Skip to main content

Circuit Court

In re Brannon

Ruling
Bankruptcy petition did not sever tenancy by the entireties so that trustee could not supersede one tenant's right to act on behalf of the other.
Procedural posture

In two chapter 7 bankruptcy cases, appellant debtors sought exemptions under 11 U.S.C. § 522(d)(5) for property held in tenancy by the entireties. The bankruptcy court sustained appellee trustees'objections to the exemption requests. The District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania affirmed. The debtors appealed. The cases were consolidated for appeal.

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

Court :
Judge or Jurisdiction information not available
opinion summary, case decided on February 07, 2007 , LexisNexis #0307-060

United States v. Mitchell

Ruling
Conviction for fraudulent concealment reversed where only prepetition income had been concealed.
Procedural posture

Defendant appealed his conviction for fraudulent concealment of estate property in his bankruptcy case in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 152(1) from the District Court for the Northern District of Iowa. He also appealed the district court's denial of his motion to dismiss from the indictment the charge of submitting a false declaration in a bankruptcy petition in violation of section 152(3).

ABI Membership is required to access the full summary of United States v. Mitchell Please sign in if you are already an ABI member, or otherwise you may Become an ABI Member

Court :
Judge or Jurisdiction information not available
opinion summary, case decided on February 06, 2007 , LexisNexis #0307-068

Thompkins v. LilJoe Records Inc.

Ruling
Rejection of record company agreements did not return copyrights to musician.
Procedural posture

Plaintiff musician sued defendants, a recording company and its owner, alleging they did not acquire copyrights by purchasing assets through a debtor's confirmed chapter 11 bankruptcy or the rejection of a recording agreement ("RA") or other contracts under 11 U.S.C. § 365, if so, he was owed royalties. The District Court for the Southern District of Florida granted defendants summary judgment. The musician appealed.

ABI Membership is required to access the full summary of Thompkins v. LilJoe Records Inc. Please sign in if you are already an ABI member, or otherwise you may Become an ABI Member

Court :
Judge or Jurisdiction information not available
opinion summary, case decided on February 05, 2007 , LexisNexis #0307-058

United States v. Milwitt

Ruling
Bankruptcy fraud conviction reversed where debtor filed to defraud tenants he was assisting but not tenant's landlord creditors.
Procedural posture

Defendant sought review of a judgment from the District Court for the Northern District of California, which convicted him upon a jury verdict on five counts of bankruptcy fraud in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 157.

ABI Membership is required to access the full summary of United States v. Milwitt Please sign in if you are already an ABI member, or otherwise you may Become an ABI Member

Court :
Judge or Jurisdiction information not available
opinion summary, case decided on February 05, 2007 , LexisNexis #0307-069

Murphy v. ODonnell (In re Murphy)

Ruling
Bankruptcy court properly allowed modification that provided greater payment to unsecured creditors where there was substantial change and denied in second case absent change.
Procedural posture

In two bankruptcy cases before the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, the chapter 13 trustee sought to modify a confirmed chapter 13 plan to increase the amount to be paid to the unsecured creditors. The bankruptcy court denied the motion to modify in case one, but granted it in case two and the district court affirmed the decisions. The trustee appealed in case one and the debtor appealed in case two.

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

Court :
Judge or Jurisdiction information not available
opinion summary, case decided on January 18, 2007 , LexisNexis #0207-068

Ostrander v. Gardner (In re Milivision Inc.)

Ruling
Creditor's postpetition recording of financing statement did not relate back to date of loan.
Procedural posture

Appellant lenders made a loan to debtor. The next day, debtor's creditors filed an involuntary chapter 11 petition. Unaware of the bankruptcy petition, appellants did not record a financing statement relating to their loan until five days after the loan was made. The bankruptcy court permitted the trustee to invoke 11 U.S.C. § 547, the "strong-arm" provision, to avoid appellants'interest in debtor's assets. They appealed.

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

Court :
Judge or Jurisdiction information not available
opinion summary, case decided on January 16, 2007 , LexisNexis #0207-095

Peltz v. Edward Vancil Inc. (In re Bridge Info. Sys.)

Ruling
Lease settlement was consideration fo debtor lessee to exercise future options and was not a preference.
Procedural posture

Chapter 11 plan administrator for the debtor appealed from a decision of the Bankruptcy Appellate Panel that reversed a bankruptcy court order granting summary judgment to the administrator in an adversary proceeding to avoid a payment as a preferential transfer under 11 U.S.C. § 547(b), against a lessee of office space in debtor's building.

ABI Membership is required to access the full summary of Peltz v. Edward Vancil Inc. (In re Bridge Info. Sys.) Please sign in if you are already an ABI member, or otherwise you may Become an ABI Member

Court :
Judge or Jurisdiction information not available
opinion summary, case decided on January 10, 2007 , LexisNexis #0207-026

Collins v. Great Atlantic Mortg. Corp. (In re Lazarus)

Ruling
Debtor's refinance with original mortgagee was preferential subject to possible applicability of 547(c) exceptions.
Procedural posture

The District Court for the District of Massachusetts affirmed a bankruptcy court's entry of summary judgment in favor of creditor mortgagee in declining to set aside a mortgage on the ground that it constituted a preferential transfer pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 547(b) in debtor co-owner's bankruptcy case. The trustee appealed.

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

Court :
Judge or Jurisdiction information not available
opinion summary, case decided on January 09, 2007 , LexisNexis #0207-025

Boyer v. Belavilas

Ruling
Transfer of insurance proceeds to minor childrens'trust and then to entities controlled by debtor was recoverable.
Procedural posture

Appellants, a mother and two minor children, appealed from the District Court for the Northern District of Indiana, which affirmed the bankruptcy judge's order holding making the mother, father, and children jointly and severally responsible for paying $183,130 to the bankruptcy estate from custodial accounts established under the Uniform Transfers to Minors Act ("UTMA"). Appellee trustee opposed the appeal.

ABI Membership is required to access the full summary of Boyer v. Belavilas Please sign in if you are already an ABI member, or otherwise you may Become an ABI Member

Court :
Judge or Jurisdiction information not available
opinion summary, case decided on January 05, 2007 , LexisNexis #0207-029

Ayes v. United States Dept of Veterans Affairs

Ruling
Veterans'home loan guaranty entitlement could be withheld after discharge.
Procedural posture

Appellant veterans alleged that appellee, the Department of Veterans Affairs ("VA"), violated 11 U.S.C. § 525(a) by refusing to fully restore home loan guaranty entitlements following the veterans'discharges in bankruptcy. The veterans appealed a judgment of the District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina granting the VA's Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss.

ABI Membership is required to access the full summary of Ayes v. United States Dept of Veterans Affairs Please sign in if you are already an ABI member, or otherwise you may Become an ABI Member

Court :
Judge or Jurisdiction information not available
opinion summary, case decided on December 27, 2006 , LexisNexis #0207-024