MEMORANDUM DECISION TIMOTHY A. BARNES , Bankruptcy Judge . The matters before the court arise out of seven 1 motions to dismiss (the "Motions to Dismiss" ) filed by nine defendants, seeking dismissal of counts IV and V of the adversary complaint filed by Deborah Kanner Ebner (the "Trustee" ) in her capacity as representative of the bankruptcy estate of Jordon H. Kaiser (the "Debtor" ), and an objection, filed by several of the same defendants, to a proof of claim against the Debtor's...
Corrected Amended Memorandum of Decision on the Entry of Final Judgment and Proposed Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law EUGENE R. WEDOFF , Bankruptcy Judge . This adversary proceeding, filed in a voluntary Chapter 7 bankruptcy case, is before the court for decision after trial. The debtors in the bankruptcy case are a married couple who owned and operated several successful businesses. One of their businesses, a bank in Chicago, failed after the debtors had incurred or guaranteed...
Memorandum of Decision on Motions to Grant Standing and to Dismiss EUGENE R. WEDOFF , Bankruptcy Judge . This adversary proceeding is before the court on two motions, seeking conflicting relief, filed in the Chapter 11 bankruptcy case of SGK Ventures, LLC. 1 A motion of the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors seeks a grant of standing, on behalf of SGK's bankruptcy estate, to pursue this adversary proceeding, which alleges, among other things, that the defendants participated in...
MEMORANDUM DECISION THOMAS M. LYNCH, Bankruptcy Judge. Before the court are the motions for relief from stay filed by FirstMerit Bank, N.A. ("FirstMerit") in the bankruptcy cases of David Wolf (No. 13-B-83572, ECF No. 43) and Donald Wolf, Jr. (No. 13-B-83571, ECF No. 45) (together, the "Motions for Relief"). For the reasons discussed herein, the Motions for Relief are denied. JURISDICTION AND PROCEDURE The Court has jurisdiction to decide this matter pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 1334 and...
MEMORANDUM DECISION TIMOTHY A. BARNES, Bankruptcy Judge. The matter before the court is the Motion for Allowance of Secured Claim and Turnover of Collateral Proceeds (the " UCB Motion "), brought by United Central Bank (" UCB "), and the Cross Motion for Partial Turnover of Proceeds of Sales (the " IDOR Motion " and together with the UCB Motion, the " Motions "), brought by the Illinois Department of Revenue (" IDOR "). Upon a review of the parties' respective filings and after holding a...
AMENDED MEMORANDUM OPINION 1 A. BENJAMIN GOLDGAR , Bankruptcy Judge . John Paul Strauss ran Banc Corp. USA, a company engaged in equipment lease financing. Some of the leases that it financed Banc Corp. sold to banks as investments. In 2002, Banc Corp. began financing leases of medical equipment to federal medical facilities, most of them operated by the Department of Veterans Affairs. Banc Corp. sold five of the federal leases to banks in Illinois and Texas, granting the banks security...
Amended Memorandum Opinion JACQUELINE P. COX , Bankruptcy Judge . This matter is before the Court on the Motion of Kenneth Wians, not in his personal capacity, but as the Independent Administrator of the Estate of Clara Wians (the "Plaintiff"), for entry of Summary Judgment against Dennis Wians 1 (the "Defendant") on a complaint seeking to except a debt from discharge under 11 U.S.C. 523(a)(4). The Plaintiff alleges that he is entitled to summary judgment as a matter of law under the...
MEMORANDUM OPINION JANET S. BAER, Bankruptcy Judge. This is a dispute over an approximately $2.6 million restructuring fee. River Road Hotel Partners, LLC and its affiliates (the "Debtors") retained FBR Capital Markets & Co. ("FBR") as a financial advisor pursuant to both an engagement letter dated August 13, 2009 (the "Engagement Letter") and the Court's retention order dated September 17, 2009 (the "Retention Order"). In the Engagement Letter, the Debtors agreed to pay a restructuring fee...
Amended Memorandum Opinion (dkt. no. 372) JACQUELINE P. COX, Bankruptcy Judge. This matter is before the Court for ruling on the Motion of the Reorganized Debtor to Enforce Confirmation Order and For the Imposition of Sanctions ("Motion"). The Reorganized Debtor complains that notwithstanding modified mortgage terms set forth in the Confirmed Plans, Everhome Mortgage ("Everhome") continues to bill for a prepetition mortgage on property located at 109 W. Jones Street, Savanna, Georgia ("Jones...
MEMORANDUM OPINION JANET S. BAER, Bankruptcy Judge. Gabriela Carter (the "Debtor") filed for chapter 7 bankruptcy relief and, through this adversary proceeding, now seeks to discharge her educational loan debt owed to the Illinois Student Assistance Commission ("ISAC") and Educational Credit Management Corporation ("ECMC") under 11 U.S.C. 523(a)(8). 1 For the reasons that follow, the Court finds that the Debtor has failed to demonstrate that repayment of the loans would constitute an "...
AMENDED MEMORANDUM OPINION ON AVOIDANCE OF LIEN OF ANTHONY GASUNAS JACK B. SCHMETTERER, Bankruptcy Judge. William W. Yotis, ("Debtor") filed a petition seeking bankruptcy relief under Chapter 13 on January 29, 2014. On March 26, 2014 Debtor filed separate motions under 11 U.S.C. 522(f)(1) to avoid six judicial liens which had allegedly attached to his home at 4635 Central Ave in Western Springs, Illinois (the "Property"), as assertedly impairing his exemption in his homestead under 522(f)(...
MEMORANDUM DECISION TIMOTHY A. BARNES, Bankruptcy Judge. The matter before the court is the Second Motion to Vacate Judgment and for Leave to File Response to Cervac's Summary Judgment Motion (the " Motion to Vacate ") brought by debtor Kimberly A. Littman (the " Debtor ") seeking relief from the court's Order Granting Plaintiff's Motion for Summary Judgment (the " Order Granting Motion ") and Rule 7058 Judgment Order (the " Judgment Order " and collectively with the Order Granting Motion,...
MEMORANDUM OPINION ON MOTION OF RENATO CASALI TO DISMISS PARKWAY BANK & TRUST'S ADVERSARY COMPLAINT TO DETERMINE DISCHARGEABILITY OF DEBT JACK B. SCHMETTERER, Bankruptcy Judge. This Adversary Proceeding relates to the bankruptcy petition filed by debtor-defendant Renato Casali ("Casali") under Chapter 7 of the Bankruptcy Code. Creditor-plaintiff Parkway Bank & Trust ("Parkway") filed its complaint (Dkt. 1) on February 25, 2014 seeking a judgment that the debt due Parkway from Casali be held...
MEMORANDUM OPINION A. BENJAMIN GOLDGAR, Bankruptcy Judge. When Malgorzata Kubiak stopped paying rent and her landlord, Michael Meltzer, tried to evict her, Kubiak's ex-husband, Howard Leventhal, started a litigation campaign meant to stall the eviction and harass Meltzer. The campaign — which included a frivolous district court action under the Fair Housing Act, two attempts to remove Meltzer's eviction action to the district court, the filing of a lis pendens against Meltzer's property, and...
Amended Memorandum Opinion JACQUELINE P. COX, Bankruptcy Judge. I. Jurisdiction Bankruptcy courts have statutory authority to "hear and determine all cases under title 11 and all core proceedings arising under title 11, or arising in a case under title 11, referred under subsection (a) ... and may enter appropriate orders and judgments, subject to review under section 158 of this title." 28 U.S.C. 157(b)(1). Core proceedings include determinations of the dischargeability of a particular...
PROPOSED FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW DONALD R. CASSLING, Bankruptcy Judge. On February 18, 1997, Faith F. Campbell ("Ms. Campbell") created the Faith F. Campbell Living Trust dated February 18, 1997 (the "Living Trust"). (Pl.Ex. No. 1.) The Living Trust provided that, upon her death, the assets in the Living Trust would be divided equally among her four children, one of whom is the Debtor in this proceeding. ( Id. at 9.01.) The Living Trust also contained a spendthrift clause (...
MEMORANDUM OPINION JACK B. SCHMETTERER, Bankruptcy Judge. Before this Court is the Ad Hoc Committee of Asbestos Personal Injury Claimants' (the "Movant") Motion for Order Directing United States Trustee to Appoint an Official Committee of Asbestos Personal Injury Claimants (the "Motion") [Dkt #169]. Pursuant to 11 U.S.C. 1102(a)(2), the Motion asks the Court for an order directing the United States Trustee ("UST") to appoint an Official Committee of Asbestos Personal Injury Claimants. The...
MEMORANDUM OPINION ON SCHAUMBURG BANK'S MOTION TO DISMISS JACK B. SCHMETTERER, Bankruptcy Judge. This Adversary proceeding arises out of and relates to the Chapter 11 case of Settlers' Housing Service Inc. ("Settlers'"). Debtor-Plaintiff Settlers' is an Illinois nonprofit dedicated to fulfilling the housing needs of recently arrived legal immigrants. Settlers' ran into financial trouble as a result of an allegedly fraudulent transaction wherein it acquired some distressed properties through...
MEMORANDUM OPINION A. BENJAMIN GOLDGAR, Bankruptcy Judge. Before the court in this dismissed chapter 11 case are two applications for compensation: the second and final application of Neal L. Wolf ("Wolf") as counsel to the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors, and the final application of Pierre Benoit & Associates, Inc. ("Benoit"), financial consultant to the Committee. For the reasons discussed below, the applications will be denied for lack of jurisdiction. 1. Background The...
MEMORANDUM OPINION CAROL A. DOYLE, Bankruptcy Judge. The plaintiffs in this adversary proceeding were customers of Peregrine Financial Group, Inc. who traded in foreign currencies and over-the-counter metals through accounts with Peregrine. They allege four counts in their complaint, each seeking return of money they deposited with Peregrine under a different legal theory. In Count IV, plaintiffs seek a declaration that their transactions in foreign currency and metals are "commodity...
