Recent Opinions

ABI's Bankruptcy case opinion summaries website provides summaries of bankruptcy-related opinions issued by U.S. Bankruptcy Courts, District Courts and Circuit Courts of Appeal since 2005. Search almost 23,000 opinion summaries by keyword, relevant code section, court and judge. Opinion summaries are provided by our partner LexisNexis® Collier and are updated weekly.

Republic Credit Corp. I v. Boyer (In re Boyer)

Defendant chapter 7 debtor filed a motion to dismiss plaintiff creditor's complaint, which sought to deny the debtor's discharge pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 727(a).
Ruling: 
Debtor's failure to list property transferred to spousefor estate planning purposes twelve years prior to filing was not grounds for denial of discharge.
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In re Merritt

A creditor filed a chapter 7 debtor's reaffirmation agreement as to a motor vehicle financed with the creditor.
Ruling: 
Reaffirmation agreement approved as meeting requirements despite being filed more than one year post-discharge.
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In re McNeeley

Creditor sought relief from the automatic stay pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 362(d)(2). Creditor and trustee objected to confirmation of chapter 13 debtors'proposed plan.
Ruling: 
Plan proposing retention of houseboat in which there was no equity while paying unsecured creditors less than eight percent of total claims was not proposed in good faith.
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In re Stevens

A creditor objected to confirmation of a chapter 13 plan, arguing debtor was trying to cram-down its claim in violation of the "hanging paragraph" following 11 U.S.C. § 1325(a)(9). Regarding the "hanging paragraph,"the issue raised here was whether, when multiple vehicles served as collateral, a debtor could retain one vehicle and pay the portion of the loan attributable to that vehicle in full while surrendering the remaining collateral.
Ruling: 
Where multiple vehicles served as collateral, debtor required to either pay portion representing purchase money security interest in full or surrender one vehicle in full satisfaction of claim.
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In re ABC-Naco Inc.

Pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 547(b), appellee, an official committee of unsecured creditors, filed an adversary proceeding seeking to set aside, as preferential transfers, four payments made by a debtor to appellant creditor. A bankruptcy court found that the payments were not preferential transfers. The creditor appealed after the District Court for the Northern District of Illinois reversed that decision.
Ruling: 
District court properly held payments to creditor were avoidable as continued use of software and licenses did not constitute new value.
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Cox v. Beneficial Neb. Inc. (In re Cox)

The debtors filed a motion to determine the status of the automatic stay in their chapter 13 bankruptcy case.
Ruling: 
Debtors could strip of wholly unsecured lien on real property pursuant to chapter 13 plan.
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In re White

Objector, a secured creditor, asserted an objection to a plan proposed by chapter 13 debtors pursuant to which they sought to surrender the vehicle that secured the claim to the creditor in full satisfaction thereof without regard to any possible deficiency. At issue was whether debtors were entitled, pursuant to the "hanging paragraph" in 11 U.S.C. § 1325(a), to surrender the vehicle without making provision for payment of any deficiency.
Ruling: 
Hanging paragraph did not allow debtors to surrender vehicle in full satisfaction of secured claim.
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In re Hundley

Appellant bank sought review of a judgment issued by the bankruptcy court, which found that the bank willfully violated 11 U.S.C. § 362 when it allowed its agent to retain appellee debtors'vehicle after it received notice that the debtors had filed for bankruptcy, and awarded the debtors $48.40 in damages and $2,257.50 in attorney's fees.
Ruling: 
Bank's refusal to surrender vehicle in which it held security interest upon notice of debtor's bankruptcy violated stay.
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In re Duncan & Forbes Dev. Inc.

A creditor moved for relief from the automatic bankruptcy stay pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 362(d)(4), alleging that a transfer of real property from a principal of a corporate bankruptcy debtor to the debtor constituted a scheme to hinder, delay, and defraud the creditor which was secured by the property.
Ruling: 
Prepetition transfer of property subject to delinquent loan from debtor's principal to debtor was not part of a scheme to hinder and delay creditor.
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In re McCarson

Defendant debtor had filed for relief under chapter 7 and had received a discharge. Plaintiff, the debtor's mother, filed an action to revoke the bankruptcy discharge previously granted to the debtor, because the mother had obtained a pre-discharge judgment and a judgment lien in state court against the debtor in the amount of $28,416.
Ruling: 
Discharge revoked for bad faith on motion of debtor's mother who did not receive notice and was not listed in schedules.
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In re Scotia Dev. LLC

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).
Ruling: 
Debtor who conducted timber harvesting on multiple properties was not a single asset debtor.
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Speth v. Associates in Womens Health P.A. (In re Stevens)

Plaintiff chapter 7 trustee filed an action against defendant, a professional association ("PA"), alleging that the PA was an insider of one of the debtors and that the PA had received preferential transfers from the debtor. The PA sought summary judgment.
Ruling: 
Payments by debtor to professional association of which it was an officer, employee and shareholder were made to an insider and avoidable.
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Edwards v. Turner (In re Edwards)

Movant debtor filed a motion for an order determining that she was in compliance with the means test filing requirement of 11 U.S.C. § 521 and directing the entry of a discharge.
Ruling: 
Below-median debtor not required to file additional Form B22A upon conversion to chapter 7 where Form B22C had been filed in original chapter 13 case.
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Benson v. Dunbar (In re Dunbar)

Plaintiff judgment creditor filed an action against defendant debtor, alleging that a default judgment awarded to her by an Illinois state court was not dischargeable pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(6) because the predicate injury was willful and malicious. The debtor had pled guilty to criminal battery for causing the creditor's injury. The court made findings of fact and conclusions of law.
Ruling: 
Civil judgment for damages from criminal battery was nondischargeable.
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Jaecksch v. GMAC (In re Jaecksch)

Plaintiff debtors filed an adversary proceeding seeking reconsideration of the allowance of defendant creditor's claim and seeking to recover funds paid the creditor by the chapter 13 trustee. The debtors sought the return of the funds the creditor had received in excess of the amount it would have received as an unsecured creditor. The parties filed cross-motions for summary judgment.
Ruling: 
Creditor who failed to file amended claim after denial of secured status ordered to return payment from chapter 13 trustee.
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