- 11 U.S.C.
201 Forest St. LLC v. LBM Fin. LLC (In re 201 Forest St. LLC)
Jun
30
2009
Ruling
Court disallowed creditors' claims for excessive default interest and late fees and awarded debtor punitive damages and fees.
Procedural posture
Plaintiff debtors objected to claims made by defendants, a lender and its individual owner, on a series of notes and guarantees. Plaintiff's so-called "counterclaims" included that default rates on interest on said notes were unenforceable penalties, that defendants' claims were properly equitably subordinated per 11 U.S.C.S. § 510, that defendants had violated Mass. Gen. Laws Ann. ch. 93A, and that no award under 11 U.S.C.S. § 506 was proper.
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Court
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Massachusetts v. Bartel (In re Bartel)
Apr
13
2009
Ruling
State had standing to contest debtor's discharge on behalf of consumers.
Procedural posture
Plaintiff the Commonwealth of Massachusetts filed an action to deny defendant debtor a discharge in bankruptcy, pursuant to 11 U.S.C.S. §§ 727(a)(2),(3),(4)(A), (5), or (6)(A) and (B) or alternatively to except certain debts from discharge pursuant to 11 U.S.C.S. § 523(a)(2)(a), (6) or (7). The debtor claimed that the Commonwealth did not have standing to object to discharge.
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Court
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- 11 U.S.C.
In re Newcomb
Apr
08
2009
Ruling
Judicial lien could be avoided regardless of validity of subordination agreement containing waiver of homestead exemption.
Procedural posture
A chapter 7 debtor filed a motion to avoid judicial liens under 11 U.S.C.S. § 522(f)(1). Only one lien holder responded to the motion.
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Court
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- 11 U.S.C.
Braunstein v. Sperbeck (In re Logistics Info. Sys.)
Mar
18
2009
Ruling
Debtor consolidated with new corporation created by principal with debtor's funds.
Procedural posture
Chapter 7 trustee filed a 10-count complaint against defendants, a corporation and various individuals, alleging, inter alia, that defendants made fraudulent conveyances under state law. The trustee sought an order requiring defendants to turn over assets to debtor corporation's bankruptcy law, and filed a motion for an order consolidating the debtor and defendant corporation. The case was tried to the court.
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Court
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- 11 U.S.C.
United States v. Coleman (In re Alloway)
Feb
18
2009
Ruling
Bankruptcy petition preparer sanctioned for making unsolicited phone calls to possible debtors.
Procedural posture
In consolidated bankruptcy cases, United States Trustee brought adversary proceedings against pro se bankruptcy petition preparer alleging that the preparer failed to comply with the requirements of 11 U.S.C.S. § 110 in preparing bankruptcy documents for numerous bankruptcy debtors.
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Court
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In re Romero
Feb
05
2009
Ruling
Creditor that received notice of plan and did not object could not recover prepayment fees not provided for in confirmed plan.
Procedural posture
Before the court in the chapter 11 case was debtor's objection to Claim 4.2 and Claim 7 of a holder of two notes, each secured by mortgages on debtor's real estate. At issue was whether the note holder was entitled to recover prepayment fees provided for in the relevant loan documents.
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Court
:
- 11 U.S.C.
Bronsdon v. Educational Credit Mgmt. Corp. (In re Bransdon)
Jan
13
2009
Ruling
64 year-old debtor with specialized legal secretary skills who had been unable to pass the bar granted undue hardship discharge of student loan debt.
Procedural posture
Plaintiff debtor filed an adversary complaint seeking a discharge of her student loan debt to defendant creditor based on undue hardship, pursuant to 11 U.S.C.S. § 523(a)(8).
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Court
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In re Bernard
Nov
20
2008
Ruling
Case ordered dismissed or converted for abuse due to debtor's deduction of taxes withheld rather than actual tax liability resulted in understated current monthly income.
Procedural posture
The United States Trustee moved to dismiss the debtors' case for abuse under 11 U.S.C.S. § 707(b)(2), in the alternative, pursuant to 11 U.S.C.S. § 707(b)(3). The debtors objected to the motion. The court found that the motion turned on whether the debtors could properly deduct their income taxes withheld rather than the actual amount of the tax liability incurred.
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Court
:
- 11 U.S.C.
In re Fontaine
Nov
17
2008
Ruling
Delivery of copy of tax return to creditor one day after it was provided to trustee was not grounds for dismissal.
Procedural posture
The chapter 7 debtors delivered a copy of their federal tax return to the chapter 7 trustee at the 11 U.S.C.S. § 341 meeting with the creditors. However, they did not deliver of copy of the return to a creditor until the next day. The creditor moved to dismiss the chapter 7 case. The debtors' objected to the motion.
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Court
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In re Fatsis
Nov
14
2008
Ruling
Debtor sanctioned in amount received in unauthorized transfer of nonexempt stock.
Procedural posture
After the debtor failed to make plan payments in a timely manner, his chapter 13 case was converted to a chapter 7 case. After the chapter 7 trustee learned at the 11 U.S.C.S. § 341 meeting that the debtor had transferred nonexempt stock without notice or authorization, he moved to hold the debtor in contempt for violation of the confirmation order and for sanctions. The debtor objected to the motion. The court held an evidentiary hearing.
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Court
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