Skip to main content

Page Banner(Taxonomy)

judge bailey

In re Gentile

Ruling
Stay pending appeal of sale ordered granted given possible loss of equity on sale and minimal harm in event of stay.
Procedural posture

After the bankruptcy court granted the motion of a chapter 7 trustee to sell the debtors' investment properties over their objections, the debtors appealed the sale orders and the denial of their motion for reconsideration to the Bankruptcy Appellate Panel. Pursuant to Fed. R. Bankr. P. 8005, they filed a motion for a stay pending appeal to prevent the trustee from liquidating the properties.

ABI Membership is required to access the full summary of In re Gentile Please sign in if you are already an ABI member, or otherwise you may Become an ABI Member

Consumer opinion summary, case decided on October 26, 2012 , LexisNexis #1112-105

Reid v. Wells Fargo Bank

Ruling
Trustee could not exercise "strong arm power" to avoid mortgage due to terms of confirmation order.
Procedural posture

Among other matters in her Complaint in this adversary proceeding, plaintiff chapter 13 Trustee, exercising her "strong arm power" under 11 U.S.C.S. § 544(a)(3), sought to avoid the mortgage held by defendant creditor on debtors' residence. On the same basis, she also objected in Count II to the creditor's proof of claim insofar as it claimed secured status. The creditor sought summary judgment on Counts I, II, III, IV.

ABI Membership is required to access the full summary of Reid v. Wells Fargo Bank Please sign in if you are already an ABI member, or otherwise you may Become an ABI Member

Consumer opinion summary, case decided on October 10, 2012 , LexisNexis #1112-021

In re Angelo

Ruling
Postpetition contempt order for debtor's failure to comply with domestic support order was not subject to stay.
Procedural posture

After the ex-wife of a chapter 13 debtor won a state court judgment holding him in contempt for his failure to comply with certain orders made in the parties' divorce, debtor moved the court to vacate the judgment on the ground that it was entered in violation of the automatic stay in 11 U.S.C.S. § 362. A central issue was whether the contempt order related to a "domestic support obligation" (DSO) within the meaning of 11 U.S.C.S. § 101(14A).

ABI Membership is required to access the full summary of In re Angelo Please sign in if you are already an ABI member, or otherwise you may Become an ABI Member

Consumer opinion summary, case decided on September 27, 2012 , LexisNexis #1212-040

In re Charles St. African Methodist Episcopal Church of Boston

Ruling
Debtor church was not a trust and was eligible for chapter 11 relief.
Procedural posture

Movant, a creditor bank, filed a motion under 11 U.S.C.S. § 1112(b)(1), to dismiss the case on the basis that the debtor church was not an eligible chapter 11 debtor under 11 U.S.C.S. § 109(d), because it was a trust.

ABI Membership is required to access the full summary of In re Charles St. African Methodist Episcopal Church of Boston Please sign in if you are already an ABI member, or otherwise you may Become an ABI Member

Commercial opinion summary, case decided on September 11, 2012 , LexisNexis #1012-036

In re Charles St. African Methodist Episcopal Church of Boston

Ruling
Motion to designate votes by secured creditor against plan and disregard objections denied.
Procedural posture

A chapter 11 debtor filed a motion under 11 U.S.C.S. § 1126(e) to designate the votes cast by a secured creditor against the debtor's plan of reorganization and, by virtue of the designation, to disregard the objections to confirmation of the plan.

ABI Membership is required to access the full summary of In re Charles St. African Methodist Episcopal Church of Boston Please sign in if you are already an ABI member, or otherwise you may Become an ABI Member

Commercial opinion summary, case decided on September 11, 2012 , LexisNexis #1012-061

In re Rios

Ruling
Case dismissed for unsecured debt in excess of limits once undersecured portion of secured claim was considered.
Procedural posture

Debtor endeavored to make a second attempt to reorganize, this time under chapter 13 of the Bankruptcy Code. A creditor filed a Motion for Relief from Stay. The matter at issue concerned the eligibility of debtor to reorganize under chapter 13 pursuant to 11 U.S.C.S. § 109(e). The court conducted a non-evidentiary hearing regarding debtor's eligibility.

ABI Membership is required to access the full summary of In re Rios Please sign in if you are already an ABI member, or otherwise you may Become an ABI Member

Consumer opinion summary, case decided on August 21, 2012 , LexisNexis #0912-036

Oriel v. Alexander (In re Alexander)

Ruling
Judgment against debtor home renovators was nondischargeable only to extent representing payment not put to specified use.
Procedural posture

Plaintiffs, creditors holding a $135,000 state court default judgment against debtors 1 and 2, the owners of a renovation business that plaintiffs had hired to perform work in their home, asked the court to determine that the judgment was properly excepted from discharge by 11 U.S.C.S. § 523(a)(2)(A) or (B). Debtors opposed the claims and filed counterclaims.

ABI Membership is required to access the full summary of Oriel v. Alexander (In re Alexander) Please sign in if you are already an ABI member, or otherwise you may Become an ABI Member

Consumer opinion summary, case decided on July 23, 2012 , LexisNexis #0812-080

In re Darden

Ruling
Voluntary dismissal granted after payment of full dividend to general unsecured creditors with excess undisbursed funds ordered returned to debtor.
Procedural posture

Chapter 13 trustee filed a motion for turnover of certain settlement funds and a motion to dismiss the debtor's chapter 13 case. The debtor filed a motion to dismiss the Chapter 13 case pursuant to 11 U.S.C.S. § 1307(a).

ABI Membership is required to access the full summary of In re Darden Please sign in if you are already an ABI member, or otherwise you may Become an ABI Member

Consumer opinion summary, case decided on May 25, 2012 , LexisNexis #0612-100

In re PBBPC Inc.

Ruling
Sale order was free and clear of any interest of state unemployment agency.
Procedural posture

The buyer of the debtor's assets in a court-authorized sale free and clear of all interests under 11 U.S.C.S. § 363(b) and (f) moved for enforcement of the sale order against the Massachusetts Department of Workforce Development, Division of Unemployment Assistance (DUA), claiming that the sale order was free and clear of the debtor's experience rate and contribution rate as those terms were defined in Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 151A, § 14.

ABI Membership is required to access the full summary of In re PBBPC Inc. Please sign in if you are already an ABI member, or otherwise you may Become an ABI Member

Commercial opinion summary, case decided on February 27, 2012 , LexisNexis #0312-076

In re Pires

Ruling
Confirmation of "hybrid" plan denied.
Procedural posture

Objectors, two secured creditors holding mortgages on property of a chapter 13 debtor, opposed confirmation of her proposed plan on the ground that the plan's treatment of their secured claims was improper for various reasons including that it was a "hybrid" plan that was prohibited by 11 U.S.C.S. § 1322 and that even if hybrid plans were permitted, the plan proposed herein nonetheless did not satisfy the criteria for same in In re McGregor.

ABI Membership is required to access the full summary of In re Pires Please sign in if you are already an ABI member, or otherwise you may Become an ABI Member

Consumer opinion summary, case decided on November 07, 2011 , LexisNexis #1211-024