FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW JERRY A. FUNK, United States Bankruptcy Judge This case came before the Court upon Acting United States Trustee's (the "Trustee") Motion to Dismiss Pursuant to 11 U.S.C. [ ] 707(b)(1) and 707(b)(3) and Request for Clerk to Hold Discharge Pending Hearing (Doc. 43) (the "Motion to Dismiss"). The Court conducted an evidentiary hearing at which the parties entered into a detailed factual stipulation, which was admitted as the Trustee's Exhibit 5. The...
Chapter 7 MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER DENYING MOTION TO DISMISS Michael G. Williamson , United States Bankruptcy Judge Under both the Bankruptcy Code and Florida Statute 726, the trustee may avoid transfers that are either preferential or fraudulent and then pursue recovery of the value of the property transferred against any party for whose benefit the transfer was made. In this case, the Trustee has alleged that the Debtor, at a time that the Defendants did not perform any services...
Chapter 7 MEMORANDUM OPINION OVERRULING TRUSTEE'S OBJECTION TO EXEMPTIONS KAREN S. JENNEMANN, Chief United States Bankruptcy Judge. A debtor who does not affirmatively claim a homestead exemption but jointly owns a home with a non-debtor may claim the wildcard exemption under Florida Statute 222.25(4) as long as the Chapter 7 trustee is not prevented from effectively administering the home. Here, the Debtor claimed the wildcard exemption in lieu of claiming a homestead exemption. The...
Chapter 7 MEMORANDUM OPINION OVERRULING OBJECTIONS TO EXEMPTIONS KAREN S. JENNEMANN , Chief United States Bankruptcy Judge . The Chapter 7 Trustee, Arvind Mahendru, and creditor, Triage Properties, LLC, ("Triage"), object to the exemptions the Debtor, Nishi Swarup, claims on three retirement accounts she received through a division of marital assets. 1 The Court overrules the objection finding that the Debtor held an exemptible interest in all three retirement accounts at the...
Chapter 7 MEMORANDUM OPINION CONFIRMING DEBTOR'S ASSUMPTION OF A CAR LEASE WITHOUT A SEPARATE REAFFIRMATION AGREEMENT KAREN S. JENNEMANN Chief United States Bankruptcy Judge The issue is whether a debtor can assume a car lease under 365(p)(2) of the Bankruptcy Code 1 without also reaffirming a debt under 524(c) of the Code. The answer is "yes". The Debtor can assume his car lease with Ford Motor Credit Company without separately reaffirming the debt and, indeed, without seeking...
Chapter 11 ORDER DENYING DEBTOR'S EMERGENCY VERIFIED MOTION TO SET ASIDE FORFEITURE MICHAEL G. WILLIAMSON, United States Bankruptcy Judge THIS CASE came before the Court on the Emergency Verified Motion to Set Aside Forfeiture (Doc. No. 56), filed by Duval at Gulf Harbors ("Debtor"). On November 30, 2011, the Debtor executed a Warranty Deed granting to LB & JF Holdings, Inc. (a company partly owned by Julian Raymond Ford), the following property: Real property located at 12802 College...
Chapter 7 MEMORANDUM OPINION APPROVING CHAPTER 7 TRUSTEE'S PROPOSED COMPROMISE OF CONTROVERSY KAREN S. JENNEMANN, Chief United States Bankruptcy Judge. The Chapter 7 Trustee, Carla Musselman, seeks Court approval of a $100,000 settlement for a "bad faith" insurance claim asserted under 624.155 of the Florida Statutes ("Bad Faith Claim") against State Farm Insurance Company ("State Farm"). 1 The Court preliminarily concluded 2 that the Trustee lacked the authority to settle the Bad Faith...
Chapter 11 FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW JERRY A. FUNK, United States Bankruptcy Judge. This case is before the Court upon Creditor's, ARS Investors I LP-2011-1 Jax, Motion for Relief from the Automatic Stay (Doc. 23) 1 to which Debtors, 412 Boardwalk, Inc. and 422 Boardwalk, Inc., filed a Response. (Doc. 61). The Creditor also filed a Motion to Dismiss Debtors' Jointly Administered Chapter 11 Cases (the "Motion to Dismiss") (Doc. 55), to which Debtors filed a Response (Doc....
Chapter 7 ORDER GRANTING MOTIONS FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT FILED BY THE TRUSTEE, THE SYNECTIC FUNDS, AND ALCO AND DENYING MOTIONS FILED BY LANGDALE PLAINTIFFS AND THE INVESTMENT GROUP Caryl E. Delano, United States Bankruptcy Judge. The primary question presented in these two related adversary proceedings is whether a Chapter 7 debtor's payments to the Chapter 7 trustee in settlement of disputed claims may be avoided as fraudulent transfers under the Florida Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act ("...
Chapter 7 ORDER ON MOTION TO DISMISS PURSUANT TO 11 U.S.C. SECTION 707(b)(1) BASED ON PRESUMPTION OF ABUSE ARISING UNDER 11 U.S.C. SECTION 707(b)(2) AND ABUSE ARISING UNDER 11 U.S.C. SECTION 707(b)(3) PAUL M. GLENN, United States Bankruptcy Judge THIS CASE came before the Court to consider the Motion to Dismiss Pursuant to 11 U.S.C. Section 707(b)(1) based on Presumption of Abuse Arising under 11 U.S.C. Section 707(b)(2) and Abuse Arising under Section 707(b)(3). (Doc. 80). The Motion...
Chapter 7 FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW IN CONNECTION WITH FINAL JUDGMENT PERMANENTLY ENJOINING ROBERT V. PALMER AND ROBERT C. PALMER AS BANKRUPTCY PETITION PREPARERS, ASSESSING FINES, AND REQUIRING DISGORGEMENT OF FEES Paul M. Glenn, United States Bankruptcy Judge On March 7, 2014, the following matters came before the Court for final evidentiary hearing: (1) Motion for Sanctions and Disgorgement of Fees Against Bankruptcy Petition Preparer Robert C. Palmer d/b/a All Florida...
MEMORANDUM OPINION ARTHUR B. BRISKMAN, United States Bankruptcy Judge. This matter came before the Court on Joseph and Donna Chiaro's Complaint filed in Adversary Proceeding 6:13-ap-00160-ABB to determine whether the claim filed by Joseph Chiaro and Donna Chiaro (collectively the "Plaintiffs") in Defendant's main bankruptcy case (Case No. 6:13-bk-07248-ABB) is nondischargeable pursuant to 523(a)(2)(A) and (B) of the Bankruptcy Code. Judgment in favor of Plaintiffs is due to be entered....
ORDER SANCTIONING ATTORNEY CHRISTOPHER J. SHIPLEY KAREN S. JENNEMANN, Chief United States Bankruptcy Judge. Since January 1, 2013, Christopher J. Shipley, an experienced consumer bankruptcy lawyer, has filed 138 cases with attendant schedules and statements and 82 amended schedules under penalty of perjury without first obtaining his clients review or signature. His actions justify the sanctions awarded in this Order. On March 19, 2014, this sad saga started when one of Shipley's clients,...
Chapter 7 MEMORANDUM OPINION ON PLAINTIFFS' SECOND AMENDED COMPLAINT OBJECTING TO DISCHARGEABILITY AND DISCHARGE PURSUANT TO 11 U.S.C. 523 AND 727 Caryl E. Delano, United States Bankruptcy Judge. Dennis and Lisa Fiandola ("Plaintiffs") hired Defendant Jennifer Moore's interior design company, Moore Pizazz LLC ("Moore Pizazz"), to perform interior design services for their newly constructed Naples, Florida home. When Moore Pizazz did not complete the project as agreed, Plaintiffs sued and...
MEMORANDUM OPINION REGARDING CONTESTED CONFIRMATION HEARING, PROPOSED "GLOBAL" SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT AND RELATED ADVERSARY PROCEEDING K. Rodney May, United States Bankruptcy Judge. INTRODUCTION The Court has before it contested matters in five bankruptcy cases, including: (1) the contested confirmation of the Joint Plan filed by Resorts Management, Inc. ("RMI"), Colony Beach and Tennis Club, Inc. ("CBTC"), and Colony Beach, Inc. ("CBI"); 1 (2) a "global" Settlement Agreement and Mutual...
Chapter 11 MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER GRANTING PLAN TRUSTEE'S MOTION TO STRIKE DEFENDANT'S REQUEST FOR PREVAILING PARTY FEES Michael G. Williamson, United States Bankruptcy Judge. Under the American Rule, a prevailing party is not entitled to attorney's fees and costs absent a statute or contractual provision authorizing recovery of prevailing party fees and costs. In this case, there was a prevailing party attorney's fee provision in the Payment Agreement between the Debtor and Seaside...
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER ON DEBTOR'S EMERGENCY MOTION TO DETERMINE APPLICABILITY OF THE AUTOMATIC STAY 1 Michael G. Williamson, United States Bankruptcy Judge. Before filing this case, the Debtor was incarcerated by a state court for submitting a fraudulent jurat attached to a fact information sheet he provided to a creditor attempting to collect a judgment against him. Under the state court order incarcerating him, the Debtor was to remain under arrest (first at home and later in jail)...
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER ON MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT Michael G. Williamson , United States Bankruptcy Judge Bankruptcy Code 523(a)(2)(A) provides that a discharge under the Bankruptcy Code does not discharge a debtor from liability for money, property, services, or credit obtained by fraud. In December 2012, a Florida state court determined that Dr. Ronald DeMasi, one of the Debtors in this case, was liable for defrauding Gulf Coast Digestive Health Center, PL ("State Court...
Chapter 7 ORDER DENYING MOTION FOR STAY PENDING APPEAL Michael G. Williamson, United States Bankruptcy Judge THIS PROCEEDING came on for consideration without a hearing on a Motion for Stay Pending Appeal filed by Fundamental Long Term Care Holdings, LLC; Fundamental Administrative Services, LLC; Fundamental Clinical Consulting, LLC; THI of Baltimore, Inc.; Murray Forman; and Leonard Grunstein (collectively, the Fundamental Entities"). 1 This Court previously denied a motion for protective...
