MEMORANDUM DECISION AFTER EVIDENTIARY HEARING CHARLES NOVACK , Bankruptcy Judge . On December 12, 2016, the Court conducted an evidentiary hearing on Debtor's Motion for Sanctions for Violation of the Discharge Injunction (the "Motion"). Only Farley's counsel appeared at the hearing. Farley originally sought damages against R Wild Horse Ranch Association ("R Wild") and an entity known as Jefferson Judgment Recovery, which this court understands is a dba for Erik McCain (collectively, "...
Memorandum re Timeliness of Complaint ALAN JAROSLOVSKY , Bankruptcy Judge . Upon the filing of debtor Lillian Goleniewski's Chapter 7 petition, her real property at 1860 Adobe Creek Drive, Petaluma, California, became property of the bankruptcy estate. Ten months after the filing and while the estate was still open Goleniewski unlawfully sold the property to defendants Richard Chen and Ha Mei Sum. Plaintiff Linda Green, the Chapter 7 trustee, seeks avoidance of the transfer pursuant to...
Memorandum on Motion for Summary Judgment ALAN JAROSLOVSKY , Bankruptcy Judge . I. Introduction Debtors Antonio and Ofelia Leon filed their Chapter 7 petition on December 3, 2015; Linda Green was appointed Chapter 7 trustee. On March 2, 2016, Green filed an adversary proceeding pursuant to 363(h) of the Bankruptcy Code 1 alleging that among the assets of the bankruptcy estate was a "50% joint tenancy interest in the real property commonly known as 2670 Wild Bill Circle, Santa Rosa . . ....
Memorandum on Application for Compensation ALAN JAROSLOVSKY , Bankruptcy Judge . Attorney Jocelyn Godinho filed a Chapter 13 petition for debtor Kim Peterson on March 9, 2016. The case was converted to Chapter 7 at the debtor's request on August 19, 2016. Godinho seeks allowance an administrative priority of $6,025.00 in compensation for services rendered to the debtor while the case was in Chapter 13, less amounts already paid. She also asks that any unpaid balance after the Chapter 7...
MEMORANDUM DECISION AFTER TRIAL CHARLES NOVACK , Bankruptcy Judge . On December 6, 2016, this court conducted a trial in this adversary proceeding. All appearances were noted on the record. Plaintiff Hung Nguyen ("Nguyen") asserts claims for relief under 523(a)(6), 727(a)(2) and (4) against defendant Trung Van Nguyen ("Van Nguyen"). In an order entered on August 31, 2016, this court granted partial summary judgment on the substantive elements of his 523(a)(6) claim for relief, but...
MEMORANDUM REGARDING NOTICE WILLIAM J. LAFFERTY, III , Bankruptcy Judge . On December 7, 2016, a hearing was held in the above-captioned case where the issue of notice to creditors regarding Debtor's Motion to Convert a Chapter 7 Case to a Case Under Chapter 13 (doc. 22) ("the Motion") was raised. The Court notes that the Motion was not served on all creditors upon its filing. However, the Notice of Hearing on the Trustee's objection to the Motion was apparently sent to all creditors...
Memorandum re Plan Confirmation ALAN JAROSLOVSKY , Bankruptcy Judge . I. Introduction In 2006, Chapter 11 debtor James Davis borrowed $461,000 from the First National Bank of Arizona secured by his real property at 12481 Moonbeam Meadow Way, Potter Valley, California. He lived there at the time, but does not currently reside on the property. First National Bank of Arizona endorsed the note in favor of First National Bank of Neveda, which endorsed the note in favor of Countrywide Home...
Memorandum on Trustee's Motion to Approve Compromise ALAN JAROSLOVSKY , Bankruptcy Judge . Debtor Esterlina Vineyards & Winery, LLC, commenced this case as a Chapter 11 case on August 12, 2015, one day before the scheduled trustee's sale of its winery and vineyard pursuant to nonjudicial foreclosure proceedings initiated by Esterlina's principal creditor, Bank of the West. The case proceeded in Chapter 11 for about 11 months, during which no plan was confirmed but Esterlina, with the...
MEMORANDUM DECISION ON CONTINENTAL CASUALTY COMPANY'S MOTION FOR PARTIAL SUMMARY JUDGMENT Roger L. Efremsky , U.S. Bankruptcy Judge . I. Introduction On March 9, 2016, Barry Chatz, as trustee for the CFB/WFB Liquidating Trust (the "Trustee" and the "Trust"), filed his First Amended Complaint against Continental Casualty Company ("Continental"). The First Amended Complaint seeks damages for breach of contract and declaratory relief regarding the interpretation of the Joint Chapter 11...
Memorandum re Motion to Approve Compromise ALAN JAROSLOVSKY , Bankruptcy Judge . Chapter 13 debtors Janet and Kenneth Murray have proposed a plan by which they will pay over $67,000 in unsecured claims about 1 cent on the dollar. Several secured creditors filed objections to the plan which the Murrays have resolved by agreements. Ordinarily, when debtors and secured creditors make deals to resolve objections the terms of the deals are incorporated into the plan and are approved when the...
Memorandum on Motion for Reconsideration ALAN JAROSLOVSKY , Bankruptcy Judge . A California homeowner has the right to contest a foreclosure sale where the foreclosing entity's authority to order the sale was based on a void assignment. Yvanova v. New Century Mortgage Corp., 62 Cal.4th 919 , 939 (2016.) Debtor James Davis objected to the claim of Specialized Loan Servicing, LLC, on grounds that it had failed to provide any evidence of any agency or how it came into possession of Davis'...
MEMORANDUM RE: MOTION TO ALLOW LATE FILED PROOF OF CLAIM WILLIAM J. LAFFERTY , Bankruptcy Judge . On October 17, 2016, Creditor Michael Palmieri filed the Motion to Allow Late Filed Proof of Claim Pursuant to Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure 3004 (doc. 422) (the "Motion"). The Motion requests that this Court deem the proof of claim filed by Mr. Palmieri (POC # 2318) as a timely-filed unsecured claim. Having reviewed the Motion, the Court cannot determine whether Mr. Palmieri gave...
MEMORANDUM RE: REQUEST FOR EXTENSION OF TIME WILLIAM J. LAFFERTY, III , Bankruptcy Judge . On October 7, 2016, Debtor in the above-captioned case filed the Motion to Extend Time (doc. 76) (the "Motion"). Having considered the Motion, it is unclear to the Court what "paperwork" is being referenced. Debtor must submit a more precise request whereby the Court can determine what deadline is being extended and/or what documents are required.
MEMORANDUM DECISION REGARDING THE AWARD OF DAMAGES TO DEBTOR ARISING FROM RESPONDENTS' VIOLATION OF THE DISCHARGE INJUNCTION DENNIS MONTALI , Bankruptcy Judge . On August 4, 2016, this court entered a memorandum decision (Dkt. # 68)(the "memorandum") explaining why it would vacate orders denying contempt sanctions against Len Nordeman ("Nordeman") and Montgomery Sansome, LP ("Montgomery Sansome") (collectively, "Respondents") for violating the automatic stay and the discharge injunction....
MEMORANDUM DECISION AFTER TRIAL ROGER L. EFREMSKY , Bankruptcy Judge . On August 18, 2014, John Stirton ("Stirton") and Bonita Investments, LLC ("Bonita" and, together with Stirton, "Plaintiffs") timely filed a Complaint against defendant Matthew Castro ("Castro"), seeking a non-dischargeable judgment pursuant to Bankruptcy Code 523(a)(2)(A), (a)(4) and/or (a)(6). This court held a trial on the Complaint over a four-day period between October 13, 2015, and October 16, 2015. At the...
Memorandum of Decision After Trial ALAN JAROSLOVSKY , Bankruptcy Judge . Chapter 13 debtor Heidi Ryder transferred a interest in her real property at 2075 Coombsville Road, Napa, California, to her sister, Wendy Ryder, on July 4, 2014, for no consideration. Heidi filed her Chapter 13 petition on June 4, 2015, and proposed a plan which met all the requirements of law if the transfer of the real property was not avoidable. The court confirmed the plan with the provision that the objecting...
Memorandum on Objection to Claim of Exemption ALAN JAROSLOVSKY , Bankruptcy Judge . Chapter 7 debtor Keith Sherr is 70 years old. She has claimed as exempt an IRA with TD-Ameritrade in the amount of about $58,000, pursuant to California Code of Civil Procedure 704.115. Such exemptions usually go unchallenged, but in this case the Chapter 7 trustee, Timothy Hoffman, has objected. He points out that Sherr did not set up the IRA; she inherited it from her father about a decade ago. Relying...
CASES CONSOLIDATED FOR DECISION M. Elaine Hammond , United States Bankruptcy Judge and Stephen L. Johnson, United States Bankruptcy Judge. MEMORANDUM DECISION REGARDING CONFIRMATION OF CHAPTER 13 PLANS USING ADDITIONAL PROVISIONS VIOLATING BANKRUPTCY CODE In February 2016, the judges of the San Jose Division required chapter 13 debtors to adopt the Chapter 13 Model Plan ("Model Plan"), which had been adopted by the remainder of the district in August 2013. In certain cases filed in the...
Memorandum on Motions for Summary Judgment ALAN JAROSLOVSKY , Bankruptcy Judge . In February, with the court's permission, plaintiff and Chapter 7 Trustee Timothy Hoffman sold debtor and defendant Margaret Goldberg-O'Reilly's real property located at 350 Linden Street, in Sonoma, California for $455,000, free and clear of liens. The property had been owned by Goldberg-O'Reilly and her former spouse while they were married. The sale order provided that the junior liens attached to the sales...
Memorandum on Motion to Extend Automatic Stay ALAN JAROSLOVSKY , Bankruptcy Judge . On January 12, 2016, debtor Raymond Fisher filed what is easily described as the classic bad faith petition. Representing himself, he filed the absolute minimum necessary to begin a Chapter 13 case, including a list of creditors containing only one name. He never did anything further, and the case was dismissed 14 days later, after notice to him, when he failed to file the required schedules, statement of...
