Memorandum Opinion Addressing Burden of Proof when Litigating Objections to Debtor's Claimed Exemptions Dale L. Somers , United States Chief Bankruptcy Judge . Under K.S.A. 60-2304(a), a Kansas resident may exempt the "furnishings, equipment, and supplies ... reasonably necessary at the principal residence of the person." 1 The legislature has not established a monetary limit. Taking advantage of this void, Debtor Michael Lerner 2 exempts "household goods and furnishings" valued at $27,...
Order Denying Debtor's Motion for Entry of Chapter 11 Discharge ROBERT D. BERGER , Bankruptcy Judge . Debtor Vikki Lindemuth asks this Court to enter a discharge in her individual Chapter 11 case. 1 Nothing about the overarching "Lindemuth bankruptcies" has been typical, however, and both the U.S. Trustee and Debtor's estranged husband object to the entry of discharge. The Court concludes that Debtor is not entitled to a discharge under the provision upon which she relied in her motion (...
Order Denying Trustee's Motion to Dismiss ROBERT D. BERGER , Bankruptcy Judge . Debtors Jack and Jeri Lana field their Chapter 13 bankruptcy petition in May 2012, about seven and a half years ago. Debtors completed their plan payments and received a discharge on October 4, 2017. 1 More than a year later, on November 9, 2018, the United States Trustee filed a motion to reopen Debtors' case, 2 and this Court signed an Order reopening the case without hearing. 3 In that motion, the United...
ORDER GRANTING PARTIAL MOTION TO DISMISS AND GRANTING LEAVE TO AMEND ROBERT E. NUGENT , Bankruptcy Judge . Patricia Lee's complaint states two causes of action, one that requiring payment of the student loans debtor guaranteed will work an undue hardship on her and the other asserting "on information and belief" that the loans were not "qualified educational loans" (QELs) under 11 U.S.C. 523(a)(8)(B) and Internal Revenue Code (I.R.C.) 221. On the latter count, Ms. Lee seeks a...
Memorandum Opinion and Order Overruling Objection to Confirmation of Debtor's Chapter 13 Plan Dale L. Somers , United States Chief Bankruptcy Judge . Debtor Taukita Lauryce Sharp filed her Chapter 13 bankruptcy petition only twenty-one days after she purchased a vehicle from Creditor PayDay Motors, Inc. d/b/a AutoStart, and the Creditor now opposes confirmation of Debtor's proposed Chapter 13 plan on two bases: 1) that the plan was not proposed in good faith under 11 U.S.C. 1325(a)(3) 1...
MEMORANDUM OPINION Robert E. Nugent , United States Bankruptcy Judge . A Kansas debtor who lives in a city or town may exempt a homestead of up to one acre from the property of the bankruptcy estate if the debtor owns the real estate and resides there either alone or with family. Those factual and legal determinations are made as of the bankruptcy filing date. Married and separated on the petition dates, Horacio and Aracely Vazquez filed separate cases, each attempting to exempt separate...
Memorandum Opinion, Order, and Judgment Denying Motion for Disgorgement of Professional Fees Dale L. Somers , United States Chief Bankruptcy Judge . Debtors ACI Concrete Placement of Kansas, LLC, and related entities 1 filed for bankruptcy relief in September 2017 and operated under the protection of Chapter 11 until the spring of 2019, when the bank holding perfected security interests in substantially all of Debtors' assets declared a default as defined by the cash collateral order....
MEMORANDUM OPINION ROBERT E. NUGENT , Bankruptcy Judge . This is Graves Farms' second attempt to confirm a plan. The initial Graves Farms Chapter 12 plan (the "Partnership Plan") could not be confirmed because that debtor did not present evidence of its previous performance and the proposed plan represented a significant change in the debtor's historical operations by adding a new crop (cotton), a new operator whose position or status with the debtor was unclear (Kylee Graves), and new...
ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFF'S MOTION TO AMEND 727 COMPLAINT ROBERT E. NUGENT , Bankruptcy Judge . A proposed amended complaint relates back to the original complaint under Fed. R. Civ. P. 15(c)(1)(B) if it asserts a claim that arises from the conduct, transactions, or occurrences set out in the original. What matters is whether the originally-pleaded claim and the new one share a "common core" of facts found in the first complaint. If they don't, and if the new claim is barred by an...
Memorandum Opinion and Order Sustaining Trustee's Objection to Confirmation Dale L. Somers , United States Chief Bankruptcy Judge . Debtor Ronald Martin Kane has general unsecured debt that has reached an impressive amount: $193,741.46. Over sixty six percent of that large number—$128,612.02 —is nondischargeable student loan debt. Debtor has proposed a Chapter 13 repayment plan that pays his student loan debt after his administrative expenses and secured and priority creditors, but before...
MEMORANDUM OPINION ROBERT E. NUGENT , Bankruptcy Judge . Student loan debts are not discharged in chapter 7 cases unless the debtor proves undue hardship by showing three things: an inability to make even minimal loan payments without compromising a minimal standard of living; that the inability to repay will persist into the future; and that debtor has made good faith efforts to repay the loan. When Daniel Schuckman filed this case, he owed $230,587 in student loan debt accumulated over...
Memorandum Opinion and Order Entering Judgment on Plaintiff's NonDischargeability Complaint under 11 U.S.C. 523(a)(2)(A) Dale L. Somers , United States Chief Bankruptcy Judge . Debtor/Defendant Lindy Graham filed a Chapter 13 bankruptcy petition, and therein listed as unsecured debt a "property settlement" to her former husband Roger Graham for $ 32,591.47. The "property settlement" was actually a judgment from state court requiring Debtor to reimburse her ex-husband for overpaid...
ORDER ON PLAINTIFFS' MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT ROBERT E. NUGENT , Bankruptcy Judge . Filing a voluntary bankruptcy petition stays any collection of a pre-petition debt until the bankruptcy court lifts the automatic stay, dismisses or closes the case, or grants or denies a discharge. 1 The stay effectively enjoins certain activities against the debtor, including the continuation of a pre-petition action and the assessment of a claim against the debtor. When the Wagners filed their...
ORDER GRANTING PLAINTIFF'S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT ROBERT E. NUGENT , Bankruptcy Judge . Non-support debts to former spouses incurred in the course of a divorce proceeding or in connection with a divorce decree are excepted from chapter 7 discharges under 11 U.S.C. 523(a)(15). Debra Wade obtained a judgment from a divorce court in Montana for spousal maintenance she overpaid her ex-husband, Kenneth Acord. Montana law automatically terminates spousal maintenance obligations when the...
MEMORANDUM OPINION ROBERT E. NUGENT , Bankruptcy Judge . Dean and Michael Graves operate Graves Farms as a Kansas general partnership. They are father and son and equal partners who have contributed capital and labor to the enterprise for several decades. They filed a chapter 12 case on behalf of Graves Farms to restructure their farm's debt and seek to accomplish that by a "partial liquidation" and a "partial lease" of the debtor's assets to Kylee Graves. Ms. Graves is Michael's daughter....
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER NUNC PRO TUNC OVERRULING CREDITOR'S OBJECTION TO CONFIRMATION ROBERT D. BERGER , Bankruptcy Judge . This matter comes before the Court on creditor Randy Curnow Buick GMC Inc.'s objection to the confirmation of debtor Marcus DeVonne Briggs's Chapter 13 plan. For the reasons stated below, the objection to confirmation will be overruled. Briggs obtained a 2015 Chevrolet Impala from Randy Curnow, a car dealership in Kansas City, Kansas, on May 25, 2018. He made a...
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER OVERRULING CREDITOR'S OBJECTION TO CONFIRMATION ROBERT D. BERGER , Bankruptcy Judge . This matter comes before the Court on creditor Randy Curnow Buick GMC Inc.'s objection to the confirmation of debtor Marcus DeVonne Briggs's Chapter 13 plan. For the reasons stated below, the objection to confirmation will be overruled. Briggs obtained a 2015 Chevrolet Impala from Randy Curnow, a car dealership in Kansas City, Kansas, on May 25, 2018. He made a $2,600 down...
ORDER (1) DENYING MOTION TO EXTEND DEADLINE FOR FILING DISCHARGEABILITY COMPLAINT OR OBJECTION TO DISCHARGE; and (2) QUASHING "SUBPOENA DUCES TECUM" ROBERT E. NUGENT , Bankruptcy Judge . Deadlines in the bankruptcy rules mean what they say. 1 The deadline to file complaints to except debts from discharge or to object to a debtor's discharge (generally, "discharge objections") is 60 days after the first scheduled 341 meeting of creditors. 2 That deadline may only be extended for cause...
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER Robert D. Berger , United States Bankruptcy Judge . The debtors in these jointly-administered Chapter 11 cases are The Revocable Trust of John Q. Hammons dated December 28, 1989, as Amended and Restated (the " Trust ") and a number of its subsidiaries and affiliates. In 2016, the Trust employed UBS Securities LLC as Debtors' financial advisor pursuant to 11 U.S.C. 328. This matter now comes before the Court on UBS's application for fees and expenses. 1...
MEMORANDUM OPINION ROBERT E. NUGENT , Bankruptcy Judge . Chapter 13 debtors may avoid judicial liens against their homesteads to the extent the lien impairs their homestead exemption. "Judicial liens" are defined in the Bankruptcy Code as liens "obtained by judgment" or other legal or equitable processes. Judgment liens securing debtors' domestic support obligations are not avoidable per 11 U.S.C. 522(f)(1)(A). This case involves the intersection of Kansas domestic relations, exemption,...
