MEMORANDUM OPINION JACK B. SCHMETTERER, Bankruptcy Judge. This Adversary proceeding relates to the Chapter 7 Bankruptcy case filed by debtor-defendant Mary C. Klauck ("Defendant"). Plaintiffs Diane L. Liewehr and Marie S. Berberich ("Plaintiffs") filed a two-count Complaint seeking determination under sections 523(a)(2)(A) [Count I] and (a)(4) [Count II] of the Bankruptcy Code, barring dischargeability of an unliquidated debt assertedly owed by Defendant to Plaintiffs. On June 14, 2012,...
MEMORANDUM OPINION JANET S. BAER, Bankruptcy Judge. Most requests to avoid judicial liens focus on whether those Fliens may be validly avoided. This matter presents the less common issue of when a judicial lien can be avoided. Debtors Phillip and Noreen Harris (the "Debtors") have moved to avoid the judicial lien of United Credit Union (the "Creditor"). The Creditor admits that the lien may be avoided but contends that it need not release the lien unless and until the Debtors complete their...
MEMORANDUM OPINION ON DEFENDANT'S MOTION TO DISMISS AMENDED ADVERSARY COMPLAINT JACK B. SCHMETTERER, Bankruptcy Judge. This Adversary Proceeding relates to the bankruptcy petition filed by debtor Carl P. Amari ("Defendant") under Chapter 7 of the Bankruptcy Code. Debtor received his discharge on March 2, 2012. Plaintiff Media House Productions ("Plaintiff) filed its original complaint (Dkt. 1) on June 13, 2012 and filed an amended complaint with leave of court on September 20, 2012 (Dkt. 15)....
MEMORANDUM OPINION A. BENJAMIN GOLDGAR, Bankruptcy Judge. This matter is before the court for ruling on the amended motion of chapter 7 trustee David R. Herzog to intervene as a plaintiff in the City of Chicago's adversary proceeding against debtor and defendant Norman Wexler. For the reasons that follow, the motion will be denied. 1. Background The following facts, mostly procedural, are drawn from the parties' papers, the court's docket, and the docket of the United States Bankruptcy...
OPINION AND ORDER DENYING MOTION OF DEBTOR TO DISQUALIFY COUNSEL FOR NORTHBROOK BANK JACK B. SCHMETTERER, Bankruptcy Judge. Debtor, 444 North Northwest Hwy, LLC, ("444" or "Debtor") and Northbrook Bank and Trust Company ("Northbrook" or "Bank") and another creditor were some months in litigation in an Illinois State Court after the Bank sought to foreclose its mortgage against the Debtor. The Debtor then filed this Chapter 11 Bankruptcy case, and the parties squared off on some fast moving...
MEMORANDUM OPINION ON U.S. TRUSTEE'S MOTION FOR DISGORGEMENT OF FEES AND FOR SANCTIONS JACK B. SOHMETTERER, Bankruptcy Judge. This case was filed under Chapter 13 of the Bankruptcy Code, Title 11 U.S.C. The United States Trustee filed a Motion to compel Debtor's counsel, Timothy K. Liou ("Liou") to disgorge fees received by him and for sanctions. Liou responded to the Motion and hearing was held thereon. The following constitutes Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law pursuant to which the...
FINDINGS OF FACT, CONCLUSIONS OF LAW JACK B. SCHMETTERER, Bankruptcy Judge. I. FINDINGS OF FACTS This matter is before the Court on the Secretary of Labor's motion for entry of default judgment against Defendant John Dombek III ("Defendant") pursuant to Federal Rule of Bankruptcy ("BR") 7055 and Federal Rule of Civil Procedure ("FRCP") 55. An order of default was entered and all allegations of the complaint are thereby admitted. 1. This adversary proceeding is brought by the Secretary...
AMENDED MEMORANDUM OPINION ON ADVERSARY PROCEEDING JACQUELINE P. COX, Bankruptcy Judge. This matter comes before the court on the adversary complaint (the "Complaint") of 4100 West Grand LLC, debtor in possession (the "Debtor") against TY Grand LLC 1 ("TY Grand") to avoid and recover a transfer alleged to be fraudulent pursuant to 11 U.S.C. 544, 548 and 740 ILL. COMP. STAT. 160/5 and 160/6. For the reasons noted herein, the court enters judgment in favor of TY Grand. I. JURISDICTION...
MEMORANDUM DECISION TIMOTHY A. BARNES, Bankruptcy Judge. The matter before the court is the Motion To Dismiss the Second Amended Adversary Complaint To Avoid and Recover Avoidable Transfers and Disallow Claims (the " Motion To Dismiss ") [Docket No. 51] of Wisenbaker Builder Services Ltd. and Wisenbaker Builder Services, Inc. (collectively " Wisenbaker " or " Defendants "). JURISDICTION Jurisdiction and authority are central issues in this proceeding and are considered and discussed at...
Memorandum Opinion PAMELA S. HOLLIS, Bankruptcy Judge. Introduction Debtor BCI brought this action to avoid transfers made to its former owners. After five days of trial and review of thousands of pages of additional evidence submitted, including financial treatises, expert reports and depositions, the court enters judgment in favor of Defendants on all counts. Parties Plaintiff in this adversary proceeding is Chapter 11 debtor, Bachrach Clothing, Inc. ("BCI" or "Bachrach"). Defendants...
MEMORANDUM DECISION TIMOTHY A. BARNES, Bankruptcy Judge. The federal district courts have "original and exclusive jurisdiction" of all cases under title 11 of the United States Code (the "Bankruptcy Code" ). 28 U.S.C. 1334(a). The federal district courts also have "original but not exclusive jurisdiction" of all civil proceedings arising under title 11 of the Bankruptcy Code, or arising in or related to cases under title 11. 28 U.S.C. 1334(b). District courts may, however, refer these...
MEMORANDUM DECISION TIMOTHY A. BARNES, Bankruptcy Judge. The federal district courts have "original and exclusive jurisdiction" of all cases under title 11 of the United States Code (the " Bankruptcy Code "). 28 U.S.C. 1334(a). The federal district courts also have "original but not exclusive jurisdiction" of all civil proceedings arising under title 11 of the Bankruptcy Code, or arising in or related to cases under title 11. 28 U.S.C. 1334(b). District courts may, however, refer these...
MEMORANDUM OPINION A. BENJAMIN GOLDGAR, Bankruptcy Judge. Two adversary proceedings in the Allerton Hotel bankruptcy case are before the court for ruling in different postures. One, ALT Hotel LLC, et al. v. DiamondRock Allerton Owner, LLC, No. 11 A 1469, is an action brought by the debtor and its parent against the debtor's senior secured creditor. Pending in the ALT Hotel adversary proceeding is the defendant's motion to dismiss all counts of the third amended complaint for failure to...
MEMORANDUM OPINION A. BENJAMIN GOLDGAR, Bankruptcy Judge. Most requests for relief from the automatic stay come from a party wanting to take action against a debtor or against property of the bankruptcy estate. Debtors often resist these requests. This case presents the unusual picture of a debtor seeking relief from the stay to permit a civil action against it to go forward and the plaintiff in the action resisting stay relief. Sweports Ltd. ("Sweports"), an alleged debtor in an...
FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW JACK B. SCHMETTERER, Judge. Findings of Fact 1. On October 4, 2011, the Debtors filed a petition in the above captioned case for an order of relief under chapter 7 of the Bankruptcy Code. 2. On March 21, 2012, the Debtors converted the Chapter 7 case to a case under Chapter 13 of the Bankruptcy Code. 3. This court has jurisdiction over this matter pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 157 and 1334, and it is predicted on 11 U.S.C. 506.1322(b)(2) and 1325(a)(5)...
MEMORANDUM OF DECISION EUGENE R. WEDOFF, Bankruptcy Judge. This Chapter 7 bankruptcy case is before the court on the trustee's motion to compel turnover of the debtor's income tax refund. The only question in dispute is whether the debtor's wife, who did not join in the bankruptcy case, owns half of the tax refund. If so, her share of the tax refund would not be payable to the trustee. As discussed below, however, the debtor owned the entire tax refund at the time of the bankruptcy filing....
FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW ON MOTION FOR DEFAULT JUDGMENT JACK B. SCHMETTERER, Bankruptcy Judge. At Chicago, IL, this 5 th day of June, 2012, before the Honorable Jack B. Schmetterer, Bankruptcy Judge, in the said district and division. This matter coming on for hearing on the motion of Plaintiffs, Sylwester Burzawa and Paulina Burzawa ("Plaintiffs"), for default judgment; due notice having been served upon all parties in interest; the Court having jurisdiction and being fully...
MEMORANDUM OPINION ON CHAPTER 11 TRUSTEE'S MOTION FOR PARTIAL SUMMARY JUDGMENT ON LASALLE'S CLAIM TO CERTAIN ASSETS JACK B. SCHMETTERER, Bankruptcy Judge. In the Chapter 11 Bankruptcy case filed by the debtor Doctors Hospital of Hyde Park ("Debtor"), a claim was filed by LaSalle Bank National Association, f/k/a LaSalle National Bank as Trustee for certain asset certificateholders of Asset Securitization Corporation Commercial Mortgage Pass-Through Certificates, Series 1997, D5 ("LaSalle")...
MEMORANDUM OPINION A. BENJAMIN GOLDGAR, Bankruptcy Judge. Before the court for ruling are two motions in the chapter 7 bankruptcy case of Efoora, Inc. Trustee Catherine Steege has moved to sell certain rights under an 2008 asset purchase agreement between the bankruptcy estate and an entity called Applied Biomedical. An investor in Efoora, Douglas Jaeger, has objected to the sale. Jaeger, in turn, has moved to dismiss the bankruptcy case for lack of jurisdiction. Jaeger contends that Efoora,...
AMENDED FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW FOLLOWING HEARING ON DEBTORS' PLAN OF REORGANIZATION JACK B. SCHMETTERER, Bankruptcy Judge. This matter relates to a Chapter 11 case filed by nine related entities 1 ("Debtors"). Those cases were administratively consolidated under the above captioned case number. Debtors now seek confirmation of their Amended Plan of Reorganization ("Plan"). Debtors must overcome several objections made by RBS Citizens, N.A. d/b/a Charter One ("Charter One"...
