“CDCBAA”), June 9, 2018 with Raymond H. Aver and Christopher Burke.
• “Hiding in the Valley or Shouting from the Mountain – Debtor’s Schedules and Full Disclosure,” May 19, 2018, California Bankruptcy Forum Insolvency Conference with Ed Hays, Jenny Doling, and Hagop Bedoyan.
• “Recent Supreme Court Cases of Interest to Bankruptcy Practitioners,” October 27, 2017, for the San Fernando Valley Bar Assn with Judge Alan Ahart (Ret.).
• “Judicial Estoppel,” for the Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference in San Francisco, CA, July 19, 2017 with Judge Scott Clarkson, Misty Perry Issacson, Corey Weber
• “9th Circuit Review” for the Orange County Bar Assn, March 21, 2017 with Judge Theodor Albert and Rob Goe.
• “Appeals: It’s Not as Hard as it Looks,” for the Central District Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys Assn (“CDCBAA”), March 18, 2017 with Sarah Stevenson, Staff Attorney for the 9th Circuit BAP.
• “Top Ten Supreme Court Cases on Bankruptcy,” for the San Fernando Valley Bar Assn on December 9, 2016 with Judge Alan Ahart (Ret.) and David Gould.
• “Consumer Law Update,” for the ABI “Consumer Connect Program” on December 2, 2016 with Chapter 7 Trustee Wes Avery and Assistant UST Attorney Jennifer Braun.
• “Unbundling and Limited Scope Representation: Navigating in the Central District,” for the Federal Bar Association on November 18, 2016 with Judge Sandra Klein.
• “Individual Chapter 11 Cases,” for the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys Annual Convention in San Francisco, May 21, 2016, with Judge Laurel Davis from Bankruptcy Court in Las Vegas and Wayne Silver.
• “9th Circuit BAP Decisions for 2015” for the San Fernando Valley Bar Assn on February 19, 2016 with Judge Martin Barash and Michael Avanesian.
• “The Supreme Court” for the San Fernando Valley Bar Assn on October 16, 2015.
• “Bankruptcy Foundations,” mcle program for bankruptcy professionals, eight class sessions conducted in early 2015.
• The Eighth Annual James T. King Bankruptcy Symposium; “Communicating with Judges: Judges are People Too,” for the Central District Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys Assn (“cdcbaa”), September 23, 2023 with Hon. John Owens, 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, Hon. Robert Faris, Chief Judge 9th Circuit BAP, and District of Hawaii, and Prof. Daniel Bussel, University of California Los Angeles School of Law.
• The Seventh Annual James T. King Bankruptcy Symposium; “Issue and Claim Preclusion,” for the Central District Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys Assn (“cdcbaa”), September 12, 2020 with Hon. Meredith Jury (Ret.), Hon. Laura Taylor, Southern District of California.
• The Sixth Annual James T. King Bankruptcy Symposium; “In re Taggart: the Supreme Court and Discharge Violations,” for the Central District Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys Assn (“cdcbaa”), September 7, 2019 with Daniel Geyser and Prof. Daniel Bussel, University of California Los Angeles School of Law.
• The Fifth Annual James T. King Bankruptcy Symposium; “Ethics and Getting Paid,” for the Central District Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys Assn (“cdcbaa”), July 21, 2018 with Judge Erithe Smith and Prof. Nancy Rapoport, University of Nevada Law Vegas School of Law.
• The Fourth Annual James T. King Bankruptcy Symposium; “Exemptions: Is Bad Faith a Factor or Not?” for the Central District Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys Assn (“cdcbaa”), September 23, 2017 with Judge Theodor Albert, John Tedford, and Prof. Mark Scarberry, Pepperdine University School of Law.
• The Third Annual James T. King Bankruptcy Symposium; “Judicial Philosophy: Interpreting the Bankruptcy Code,” for the Central District Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys Assn (“cdcbaa”), August 13, 2016 with Judge Paul Watford, Judge Martin Barash, and Prof. Erwin Chemerinsky.
• The Second Annual James T. King Bankruptcy Symposium; “Dear Congress: Chapter 13 Could Use a Little Help,” for the Central District Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys Assn (“cdcbaa”), September 19, 2015 with Judge Keith Lundin, Judge Meredith Jury, Prof. Katie Porter, Hank Hildebrand.
• The First Annual James T. King Bankruptcy Symposium; “In re Bellingham: From the Insiders,” for the Central District Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys Assn (“cdcbaa”), July 19, 2014 with Judge Richard Paez, Judge Meredith Jury, and Prof. John Pottow.
• Nuts and Bolts of Consumer Bankruptcy; University of West Los Angeles MCLE Program, June 1 and 2, 2012 and May 31 and June 1, 2013 with James T. King.
• “Individual Chapter 11 Cases: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly,” Pepperdine Law Journal Symposium with Judge Thomas Donovan, Kenneth Lau, and Prof. Mark Scarberry; March 27, 2012,
• Nuts and Bolts of Consumer Bankruptcy; University of West Los Angeles MCLE Program, June 3 and 4, 2011 with James T. King.
• Nuts and Bolts of Chapter 11 Bankruptcy; University of West Los Angeles MCLE Program, October 15, 2010.
• Nuts and Bolts of Bankruptcy; University of West Los Angeles MCLE Program, May 15 and 16, 2010.
• “A Review of 9th Circuit Published Decisions on Bankruptcy” for the Los Angeles County Bar Assn presentations
• on September 26, 2006 with retired Bankruptcy Judge Lisa Hill Fenning and Peter Lively;
• on October 17, 2007 with Bankruptcy Judge Samuel Bufford and Jim King;
• on November 17, 2009 with Bo Bollinger and Aram Ordubegian;
• on September 25, 2012 with Judge Julia Brand.
• “A Review of 9th Circuit Published Decisions on Bankruptcy” for the Central District Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys Assn (“cdcbaa”)
• on March 27, 2007 with Bankruptcy Judge Victoria Kaufman;
• on January 26, 2008 with Chief Bankruptcy Judge Vincent Zurzolo;
• on February 21, 2009 with Judge Meredith Jury;
• on January 30, 2010 with Judge Erithe Smith;
• on January 20, 2011 with Judge Maureen Tighe,
• on January 21, 2012 with Judge Sandra Klein;
• on January 24, 2013 with Judge Meredith Jury and Judge Neil Bason;
• on January 25, 2014 with Judge Ted Albert and Judge Deborah Saltzman,
• on January 24, 2015 with Judge Victoria Kaufman and Judge Martin Barash,
• on January 30, 2016 with Judge Meredith Jury and Judge Julia Brand.
• on January 28, 2017 with Judge Laura Taylor, Southern District of California, and Judge Vincent Zurzolo.
• on January 27, 2018 with Judge Julia Brand and Judge Charles Novack, Northern District of California.
• On January 12, 2019 with Judge Neil Bason and Judge Christopher Klein, Eastern District of California (Sacramento).
• On January 18, 2020 with Judge Julia Brand and Judge Christopher Klein, Eastern District of California.
• On January 23, 2021 with Judge Neil Bason and Judge William Lafferty, Northern District of California (Oakland).
• On January 29, 2022 with Judge Deborah Saltzman and Judge Scott Gan, District of Arizona (Tucson).
• On January 28, 2023 with Judge Sandra Klein and Judge Laura Taylor, Southern District of California.
• On January 27, 2024 with Judge Julia Brand and Judge Elaine Hammond, Northern District of California (San Jose).
• “A Review of 9th Circuit Published Decisions on Bankruptcy” for the California Bar Assn Annual Meeting on October 13, 2012 in Monterey California with Bankruptcy Judge Charles Novack, San Jose;
• on October 12, 2013 in San Jose with Bankruptcy Judge Charles Novack
• on September 13, 2014 in San Diego with Chief Judge Laura Taylor, San Diego; and Judge Charles Novack,
• on October 10, 2015 in Anaheim with Judge Mark Wallace, Santa Ana, and Judge Charles Novack,
• on September 30, 2016 in San Diego with Judge Louise Adler, San Diego and Judge Charles Novack.
• “Bankruptcy Litigation: A Nondischargeability Defense Overview & Training”; with Judge Thomas Donovan, Jason Wallach and David Golubchick, May 6, 2003.