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northern district of georgia

Warner Mayoue Bates & Nolen P.C. v. Cook (In re Cook)

Ruling
Law firm owed fees for representating debtor in divorce proceeding lacked standing to assert nondischargeability claim under section 523(a)(15).
Procedural posture

Plaintiff law firm brought an adversary proceeding against defendant bankruptcy debtor, alleging that the debtor owed fees for the firm's representation of the debtor in her subsequently dismissed divorce proceedings, and that the debt was nondischargeable under 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(15). The debtor moved for summary judgment on the ground that the firm lacked standing to pursue nondischargeability under section 523(a)(15).

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opinion summary, case decided on March 17, 2006 , LexisNexis #0806-027

Goodman v. Highland Software LLC (In re Webusenet Inc.)

Ruling
Court denied creditor's motion to dismiss preferential transfer claim.
Procedural posture

Plaintiff chapter 7 trustee filed an adversary proceeding against defendant creditor seeking to avoid an alleged transfer as preferential pursuant to 11 U.S.C. §§ 547 and 550. The creditor moved to dismiss.

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opinion summary, case decided on March 07, 2006 , LexisNexis #0806-060

In re Ross

Ruling
Case was dismissed since debtor failed to request credit counseling prior to filing and, thus, could not invoke the exigent circumstances exception.
Procedural posture

The debtor filed a chapter 13 case without complying with the credit counseling requirement of 11 U.S.C. § 109. The debtor requested that the court permit him to obtain the required briefing after the filing of his petition under the "exigent circumstances" exception in 11 U.S.C. § 109(h)(3).

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opinion summary, case decided on February 07, 2006 , LexisNexis #0506-001

Brown v. McLain (In re McLain)

Ruling
Trustee's motion to compel production of certain tax returns was granted to see if any tax refunds or loss carryovers were not turned over to the estate.
Procedural posture

Pending before the court were pretrial motions filed by both the debtor and the chapter 7 trustee in three related adversary proceedings. These motions were: (1) the debtor's motion for an expedited hearing for the determination of pre-trial issues; (2) the trustee's motion for contempt and to compel production of the debtor's tax records; (3) the trustee's motion for entry of a pre-trial order; and (4) the debtor's motion to open default.

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opinion summary, case decided on January 31, 2006 , LexisNexis #0506-043

R&L Dist. Inc. v. MacPherson (In re MacPherson)

Ruling
Court deemed debt dischargeable since creditor did not establish causal connection between debtor's personal guarantee of debt and alleged false representation.
Procedural posture

Plaintiff creditor filed an adversary proceeding against defendant debtor seeking a determination that the debt owed to him, which resulted from a personal guarantee of debts owed by corporations owned or controlled by the debtor, was nondischargeable pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(2), (a)(4) and (a)(6). The parties filed cross-motions for summary judgment only as to the section 523(a)(2) claim.

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opinion summary, case decided on January 25, 2006 , LexisNexis #0506-049

Cliftondale Oaks LLC v. Silver Lake Enters. LLC (In re Cliftondale Oaks LLC)

Ruling
Creditor was entitled to default interest as reasonable fees but was not entitled to double recovery by also charging late fees.
Procedural posture

Debtor objected to creditor's proof of claim and sought disallowance of the portion of the claim that represented default interest and late charges. The debtor argued that the default interest and late charges constituted an unreasonable penalty. The debtor also asserted that the payment of default interest and late charges would be inequitable to the debtor's other equity holders.

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opinion summary, case decided on January 06, 2006 , LexisNexis #0506-121

Roche v. Pep Boys Inc. (In re Roche)

Ruling
Judgment creditor and its attorney willfully violated the automatic stay by failing to dismiss a prepetition bank garnishment and seek adequate protection within a reasonable time.
Procedural posture

Plaintiff debtor, in count one, sought an emergency turnover of property and release of a garnishment. Claim two sought damages for willful violation of the automatic stay due to the fact that defendants, a judgment creditor and its attorney, failed to immediately release the garnishment upon learning about the filing of the bankruptcy petition. Cross-motions for summary judgment were pending.

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opinion summary, case decided on December 29, 2005 , LexisNexis #0306-012

Candelario v. Centennial Healthcare Corp. (In re Centennial Healthcare Corp.)

Ruling
Creditor was granted a motion to extend time to file an administrative claim and for relief from the discharge injunction since the creditor was not given notice of the filing and established excusable neglect for the delay in filing a claim.
Procedural posture

Movant creditor filed a motion to extend the time to file an administrative expense claim and for relief from a discharge injunction. Respondent debtors, who leased and managed numerous nursing homes, contested the motions. The creditor, who claimed that her mother's death was attributable to negligent care while she was a patient in one of the nursing homes, filed her claim request after expiration of the filing deadline.

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opinion summary, case decided on December 28, 2005 , LexisNexis #0306-034

In re Cotton

Ruling
Court denied the debtors their motion to dismiss a chapter 13 case and ruled that the best interests of the creditors were to have the case converted to chapter 7.
Procedural posture

Debtor commenced a chapter 13 case. Before the court were debtor's motion seeking to voluntarily dismiss the case, along with several other matters, to wit: a motion for relief from automatic stay filed on behalf of an estate, a motion for approval of settlement filed on behalf of debtor's former counsel in related state litigation, and the chapter 13 trustee's objection to confirmation of plan.

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opinion summary, case decided on December 23, 2005 , LexisNexis #0306-067

In re Allied Holdings Inc.

Ruling
Court provided that it would approve a key employee retention program with certain amendments to the program since the debtors had a sound business reason for proposing the program.
Procedural posture

Debtors, who had filed voluntary petitions under chapter 11, filed a motion for approval of a key employee retention program ("KERP") pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 363(b). The KERP was supported by the official committee of unsecured creditors and the debtors'postpetition lenders but opposed by a union committee and the U.S. trustee.

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opinion summary, case decided on December 19, 2005 , LexisNexis #0306-014