DECISION & ORDER Bucki , U.S.B.J. At times, a short abbreviation like "c/o" can change the meaning of a stated address. This meaning is at issue in this Chapter 13 case, where Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., contends that inadequacy of service should compel the Court to vacate a prior order determining the secured value of a claim. In March of 2017, Wells Fargo Bank commenced an action against Joanne Panek in the New York State Supreme Court to foreclose a mortgage on property at 809 Abbott Road...
DECISION AND ORDER DENYING MOTION TO VACATE ORDER OF DISMISSAL, DENYING REQUEST FOR NUNC PRO TUNC CONVERSION, AND DENYING EX PARTE REQUEST FOR STAY PAUL R. WARREN , Bankruptcy Judge . It is said that you can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. The motion before the Court proves the old adage true. The motion before the Court is so flawed, procedurally and substantively, that it deserves only short shrift. The motion is in all respects DENIED. I. JURISDICTION The Court...
DECISION & ORDER Bucki , U.S.B.J. The Chapter 7 trustee has moved for authority to recover various costs and expenses from the exempt portion of proceeds derived from a sale of the debtor's homestead. The central issue involves whether the decision of the Supreme Court in Law v. Siegel, 571 U.S. 415, 134 S.Ct. 1188 , 188 L.Ed.2d 146 (2014), will protect the full value of the claimed exemption. Jason G. Morgan filed a petition for relief under Chapter 13 of the Bankruptcy Code on...
DECISION AND ORDER DENYING MOTION SEEKING ENFORCEMENT OF THE DISCHARGE INJUNCTION AGAINST NEW YORK STATE DEPARTMENT OF TAXATION AND FINANCE PAUL R. WARREN , U.S.B.J. Joseph DeFreze was granted a chapter 7 discharge on January 12, 2018. (ECF No. 18). To Mr. DeFreze's apparent surprise, on January 28, 2018, the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance ("NYSDTF") mailed to him a "notice of adjusted assessment." (ECF No. 23, Ex. F). Despite the chapter 7 discharge, NYSDTF demanded...
DECISION AND ORDER DENYING MOTION TO VACATE DISCHARGE ORDER PAUL R. WARREN , Bankruptcy Judge . The Debtors were granted a discharge on September 7, 2017. (ECF No. 28). Prior to entry of the discharge order, the Debtors failed to enter into a reaffirmation agreement with their mortgage lender, M&T Bank. (ECF No. 45 7). As a result, their personal liability on the M&T mortgage debt was discharged. And, under 11 U.S.C. 524(c)(1), the Debtors are not permitted to enter into a...
DECISION & ORDER Bucki , U.S.B.J. During the pendency of this case in Chapter 13, the debtors executed a stipulation to extend the time to object to the discharge of a debt. Thereafter, the conversion of this case to Chapter 7 established a new deadline to challenge dischargeability. Now at issue is whether the earlier stipulation continues to apply even after conversion, so as to allow an adversary proceeding filed after the more recent deadline. Robert and Deborah Fritzinger filed a...
DECISION AND ORDER GRANTING THE U.S TRUSTEE MOTION TO DISMISS SMALL BUSINESS CASE, FOR CAUSE, UNDER 11 U.S.C. 1112(b) PAUL R. WARREN , Bankruptcy Judge . This case demonstrates that debtors in Chapter 11 small business cases should not take lightly the statutory constraints imposed on them by the Code. Congress included time constraints in 11 U.S.C. 1121(e) and 1129(e), and also imposed procedural requirements to be followed by debtors seeking to extend those time constraints in 11 U....
DECISION AND ORDER DISMISSING CHAPTER 11 PETITION FOR CAUSE, AS FILED IN BAD FAITH, UNDER 11 U.S.C. 1112(b) PAUL R. WARREN , U.S.B.J. In 2009, Barack Obama was sworn in as the forty-fourth President of the United States. In 2009, Mine That Bird won the Kentucky Derby — coming from last place to pull off a monumental upset by beating 50-to-1 odds. And, in 2009, Wells Fargo started an action against Encore Property Management of Western New York, LLC in state court, to foreclose its...
DECISION AND ORDER MICHAEL J. KAPLAN , Bankruptcy Judge . The Debtor in this Chapter 13 case tried, but failed, to completely pay off a balloon mortgage on her home in a prior Chapter 13 case, filed in 2013. She bound herself to pay the arrears under that Plan, and to pay the balloon by any of various means. None of those materialized. She now seeks to take a new approach toward that mortgage debt and argues that this Court may confirm a new Plan over the vigorous objection of the...
