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Belfor USA Group Inc. v. Hopkins (In re Hopkins)

Ruling
Debt was nondischargeable due to debtor's negotiation of check that should have been paid to creditor.
Procedural posture

Plaintiff creditor sought a determination of nondischargeability of its debt, pursuant to 11 U.S.C.S. § 523(a)(4) and (a)(6), arising from debtor's negotiation of a check that should have been credited to the creditor for debris removal.

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Consumer opinion summary, case decided on March 12, 2012 , LexisNexis #0412-014

Stoebner v. Consumers Energy Co. (In re LGI Energy Solutions Inc.)

Ruling
Utility payments made by debtor billing agent that commingled customers' payments with other funds could be avoided unless traceable to identifiable funds.
Procedural posture

Bankruptcy trustee brought adversary proceedings against appellee power utilities seeking to avoid payments to the utilities from a bankruptcy debtor as a billing agent for utility customers as preferential and fraudulent transfers under 11 U.S.C.S. §§ 547, 548. The trustee appealed the orders of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Minnesota which granted summary judgment to the utilities.

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Court :
Judge or Jurisdiction information not available
Commercial opinion summary, case decided on December 08, 2011 , LexisNexis #0112-023

Allred v. Vilhauer (In re Vilhauer)

Ruling
Discharge properly denied due to failure to adequately explain loss of cattle.
Procedural posture

Appellant debtors sought review of a judgment of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of South Dakota, which ruled in favor of appellee Chapter 7 trustee and denied the debtors' discharge pursuant to 11 U.S.C.S. § 727(a)(5).

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Court :
Judge or Jurisdiction information not available
Consumer opinion summary, case decided on October 11, 2011 , LexisNexis #1111-031

Treadwell v. Lodge (In re Treadwell)

Ruling
On remand, collateral estoppel held to apply to debt as nondischargeable on grounds of fraud, which was imputed to debtor spouse.
Procedural posture

Husband and wife debtors brought an adversary proceeding against creditor to avoid a lien, and the creditor counterclaimed for nondischargeability of a judgment debt under 11 U.S.C.S. § 523(a) based on the debtors' fraud. Upon remand from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, the bankruptcy court considered whether collateral estoppel applied and whether the wife's fraud was imputed to the husband.

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Consumer opinion summary, case decided on September 27, 2011 , LexisNexis #0112-050

Keeley & Grabanski Land Pship v. Keeley (In re Keeley & Grabanski Land Pship)

Ruling
Chapter 11 trustee properly appointed in involuntary case due to fraud by debtors and their partners.
Procedural posture

Chapter 11 debtor challenged a decision of the U. S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of North Dakota, appointing a trustee in its involuntary chapter 11 case under 11 U.S.C.S. § 1104(a).

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Court :
Judge or Jurisdiction information not available
Commercial opinion summary, case decided on September 06, 2011 , LexisNexis #0911-130

In re Foresee

Ruling
Confirmation denied due to failure to account for value of one-half of mutual fund and stocks.
Procedural posture

A chapter 13 trustee filed a motion to deny confirmation of the debtors' chapter 13 plan on the ground that it did not account for non-exempt equity in accounts jointly held by the debtor wife with her brother and mother in violation of 11 U.S.C.S. § 1325(a)(4). Those accounts included a certificate of deposit (CD), a mutual fund, and shares of stock in three companies.

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Consumer opinion summary, case decided on August 04, 2011 , LexisNexis #0911-026

National Bank of Ark. V. Panther Mt. Land Dev. LLC (In re Panther Mt. Land Dev. LLC)

Ruling
Denial of relief from stay to allow creditor to proceed against debtor developer and its special improvement district affirmed, absent cause.
Procedural posture

Appellant, a secured creditor bank holding mortgages on some of chapter 11 appellee debtor's real property, appealed from an order of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas, that denied creditor's motion for relief from the automatic stay, under 11 U.S.C.S. § 362(a)(3). The creditor wished to proceed with a state court foreclosure action against the debtor and its newly formed special improvement districts.

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Court :
Judge or Jurisdiction information not available
Commercial opinion summary, case decided on April 15, 2011 , LexisNexis #0511-043

In re Bauer

Ruling
Confirmation denied where debtor reconveyed property that parents had conveyed to debtor without debtor's knowledge.
Procedural posture

A bankruptcy trustee moved to deny confirmation of Chapter 13 bankruptcy debtors' plan because one debtor's transfer of a partial interest in real property to a parent was a fraudulent transfer, and the debtors' plan did not provide for payment of the value of the one debtor's interest to unsecured creditors as required by 11 U.S.C.S. § 1325(a)(4).

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Consumer opinion summary, case decided on March 25, 2011 , LexisNexis #0411-129

Lovald v. Hunter (In re Paul)

Ruling
Transfers that were constructively fraudulent under state law could not be avoided absent evidence debtor engaged in transaction for which assets were unreasonably small.
Procedural posture

Plaintiff trustee filed an adversary proceeding against defendants, the stepmother and sister of a debtor who declared Chapter 7 bankruptcy, seeking a determination that transfers the debtor made could be avoided under 11 U.S.C.S. § 544(b) because they were fraudulent under Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 34-14-205. The United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of South Dakota found in favor of defendants, and the trustee appealed.

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Court :
Judge or Jurisdiction information not available
Consumer opinion summary, case decided on March 07, 2011 , LexisNexis #0311-128

Kendall v. Able Debt Settlement Inc. (In re Kendall)

Ruling
Bankruptcy court did not err in denying avoidance of service fees for debt adjustment as fraudulent transfers.
Procedural posture

Plaintiff Chapter 7 trustee filed an adversary complaint against defendant debt settlement company in which it sought to recover service fees paid by the debtors on the ground that the fees were fraudulent transfers under 11 U.S.C.S. § 548(a)(1)(B). The United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of North Dakota entered judgment in favor of defendant. Plaintiff appealed.

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Court :
Judge or Jurisdiction information not available
Consumer opinion summary, case decided on December 09, 2010 , LexisNexis #0111-021