In re Kleinhelter
Oct
12
2007
Ruling
Secured Claims asserted by debtors against themselves which lacked sufficient detail and factual or legal support were not valid "claims."
Procedural posture
A chapter 13 trustee filed a motion to disallow the bankruptcy debtors'claims.
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Court
:
- 11 U.S.C.
In re Poole
Oct
09
2007
Ruling
Credit card debt, attorneys' fees and promissory note owed to former spouse were not domestic support obligations.
Procedural posture
Creditor, the former wife of the debtor, filed an objection to confirmation of the chapter 13 plan of the debtor. The issue was whether the debtor's obligation to pay the former wife three different debts under the parties' divorce decree constituted priority "domestic support obligations"as defined by 11 U.S.C. § 101(14)(A).
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Court
:
- 11 U.S.C.
In re Charles
Sep
18
2007
Ruling
Contributions of non-debtor spouse limited to actual household expenses paid for debtor's benefit so that no step up in payments was required once spouse paid off auto loan.
Procedural posture
A debtor filed for relief under chapter 13 and submitted a proposed plan. A chapter 13 trustee objected to confirmation of the plan on the grounds that the debtor was not applying all of her projected disposable income for the first three years of the plan, in contravention of 11 U.S.C. § 1325(b)(1)(B).
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Court
:
- 11 U.S.C.
Rupp v. United Sec. Bank (In re Kunz)
Jun
05
2007
Ruling
Bank of which debtor was a non-controlling "director emeritus" was not an insider.
Procedural posture
Plaintiff debtor filed a bankruptcy proceeding wherein plaintiff trustee maintained that prepetition transfers from the debtor to defendant bank were preferential under 11 U.S.C. § 547(b) as the bank was both a per se insider under 11 U.S.C. § 101(31)(A) and an extra-statutory insider. Plaintiffs challenged a decision of the Bankruptcy Appellate Panel for the Tenth Circuit, which reversed a grant of partial summary judgment to the trustee.
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In re Cygnus Oil & Gas Corp.
May
29
2007
Ruling
Firm qualified as "disinterested" despite having partner who owned shares of debtor and served as director.
Procedural posture
A debtor filed an application to approve the retention of a law firm pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 327(a). The trustee objected, asserting that the firm was not a disinterest person under 11 U.S.C. § 101(14).
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Court
:
- 11 U.S.C.
Hutson v. Smithfield Packing Co. (In re Natl Gas Distribs. LLC)
May
24
2007
Ruling
Forward agreement for sale of natural gas by debtor was not a swap agreement so that transfers thereunder were avoidable.
Procedural posture
Plaintiff bankruptcy trustee brought an adversary proceeding against defendant purchaser of natural gas from a bankruptcy debtor, seeking to avoid transfers of gas to the purchaser as fraudulent under 11 U.S.C. § 548(a)(1). The purchaser moved to dismiss the complaint or, in the alternative, for summary judgment, because the transfers were made in connection with a swap agreement and thus not subject to avoidance under 11 U.S.C. § 546(g).
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Court
:
In re Karp
May
22
2007
Ruling
Debtor's failure to make payments to former spouse under dissolution order did not give rise to claim by spouse's parent.
Procedural posture
The former spouse of a bankruptcy debtor, and a parent of the spouse, filed proofs of claim in the debtor's bankruptcy, asserting that the debtor's failure to make payments required by a state court order in dissolution proceedings caused the spouse and the parent to incur expenses for which the debtor was liable. The trustee objected to the claims.
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Court
:
Qmect Inc. v. Burlingame Capital Partners II LP (In re Qmect Inc.)
May
17
2007
Ruling
Creditor held a valid claim for postpetition attorneys'fees incurred in defending adversary proceeding.
Procedural posture
Defendant moved for an award of postpetition attorneys'fees as part of its judgment in adversary proceedings filed by plaintiff debtors. At the time, Ninth Circuit precedent (the Fobian case) held that attorneys'fees were not recoverable for litigating issues peculiar to bankruptcy law. In its Travelers decision, the Supreme Court overruled the Fobian case. Following briefing, the bankruptcy court issued its ruling on defendant's motion.
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Court
:
- 11 U.S.C.
In re OBrien
Apr
17
2007
Ruling
Legal fees accrued in defending debtor in support proceeding was not a nondischargeable domestic support obligation.
Procedural posture
A debtor's former divorce lawyer filed a motion for relief from the automatic stay concerning a prepetition fee award issued in post-divorce litigation between the debtor and his former wife. The debtor opposed the motion.
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Court
:
- 11 U.S.C.
In re Scotia Dev. LLC
Apr
05
2007
Ruling
Debtor who conducted timber harvesting on multiple properties was not a single asset debtor.
Procedural posture
A bankruptcy debtor owned private timberland and the exclusive right to harvest timber from additional private timberland owned by subsidiaries of the debtor. A committee of noteholders moved for a determination that the debtor was a single asset real estate debtor under 11 U.S.C. § 101(51B) and was thus subject to the provision for relief from the automatic bankruptcy stay under 11 U.S.C. § 362(d)(3).
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Court
: