Karen L. Kellett (Partner)

Ms. Kellett started her career at Thompson & Knight representing, among others, NYSE clients in commercial bankruptcy and insolvency proceedings and litigation, including representing Southmark Corporation and Amdura Corporation in their Chapter 11 bankruptcies. In 1994, Ms. Kellett joined The Associates as Vice President and Assistant General Counsel, where she was bankruptcy strategist and litigation manager for consumer-financial-services litigation. While at the Associates, Ms. Kellett primarily was responsible for consumer class-action litigation involving state and federal lending laws, including bankruptcy laws, in suits filed throughout the country.


Ms. Kellett opened her own law firm in 2000 and formed Armstrong Kellett Bartholow PLLC in 2010. Ms. Kellett and Mr. Bartholow formed Kellett & Bartholow PLLC in 2015. Ms. Kellett has concentrated her practice in consumer and commercial bankruptcies and consumer and financial-services individual and class-action litigation. Ms. Kellett has successfully represented numerous plaintiffs in bankruptcy and in other consumer-protection suits against national creditors in multiple venues.

Karen L. Kellett (Partner)

Ms. Kellett has served on local, state, and national bar committees and practice-group associations and writes and speaks frequently on bankruptcy and financial-services issues.

Admissions

  • Texas
  • Admitted to
  • Federal: Northern, Eastern, and Southern Districts of Texas (Bankruptcy and District Courts), U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Federal Circuit

Education

  • University of Texas Law School, J.D. with honors, 1987, Austin, TX
  • Texas A&M University B.B.A. summa cum laude, 1984, College Station, Texas

Professional Associations and Honors

  • Martindale-Hubbell AV Preeminent Peer Review Rating
  • Texas Bar Foundation
  • National Associations of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys (NACBA)
  • Others

Notable Opinions

  • Rodriguez v. Countrywide Home Loans, Inc. (In re Rodriguez), 396 B.R. 436 (Bankr. S.D. Tex. 2008).
  • Rodriguez v. Countrywide Home Loans, Inc. (In re Rodriguez), 421 B.R. 341 (S.D. Tex. 2009).
  • Rodriguez v. Countrywide Home Loans, Inc. (In re Rodriguez), 421 B.R. 356 (Bankr. S.D. Tex. 2009).
  • Rodriguez v. Countrywide Home Loans, Inc. (In re Rodriguez), 432 B.R. 671 (Bankr. S.D. Tex. 2010), affirmed by Rodriguez v. Countrywide Home Loans, Inc. (In re Rodriguez), 695 F.3d 360 (5th Cir. 2012).
  • Rodriguez v. Countrywide Home Loans, Inc. (In re Rodriguez), 2013 WL 1748800 (Bankr. S.D. Tex. Apr. 23, 2013).
  • Read More
    • Rodriguez v. Countrywide Home Loans, Inc. (In re Rodriguez), 517 B.R. 724 (Bankr. S.D. Tex. 2014).
    • Cano v. GMAC Mortgage Corp. (In re Cano), 410 B.R. 506 (Bankr. S.D. Tex. 2009)
    • Rojas v. Citi Corp Trust Bank FSB (In re Rojas), 2009 WL 2496807 (Bankr. S.D. Tex. Aug. 12, 2009)
    • Gulley v. Countrywide Home Loans, Inc. (In re Gulley), 436 B.R. 878 (Bankr. N.D. Tex. 2010).
    • In re Guevara (Guevara v. Wells Fargo), (unpublished) Opinion and Order on Motion for Summary Judgment (J. Hale) TXNB Adv. Proc. No. 08-03191 Docket No. 68 (2009), affirmed on appeal by TXND: In re Guevara (Guevara v. Wells Fargo), (J. Ferguson) Civil Action No. 3:10-cv-0547-F DocketNo. 13 (8/18/2010).
    • In re Pastran, 2010 WL 2773243 (Bankr. N.D. Tex. July 13, 2010).
    • In re Pastran, 462 B.R. 201 (Bankr. N.D. Tex. 2011).
    • Vick v. NCO Financial Systems, Inc., 2011 WL 1157710 (E.D. Tex. Mar. 28, 2011).
    • Bibolotti v. American Home Mortgage Servicing, Inc., 2013 WL 2147949 (E.D. Tex. May 15, 2013).
    • Cirillo v. Valley Baptist Health System (In re Cirillo), 2014 WL 1347362 (Bankr. S.D. Tex. Apr. 13, 2014).
    • Hammond v. Adam Ross Paul, Inc. (In re Hammond), 2014 WL 2761260 (Bankr. N.D. Tex. June 18, 2014)(slip copy).
    • Haynes v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., 2015 WL 4455961 (E.D. Tex. July 20, 2015).
    • Haynes v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., 2015 WL 6746256 (E.D. Tex. Nov. 4, 2015).
    • Trevino v. HSBC Mortgage Services, Inc. (In re Trevino), 535 B.R. 110 (Bankr. S.D. Tex. 2015).
    • Trevino v. Caliber Home Loans, Inc. (In re Trevino), 564 B.R. 890 (Bankr. S.D. Tex. 2017).
    • Lopez v. Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC (In re Lopez), 2015 WL 1207012 (Bankr. S.D. Tex. Mar. 12, 2015)(slip copy).
    • Lopez v. Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC (In re Lopez), 2015 WL 5438850 (Bankr. S.D. Tex. Sept. 24, 2015)(slip copy).
    • Lopez v. Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC (In re Lopez), 2015 WL 7572097 (Bankr. S.D. Tex. Nov. 24, 2015)(slip copy) leave to appeal denied by Lopez v. Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC (In re Lopez), 2016 WL 4546884 (S.D. Tex. Sept. 1, 2016)(slip copy).
    • Lopez v. Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC (In re Lopez), 2017 WL 3382099 (Bankr. S.D. Tex. Mar. 20, 2017)(slip copy).
    • Lopez v. Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC, 2017 WL 3336086 (S.D. Tex. Aug. 4, 2017)(slip copy).
    • Lopez v. Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC (In re Lopez), 576 B.R. 84 (Bankr. S.D. Tex. Sept. 28, 2017).
    • Bruner-Halteman v. Educational Credit Management Corp., (In re Bruner-Halteman), 2016 WL 1428085 (Bankr. N.D. Tex. Apr. 8, 2016).

Speaking Engagements and Publications

  • Dallas Bar Association Family Law Section, “Family Law and Bankruptcy”, 2016, with Megan F. Clontz
  • Northern District of Texas Bankruptcy Bench/Bar Conference, “Mortgage Modifications: The New Principal Reduction Mortgage Loan Modifications,” 2016
  • 23rd Annual ABI Southwestern Conference, “Avoiding Malpractice in Consumer Cases”, Panelist, 2015
  • Paper, “The Fair Debt Collections Practices Act and Bankruptcy: Can They Co-Exist?”, with Theodore O. Bartholow, III, 2015
  • 22nd Annual ABI Southwestern Conference, “New Proof-of-Claim and Disclosure Rules,” 2014
  • Read More
    • American Bankuptcy Institute (ABI) Journal, “Rodriguez Clarifies that Bankruptcy Courts Can Certify Class Actions,” December/January 2013
    • Dallas Debtor’s Bankruptcy Bar, “The New Mortgage Proof-of-Claim and Disclosure Rules and the Cases Interpreting Them,” 2012
    • 20th Annual American Bankruptcy Institute Southwest Bankruptcy Conference, “Hot Off the Press:  First Opinions Analyzing the New Mortgage Proof-of-Claim and Disclosure Rules,” 2012
    • NCLC Consumer Rights Litigation Conference, “Debtor Litigation Strategies for Lender Misconduct, Including Debtor Class Actions,” with Gary A. Armstrong, and Theodore O. Bartholow, III 2009
    • Kansas Bar Association Meeting, “Consumer Remedies for Lender Misconduct,” 2009
    • Advanced Consumer and Commercial Law Course, “Bankruptcy Basics,” 2009
    • Bankruptcy Law Seminar, Corpus Christi Bar Association, “Predatory Lending Practices and Claims Against Lenders in Bankruptcy,” 2008;
    • 30th Annual ABI Spring Meeting, Panelist, Consumer Ethics, “Balancing Business and Practice – the Multiple Roles of Consumer Debtor’s Counsel:  Can you Be a Watchdog, a Counselor and Run Your Law Practice Simultaneously?”, 2012
    • 26th Annual American Bankruptcy Institute Winter Leadership Conference, 2010, and included in The Best of 2011 – Consumer Bankruptcy, ABI Press, “The Great Debates Resolved:  A Mortgage Servicer Lacks Standing as a Real Party in Interest,” with Rudy J. Cerone, 2011
    • 85th Annual National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges,“Emerging Trends in Class Actions in Bankruptcy”, 2011
    • 29th Annual American Bankruptcy Institute Spring Meeting, Panelist, “Robosigning Clients, Phantom Notaries, Foreclosure and Bankruptcy Mills, and Other Tales from the Darkside,” 2011
    • National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys (NACBA) Fall Members-Only Workshop, Panelist, Track 3, “Here in the Real World:  Litigation Bootcamp,” 2010
    • State Bar of Texas Annual Meeting, Consumer & Commercial Law Section Meeting, “The New Bankruptcy Provisions in Practice,” with Jennifer P. Garner, 2006
    • The Conference on Consumer Finance Law, Real Estate Mortgage and Home Equity Finance Conference, “Bankruptcy Issues Concerning Mortgage Loans, Including Update on Current Trends in Litigation”, 2002
    • 3rd Annual Texas A&M Bar Association Conference, “Overview of Bankruptcy: Chapter 7, Chapter 13 and Chapter 11,” 2002
    • Advanced Consumer Bankruptcy Course, “Lender Liability Issues in Consumer Bankruptcy Proceedings: HOEPA, Texas Home Equity, and Unfair Debt Collection Practices,” 2001
    • 35th Annual William W. Gibson, Jr. Mortgage Lending Institute, “Manufactured Home Repossession and Foreclosure Rules, and Bankruptcy Issues Affecting the Manufactured Home Lender,” with Jerald M. Pomerantz, 2001
    • Rio Grande Valley Bankruptcy Bar Association, “Texas Home Equity Issues and Litigation,” 2000
    • Dallas Bar Association Bankruptcy Section, “Lender Liability Issues in Consumer Bankruptcy Proceedings, Including Class Actions and Texas Home Equity,” 2000
    • Dallas Bar Association Bankruptcy Section, “Treatment of Environmental Liabilities in a Chapter 11 Plan of Reorganization,” with Robert W. Jones, 1994
    • Dallas Bar Association Environmental Law Section, “The Role and Treatment of Environmental Claims in the Bankruptcy Context,” with Robert W. Jones, 1993
    • SMU Bankruptcy Law Institute:  Representing Debtors in Bankruptcy – Practice Strategies, “Jurisdictional Stumbling Blocks,” with Scotta E. McFarland, 1990
    • SMU Bankruptcy Law Institute:  Representing Debtors in Bankruptcy – Litigating in the Bankruptcy Court, “Attorneys and Experts:  The Perfect Couple,” with Scotta E. McFarland, 1989