DECISION AND ORDER GRANTING TRUSTEE'S MOTION TO DISALLOW CO-DEBTOR ANTHONY CHRISTOPHER PHILLIPS FROM CLAIMING MULTIPLE PERSONAL INJURY EXEMPTIONS ALAN S. TRUST, Bankruptcy Judge. Issue Pending and Summary of Ruling Pending before this Court is the Chapter 7 Trustee's motion to disallow two personal injury exemptions claimed by the co-debtor, Anthony Christopher Phillips ("Mr. Phillips"). Mr. Phillips asserts that, under 522(d)(11)(D) of the Bankruptcy Code, 1 he may exempt payments to...
MEMORANDUM DECISION (Re: Defendants' Motions for Summary Judgment) ROBERT E. GROSSMAN, Bankruptcy Judge. Before the Court are the Defendants' motions for summary judgment pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c), and Fed. R. Bankr.P. 7056. The chapter 7 trustee has filed this adversary proceeding seeking a declaratory judgment under sections 541 and 542 of the Bankruptcy Code. He claims that a qualified personal residence trust established by the Debtor to hold real property is by law the alter ego...
MEMORANDUM DECISION ROBERT E. GROSSMAN, Bankruptcy Judge. Before the Court are two related motions which raise one legal issue. The motions are: (a) a motion for relief from the stay, by the Debtor's secured lender, New York Community Bank ("NYCB") to permit NYCB to proceed with a foreclosure on the Debtor's real property — the Debtor's sole asset, and (b) a hearing to approve the Debtor's amended disclosure statement related to the Debtor's amended plan of reorganization. The issue which...
Memorandum Decision ROBERT E. GROSSMAN, Bankruptcy Judge. Kenneth Kirschenbaum, the Chapter 7 Trustee ("Trustee") in the substantively consolidated cases of The Robert Plan Corporation ("RPC") and The Robert Plan of New York Corporation ("RPNY") (collectively, the "Debtors") seeks entry of an order awarding fees for services rendered by the Trustee and his duly retained professionals in connection with the Trustee's administration of an ERISA plan ("Plan") for the benefit of the Debtors'...
DECISION AND ORDER DENYING CONFIRMATION OF DEBTORS' CHAPTER 13 PLAN ALAN S. TRUST, Bankruptcy Judge. Issue Pending and Summary of Ruling This case tests the outer limits of how debtors may seek to utilize the Bankruptcy Code and Rules to obtain the maximum advantages of the process known as "Chapter 20" 1 ; that is, whether debtors can obtain a Chapter 7 discharge and thus be absolved of personal liability on their home mortgage debts, then file a Chapter 13 case before they are eligible...
MEMORANDUM DECISION ON THE STATUS AND APPLICATION OF THE POST-PETITION RENTS GENERATED BY THE DEBTOR'S PROPERTY ELIZABETH S. STONG, Bankruptcy Judge. Introduction Not every dispute concerning the nature and extent of a secured creditor's claim arises in the context of an objection to claim. In this single asset real estate case, South Side House, LLC, has used the substantial rental income generated by a mixed-use commercial property to make adequate protection payments every month to...
MEMORANDUM DECISION (Interim ruling on piercing the corporate veil) ROBERT E. GROSSMAN, Bankruptcy Judge. Before the Court is the limited issue of whether the corporate veil should be pierced in this case and the Debtor held liable for the debts of five related corporations, of which he was the sole shareholder, officer and director. The Plaintiffs hold a $2 million judgment against those corporations. They are seeking to establish the Debtor's liability for the corporations' obligations,...
Memorandum Decision ROBERT E. GROSSMAN, Bankruptcy Judge. In the substantively consolidated cases of Agape World, Inc., et al. ("Agape"), 1 Kenneth P. Silverman, the Chapter 7 trustee ("Trustee"), commenced this adversary proceeding against Meister Seelig & Fein, LLP (the "Defendant"), a law firm that represented Agape during a time when Agape conducted a massive Ponzi scheme that bilked the public of more than $400 million. The Agape scheme was based on false representations that investors'...
