Skip to main content

Page Banner(Taxonomy)

judge hillman

In re GCP CT School Acquisition LLC

Ruling
Landlord entitled to prorated rent under rejected lease only up to date of rejection.
Procedural posture

A bankruptcy trustee rejected an unexpired lease of a bankruptcy debtor and paid the landlord under the lease an administrative expense claim for rent up to the date the debtor's property was removed from the leased premises. Upon remand from the Bankruptcy Appellate Panel for the First Circuit, a redetermination was required of the appropriate date of rejection for purposes of recalculating the landlord's claim.

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

Commercial opinion summary, case decided on October 28, 2010 , LexisNexis #1210-008

Agin v. Mortgage Elec. Registration Sys. (In re Bower)

Ruling
Mortgage could be avoided due to defective acknowledgement.
Procedural posture

Chapter 7 trustee sought summary judgment on its complaint per 11 U.S.C.S. § 544(a)(3) against defendants, a mortgagee and its assignee, to avoid a mortgage in their favor on the ground that the omission of debtor's name from the acknowledgement of the mortgage was a material defect under Massachusetts law, including Mass. Gen. Laws Ann. ch. 183, § 29, rendering it avoidable per § 544. Defendants opposed summary judgment.

ABI Membership is required to access the full summary of Agin v. Mortgage Elec. Registration Sys. (In re Bower) 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 13, 2010 , LexisNexis #1110-091

In re Starbak Inc.

Ruling
Interim fees denied to debtor's counsel whose retention had not been approved.
Procedural posture

Movant, counsel for debtor, sought an interim award of fees and costs for representing debtor following an involuntary bankruptcy filing. Both the United States Trustee (UST) and the Chapter 11 trustee objected to the application on grounds including that compensation from the estate for work performed after the Chapter 11 trustee's appointment was barred by the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Lamie v. United States and by 11 U.S.C.S. § 330(a).

ABI Membership is required to access the full summary of In re Starbak 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 September 29, 2010 , LexisNexis #1110-109

Butler v. Anderson (In re C.R. Stone Concrete Contractors Inc.)

Ruling
Debtor corporation could not seek damages for violation of stay under old §362(h).
Procedural posture

Debtor, a Massachusetts corporation, filed a petition under chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code and commenced adversary proceedings against defendants, general contractors and others, claiming, inter alia, that the contractors conspired to take over the debtor's business. The case was converted to one under chapter 7 of the Bankruptcy Code, and the contractors filed a motion to dismiss pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6).

ABI Membership is required to access the full summary of Butler v. Anderson (In re C.R. Stone Concrete Contractors 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 June 09, 2010 , LexisNexis #0810-104

Hermosilla v. Hermosilla (In re Hermosilla)

Ruling
Unliquidated claim of debtor's former spouse resulting from domestic violence was nondischargeable.
Procedural posture

Creditor, the former spouse of the chapter 7 debtor, filed an adversary complaint seeking to except from discharge, pursuant to 11 U.S.C.S. § 523(a)(6), an unliquidated personal injury claim arising from an incident of domestic violence.

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

Commercial opinion summary, case decided on May 26, 2010 , LexisNexis #0810-069

In re Pagnini

Ruling
Judicial lien on debtor's homestead avoided where creditor's prepetition fraudulent transfer claim had not been reduced to judgment.
Procedural posture

A chapter 7 debtor filed a motion to avoid a judicial lien under 11 U.S.C.S. § 522(f) as impairing her homestead exemption under Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 188, § 1. A creditor opposed the motion, challenging her entitlement to the homestead exemption pursuant to Fed. R. Bankr. P. 4003(d).

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

Consumer opinion summary, case decided on January 26, 2010 , LexisNexis #0310-042

Braunstein v. McCabe (In re McCabe Group)

Ruling
Attorney's spouse owed debtor law firm's estate sum forgiven on promissory note pursuant to setoff agreement.
Procedural posture

Plaintiff chapter 7 trustee filed an adversary proceedings against defendant, an attorney's wife, seeking a determination that the wife owed her husband's law firm's bankruptcy estate $ 179,261. The wife filed a motion for summary judgment, and the trustee filed a motion to strike the wife's motion and a cross-motion for summary judgment.

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

Commercial opinion summary, case decided on January 22, 2010 , LexisNexis #0310-037

In re McMullen

Ruling
Bankruptcy court abstained from hearing ongoing fee dispute in otherwise completed ten year-old case.
Procedural posture

The matter before the court was a motion to compel filed by the debtor and her father which sought an order compelling the debtor's counsel to return funds withdrawn from an account for fees incurred in the bankruptcy case.

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

Consumer opinion summary, case decided on January 05, 2010 , LexisNexis #0210-105

In re Rowlands

Ruling
Creditor's change in position regarding claim in interrogatories was not basis for sanctions.
Procedural posture

Debtor moved for sanctions against a creditor pursuant to Fed. R. Bankr. P. 9011.

ABI Membership is required to access the full summary of In re Rowlands 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 16, 2009 , LexisNexis #1009-105

In re Kucera

Ruling
Debtor could not deduct monthly payments under avoidable judicial lien from projected disposable income.
Procedural posture

A debtor filed for relief under chapter 13 and submitted a proposed Chapter 13 plan. A trustee objected to confirmation of the plan under 11 U.S.C.S. § 1325(b)(1), contending that the debtor was not applying all of her projected disposable income to the plan.

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

Consumer opinion summary, case decided on March 12, 2009 , LexisNexis #0509-133