MEMORANDUM OPINION MICHELLE M. HARNER , U.S. BANKRUPTCY JUDGE . A trustee in bankruptcy 1 generally may avoid any postpetition transfer of property belonging to the bankruptcy estate that is not authorized by the U.S. Bankruptcy Code 2 or the court. 11 U.S.C. 549. Some courts have determined that the trustee's ability to recover an avoidable postpetition transfer is limited if the transferee has a secured claim against the estate. See 11 U.S.C. 550; In re C.W. Min. Co., 477...
MEMORANDUM OPINION IN SUPPORT OF JUDGMENT ORDER EXCEPTING DEBT FROM DISCHARGE ROBERT A. GORDON , U.S. BANKRUPTCY JUDGE . I. Preliminary Statement The question presented by this Adversary Proceeding is whether the Plaintiff/Judgment Creditor, Mr. Fridman, the individual 100% owner of the corporate creditor, Golden Gate Enterprises, Inc. (Golden Gate), may personally prosecute an 11 U.S.C. 523(a) 1 exception to discharge claim that arises from debts that were instigated by the...
MEMORANDUM OF DECISION THOMAS J. CATLIOTA , Bankruptcy Judge . Before the court is a motion filed by spouses William Arthur Willis and Mary Sue Willis, the debtors in two affiliated cases, to enforce Paragraph 15 of the order approving the sale of a marina to the Brawner Company, Inc. ("Brawner"). ECF 223 in Case No. 16-26458. Brawner opposes the motion. ECF 232 in Case No. 16-26458. Brawner is the approved contract purchaser of a marina and the related assets from the Willises and from...
MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF ORDER GRANTING NON-DISCHARGEABLE JUDGMENT IN FAVOR OF NEXTGEAR CAPITAL, INC. IN THE AMOUNT OF $111,108.18 AND DENYING ALL OTHER RELIEF NANCY V. ALQUIST , Bankruptcy Judge . The Plaintiff NextGear Capital, Inc. filed a Complaint to Determine Nondischargeability of Debt against Shahla Nozary, the Debtor in this bankruptcy case. The Debtor owned 50% of Beltway Auto Brokers, Inc., a used car dealer. The Debtor's husband, Khazeyer Molavi owned the remaining 50%....
MEMORANDUM OPINION MICHELLE M. HARNER , U.S. BANKRUPTCY JUDGE . In general, a debtor cannot obtain a discharge of student loan obligations in a bankruptcy case. That general principle is, however, subject to certain qualifications. The most frequently discussed is a debtor's ability to seek a hardship discharge of the obligations under section 523(a)(8) of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. 11 U.S.C. 101, et seq. (the "Code"). Nevertheless, even before reaching the question of "hardship," the...
MEMORANDUM OF DECISION THOMAS J. CATLIOTA , U.S. BANKRUPTCY JUDGE . Ford Motor Credit Company, LLC ("Ford") brought seven motions for relief from stay to exercise its rights against trucks that are the subject of a master lease agreement and separate supplement agreements with the debtor, Lasting Impressions Landscape Contractors, Inc. ECF 106, 107, 108, 109, 112. The debtor opposes the motions, contending the transactions were secured financing arrangements and not true leases. After...
MEMORANDUM OPINION DAVID E. RICE , U.S. BANKRUPTCY JUDGE . The court conducted a trial on the merits of this adversary proceeding on June 7 and 8, 2017. The plaintiff, Chesapeake Employers Insurance Company ("CEIC"), introduced more than 100 exhibits into evidence and called nine witnesses to testify. The defendant, Antonio M. Flores ("Flores"), offered no evidence and called no witnesses. Following closing argument, the court held this matter under advisement. After due deliberation and...
MEMORANDUM OF DECISION THOMAS J. CATLIOTA , Bankruptcy Judge . Roger Schlossberg, the Chapter 11 trustee for the estate of Vincent L. Abell (the "Plaintiff"), filed a four-count complaint against defendant Jocelyn Cordice Basnett (the "Defendant") seeking a declaratory judgment and quiet title to a parcel of real property located at 1416 Half Street, SW, Washington, D.C. 20024 (the "Property"). Now before the court is the Plaintiff's motion for summary judgment, ECF 27, and an amended...
MEMORANDUM OF DECISION THOMAS J. CATLIOTA , U.S. BANKRUPTCY JUDGE . Roger Schlossberg, the Chapter 7 Trustee (the "Trustee"), filed an Amended Complaint alleging that Steven F. Madeoy, the Chapter 7 debtor (the "Debtor"), his wife Melanie Madeoy, and business partners and associates conspired to defraud creditors and investors by transferring assets outside the reach of the Debtor's creditors and the bankruptcy estate. ECF 520. The Trustee alleges that the Debtor, with the assistance of...
MEMORANDUM OF DECISION THOMAS J. CATLIOTA , Bankruptcy Judge . Before the court is the motion for summary judgment filed by defendant Tysons Financial, LLC, ECF 13, and the cross motion for summary judgment filed by Maurice L. Brown, the plaintiff in this proceeding and the debtor in the related Chapter 13 case. ECF 20. Oral argument is deemed unnecessary because the facts and legal arguments are adequately presented in the parties' briefs and the exhibits submitted in support. See...
MEMORANDUM OF DECISION THOMAS J. CATLIOTA , U.S. BANKRUPTCY JUDGE . Bradford Englander, the Chapter 11 Trustee (the "Trustee") for the debtor Essex Construction, LLC., seeks approval of a settlement with M & T Bank ("M & T"), the Laborers Trust Fund of Washington D.C. (the "Fund"), The Whiting Turner Contracting Company ("Whiting Turner"), and the debtor. ECF 386. The settlement resolves disputes among the parties that arose because the debtor obtained a cashier's check from M & T and...
MEMORANDUM OPINION DENYING CONFIRMATION OF SECOND AMENDED PLAN OF REORGANIZATION WITH LEAVE TO AMEND JAMES F. SCHNEIDER , U.S. BANKRUPTCY JUDGE . For the reasons set forth, this Court will deny confirmation of the pending Second Amended Plan of Reorganization. FINDINGS OF FACT 1. 100 Harborview Drive Condominium ("the building") also known as The HarborView Towers, is a 29-story luxury residential high rise that stands on the shore of Baltimore's Inner Harbor. It was established in...
MEMORANDUM OF DECISION THOMAS J. CATLIOTA , Bankruptcy Judge . Before the court is a motion filed by the Debtor Kent Manor Inn, LLC seeking to surcharge the sale proceeds of the collateral of The Columbia Bank (the "Bank") pursuant to 11 U.S.C. 506(c). ECF 222. The Debtor seeks to surcharge various legal fees and certain payroll expenses it incurred in preserving and selling the Bank's collateral. The Bank opposes the motion. ECF 225. For the reasons in this memorandum, the court will...
Jointly Administered Under 16-19880-TJC MEMORANDUM OF DECISION THOMAS J. CATLIOTA , U.S. BANKRUPTCY JUDGE . Debtors Hagerstown Block Company and Hagerstown Concrete Products, Inc. object to the claims of Brenda K. Solomon and Charlene R. West, seeking to subordinate them under 11 U.S.C. 510(b) as claims for damages arising from the purchase or sale of a security. The parties agree that there are no material facts in dispute and that the issue is resolved by the application of law to...
MEMORANDUM OPINION DAVID E. RICE , Bankruptcy Judge . These adversary proceedings were consolidated because the court determined that there existed common questions of law or fact. A four-day trial on the merits of the complaints objecting to discharge filed by the United States Trustee and the Chapter 7 Trustee was held September 19 through 22, 2016. The plaintiffs ask this court to deny the debtor's discharge under, among other things, 727(a)(2)(B) of title 11 of the United States...
Not for publication in West's Bankruptcy Reporter MEMORANDUM DECISION AND ORDER RE FLAGSTAR'S MOTION TO DISMISS CROSS CLAIM ASSERTED BY JOSEPH AND BILLIE JOE ZINN S. MARTIN TEEL, Jr. , Bankruptcy Judge . Flagstar Bank, FSB ("Flagstar") seeks a dismissal under Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6) of the cross claim asserted against it by Joseph and Billie Joe Zinn in their Counterclaim, Cross Claim, and Third Party Complaint (Dkt. No. 136). That Counterclaim, Cross Claim, and Third Party Complaint...
Not for publication MEMORANDUM DECISION RE FLAGSTAR'S MOTION TO DISMISS S. MARTIN TEEL, Jr. , Bankruptcy Judge . Flagstar Bank, FSB ("Flagstar"), one of the defendants, has filed a motion to dismiss the plaintiff's Third Amended Complaint. I FACTS The Third Amended Complaint sets forth the following facts, which, for purposes of the motion to dismiss, are accepted as true (to the extent not merely conclusory allegations instead of well-pled facts). In 2002 the plaintiff, Henry Zinn,...
Not for Publication in West's Bankruptcy Reporter MEMORANDUM DECISION AND ORDER RE MOTION OF U.S. BANK AND CITIMORTGAGE TO DISMISS MONETARY DAMAGE CLAIMS ASSERTED AGAINST THEM BY JOSEPH AND BILLIE JOE ZINN S. MARTIN TEEL, Jr. , Bankruptcy Judge . The debtor, Henry Zinn ("Henry") commenced this adversary proceeding seeking to determine the validity of certain deeds of trust against two parcels of land in which he, his son, Joseph R. Zinn ("Joseph"), and his daughter-in-law and Joseph's...
MEMORANDUM OPINION DENYING CONFIRMATION, VACATING ORDERS AND REQUIRING THE APPOINTMENT OF A TRUSTEE "It is not necessary to accept everything as true, one must only accept it as necessary." - `The Trial' Franz Kafka ROBERT A. GORDON , U.S. BANKRUPTCY JUDGE . I. Preliminary Statement The central question to be answered by this Opinion is whether individuals affiliated with the Debtors who are not themselves in bankruptcy should forevermore be protected by an injunction and...
MEMORANDUM OPINION WENDELIN I. LIPP , Bankruptcy Judge . Before the Court is the Interim 1 Application for Compensation and Reimbursement of Expenses of Counsel for Debtor (the "Fee Application"). No objections to the Fee Application have been filed. However, this Court set the matter for hearing on August 16, 2016, in order to assess the reasonableness of the fees requested by Debtor's Counsel, Brett Weiss, and took the matter under advisement after the hearing. For the following...
