Memorandum Opinion and Order Denying Discharge of Debtors' Student Loan Debt under 11 U.S.C. 523(a)(8) Robert D. Berger , United States Bankruptcy Judge . The Court is intimately familiar with the minute details of Debtors George Johnson and Melanie Raney-Johnson's financial life, as it has now conducted two trials on whether Debtors' sizeable student loan debt is eligible for discharge under 11 U.S.C. 523(a)(8) 1 as an undue hardship. After the first trial, the Court discharged...
MEMORANDUM OPINION Robert E. Nugent , United States Bankruptcy Judge . A guaranty of a business debt is generally not a consumer debt. In this chapter 7 case, the creditor contends that the debtor agreed to guarantee his estranged wife's company's industrial revenue bond obligations in connection with a commercial development project in exchange for her waiver of spousal support. Because spousal support is usually a consumer debt for Bankruptcy Code purposes, the guaranty holder asserts...
ORDER DENYING CONFIRMATION AND GRANTING LEAVE TO AMEND ROBERT E. NUGENT , Bankruptcy Judge . A family farmer's chapter 12 plan must comply with 1225(a)'s requirements to be confirmed. Among those requirements, the plan must comply with the provisions of chapter 12 and Title 11. 1 The farmer must propose the plan in good faith and propose treatments of secured claims that allow secured creditors to retain their liens while receiving the value of their collateral over a reasonable time....
ORDER DENYING MISSOURI LIQUIDATING TRUSTEE'S MOTION FOR AN EXPEDITED HEARING ( DOC. 1205 ) AND DENYING THE MISSOURI LIQUIDATING TRUSTEE'S MOTION TO REOPEN THE EVIDENTIARY RECORD ON THE CONFIRMATION HEARING ( DOC. 1204 ) ROBERT E. NUGENT , Bankruptcy Judge . This matter comes before the Court on the Missouri Liquidating Trustee's (MLT) motion filed November 29, 2017 to reopen the evidentiary record on the confirmation hearing held October 25-26, 2017 to admit into evidence...
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND JUDGMENT GRANTING CHAPTER 7 TRUSTEE'S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT DALE L. SOMERS Bankruptcy Judge . In this adversary proceeding, the Chapter 7 Trustee (Trustee), Linda S. Parks, seeks a judgment against the Debtors, Leroy and Maryann Trusty, to deliver to the Trustee copies of certain bank statements and tax returns, as previously ordered by the Court when granting the Trustee's motion to compel, for payment of $200 to reimburse the Trustee for costs incurred in...
Memorandum Opinion and Order Granting Debtors' Motion for Summary Judgment and Denying Creditor's Motions for Summary Judgment and Relief From Stay ROBERT D. BERGER , Bankruptcy Judge . Creditor J.D. Holdings, LLC and its affiliates (hereinafter referred to as "J.D. Holdings") seek relief from the automatic stay in order to pursue litigation in Delaware state court against Debtors for breach of contract. 1 Debtors have moved for summary judgment seeking denial of J.D. Holdings' motion, 2...
Order Granting, in Part, Debtors' Motion to Estimate Claims and Establish Procedures for the Estimation Process ROBERT D. BERGER , Bankruptcy Judge . Debtors in the above-captioned jointly administered cases seek estimation of the proofs of claim filed by Creditor J.D. Holdings, L.L.C., and its affiliates (collectively referred to herein as "J.D. Holdings") and to establish an expedited procedure for the estimation process. 1 The Court first finds that estimation is appropriate under...
ORDER DENYING DEBTOR'S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT ROBERT E. NUGENT , Bankruptcy Judge . Section 707(b)(1) ordains that granting relief in certain chapter 7 filings made by debtors whose debts are primarily consumer debts may be an abuse of the provisions of chapter 7 if the debtors' financial circumstances are sufficiently comfortable and may be dismissed or, if the debtor consents, converted to cases under chapter 11 or 13. 1 Section 707(b) does not apply if the debts are not...
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND JUDGMENT GRANTING CREDITOR CARRIE PEEL'S MOTION FOR RELIEF FROM AUTOMATIC STAY DALE L. SOMERS , Bankruptcy Judge . The matter before the Court is the Motion of Creditor/Adversarial Action Plaintiff Carrie Peel for Relief from Automatic Stay (Motion). 1 Debtor opposes the Motion. 2 Carrie Peel (Peel) appears by Bernard E. Brown. Debtor appears by Stephen G. Bolton. The court has jurisdiction. 3 For the following reasons, the Court grants the Motion and grants...
MEMORANDUM OPINION DENYING DEFENDANT'S SECOND MOTION TO DISMISS DALE L. SOMERS , Bankruptcy Judge . Plaintiff Carrie Peel (Peel) objects to discharge of her claims against Debtor John Cooney (Debtor) that arose from the sale by Debtor through his dealership of a 2005 Ford Taurus to Peel without providing the certificate of title. In her seven count adversary Complaint, Plaintiff pleads common law and statutory claims against Debtor and alleges Debtor's liability should be excepted from...
MEMORANDUM OPINION DENYING PLAINTIFF'S OBJECTION TO DEBTOR'S DISCHARGE OF MARITAL DEBT UNDER 11 U.S.C. 523(a)(5) AND (a)(15) DALE L. SOMERS , Bankruptcy Judge . Plaintiff Shirley A. Bohlander (Shirley), the former wife of Debtor Jon Lewis Bohlander (Jon), seeks a ruling that the unpaid balance of an award labeled a "Balancing payment" (Balancing Payment) included in the Decree of Dissolution of Marriage of Shirley and Jon is excepted from discharge by 11 U.S.C. 523(a)((5) and (a)(15)....
Memorandum Opinion and Order Granting Debtors' Motions for Partial Summary Judgment and Denying Creditor's Motions for Partial Summary Judgment and Dismissal ROBERT D. BERGER , U.S. BANKRUPTCY JUDGE . The question of whether an entity is eligible to be a "debtor" under the Bankruptcy Code seems, at first blush, to be elementary. Either the entity is or it is not, and let us all move on to the substance of the matter. But that question has consumed the debtors in this case and one of their...
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND JUDGMENT GRANTING DEBTOR'S MOTION TO COMPEL CHAPTER 13 TRUSTEE TO TURN UNDISTRIBUTED FUNDS OVER TO DEBTOR AFTER PAYING MOORE & ASSOCIATES ANY UNPAID ATTORNEY FEES Robert D. Berger , United States Bankruptcy Judge . The matter before the Court is Debtor's "Motion to Compel Chapter 13 Trustee to Turnover Undistributed Funds to Debtor and to Pay Moore & Associates [her bankruptcy counsel] any Remaining Attorney's Fees (Motion)." 1 The Chapter 13 Trustee and Creditor...
MEMORANDUM OPINION ROBERT E. NUGENT , Bankruptcy Judge . Under 506(a)(2), a manufactured home acquired for personal, family, or household use should be valued for confirmation purposes by determining what a retail merchant would sell a replacement for considering its age and condition at the date of valuation. James Fields purchased a 1996 Skyline Springbrook single-wide manufactured home from Ron and Pamela Lamar on a contract that provided for him to pay $20,000 over fifteen years and...
MEMORANDUM OPINION ROBERT E. NUGENT , Bankruptcy Judge . Under 506(a)(2), a manufactured home acquired for personal, family, or household use should be valued for confirmation purposes by determining what a retail merchant would sell a replacement for considering its age and condition at the date of valuation. James Fields purchased a 1996 Skyline Springbrook single-wide manufactured home from Ron and Pamela Lamar on a contract that provided for him to pay $20,000 over fifteen years and...
MEMORANDUM OPINION ROBERT E. NUGENT , Bankrutpcy Judge . Fraud-based exceptions to discharge of certain debts under 11 U.S.C. 523(a)(2)(A) require proof by a preponderance of the evidence that the debtor made an untrue representation with the intent to deceive the creditor and that the creditor justifiably relied on the representation to its detriment. The fraudulent intent element is rarely proven by direct evidence. The intent to deceive may be shown by circumstantial evidence. Even...
Order Denying Trustee's Motion for Turnover and Directing Clerk to Re-Close Case Janice Miller Karlin , United States Chief Bankruptcy Judge . This matter is before the Court on Chapter 13 Trustee Jan Hamilton's Motion for Turnover; he seeks turnover of settlement proceeds that Debtor Kelly Sue Purcell 1 is entitled to receive as a result of a class action lawsuit filed in December 2013. 2 While the Court frequently sees turnover motions, this one is unique because it was filed more than...
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER GRANTING IN PART DEFENDANT'S MOTION TO DISMISS DALE L. SOMERS , Bankruptcy Judge . Plaintiff Carrie Peel (Peel) objects to the discharge of her claims against Debtor John Cooney (Debtor) that arose from the sale by Debtor and his dealership of a 2005 Ford Taurus to Peel without providing the certificate of title. In her seven-count Complaint, Peel pleads common law and statutory claims against Debtor and alleges Debtor's liability should be excepted from...
ORDER DENYING TRUSTEE'S MOTION FOR STAY PENDING APPEAL ROBERT E. NUGENT , Bankruptcy Judge . The trustee moves for a stay pending his interlocutory appeal of the Court's order dated May 9, 2017, denying his motion and that of the United States to dismiss the debtors' case for cause under 11 U.S.C. 1307(c). 1 A brief summary of that lengthy order is necessary to frame the issues in the Trustee's motion for a stay. The Court, at length, analyzed the debtors' conduct throughout the case...
ORDER DENYING SUMMARY JUDGMENT ROBERT E. NUGENT , Bankruptcy Judge . Debt obtained by fraud is, upon appropriate proof, excepted from a debtor's discharge, even if the note evidencing the debt is canceled by the debtor executing a renewal and consolidation note. Here, Southwind Bank renewed a series of term loans it made to the debtor to finance a construction project by renewing and consolidating them into one note with monthly payments. The Bank responded to the debtor's chapter 13...
