{ Nature of Proceeding : Debtors-Defendants' Requests for Sanctions (Docs. ##67, 139, 233, 288, and 290) } OPINION 28 U.S.C. 1927 John J. Thomas , Bankruptcy Judge . A request by Debtors/Defendants, Christopher and Michele Paige, has been made for sanctions against Lerner Master Fund, LLC, (LMF), attorneys under the provisions of 28 U.S.C. 1927, which reads: Any attorney or other person admitted to conduct cases in any court of the United States or any Territory thereof who so...
OPINION MARY D. FRANCE , Bankruptcy Judge . Debtor Alson Alston ("Debtor") filed a Sixth Amended Disclosure Statement and Plan of Reorganization on August 26, 2016. Objections to the Disclosure Statement, the Plan or both were filed by Deutsche Bank National Trust Company ("Deutsche Bank"), Bayview Loan Servicing, LLC ("Bayview"), AS Peleus, LLC ("AS Peleus"), Ocwen Loan Servicing, LLC for Wells Fargo Bank ("Ocwen"), LSF9 Master Participation Trust ("LSF9"), and JP Morgan Chase Bank ("...
OPINION MARY D. FRANCE , Bankruptcy Judge . Plaintiff Randy L. Howard ("Howard") filed a complaint against his ex-wife Jill M. Howard ("Debtor") seeking to enforce the terms of the Marital Settlement Agreement (the "MSA") entered into by the parties before they divorced in 2012. Under the terms of the MSA, Howard agreed to transfer his interest in the marital residence (the "Residence") to Debtor in exchange for a payment of 35% of the equity. Before Debtor paid Howard his interest in...
OPINION Plaintiffs' Motion for Reconsideration (Doc. #52) JOHN J. THOMAS , Bankruptcy Judge . Pro se Plaintiffs, Terrence Colbert and Hal Harris, have filed a Motion to Reconsider an earlier ruling of this Court declining to strike affirmative defenses. Federal Rule of Bankruptcy Procedure 9023 is generally not applicable to interlocutory orders of this Court. 1 Bankruptcy Litigation 5:259. Nevertheless, I certainly have powers to modify my own interlocutory orders under 105....
OPINION 1 Robert N. Opel, II , Chief Bankruptcy Judge . Plaintiff, World Business Lenders, LLC ("WBL"), filed a three count Complaint requesting that its debt be found non-dischargeable and the Debtor/Defendant, Bubacar Barry ("Debtor"), be denied a Chapter 7 discharge. WBL moved for summary judgment on September 8, 2016. For the reasons stated below, the Motion is denied. I. Jurisdiction This Court has jurisdiction over this matter pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 157 and 1334. This is a core...
OPINION MARY D. FRANCE , Bankruptcy Judge . On October 14, 2016, I issued an Opinion and Order denying the request of Paul W. Dizinno ("Debtor") to make Mark Steven Tomey, Sr. ("Tomey") responsible for the payment of Debtor's counsel fees under 11 U.S.C. 523(d). I did, however, impose monetary and other sanctions against Tomey under Rule 11. Debtor filed a timely motion requesting that I reconsider the denial of fees under 523(d). For the reasons set forth below, the motion for...
Nature of Proceeding: Motion to Dismiss Adversary Proceeding OPINION 1 Robert N. Opel, II , Chief Bankruptcy Judge . One of the Chapter 7 Debtor's creditors filed a seven count Complaint averring non-dischargeability of its claim and objecting to Debtor/Defendant obtaining a Chapter 7 discharge. The Debtor has moved to dismiss the adversary Complaint. For the reasons stated below, the Defendant's Motion to Dismiss the Plaintiffs' Complaint is granted in part and denied in part. I....
OPINION Mary D. France , Bankruptcy Judge . On July 31, 2015, I dismissed the within adversary proceeding brought by the plaintiff, Mark Steven Tomey, Sr. ("Tomey"). Tomey was seeking to except from discharge a series of loans he made to Paul W. Dizinno ("Debtor") in 2011. Alternatively, he requested that Debtor's discharge be denied. Tomey appealed the July 31, 2015 order, but the appeal was dismissed by the District Court. Afterward, Debtor moved the Court to address two pending matters...
OPINION Mary D. France , Bankruptcy Judge . Markian R. Slobodian, the Chapter 7 trustee in this case (the "Trustee"), filed a Trustee's Final Report, Application for Compensation, and Application for Compensation of Professionals (the "Final Report") on July 15, 2016. M & T Bank ("M & T") filed an objection to the Final Report on August 11, 2016 asserting that it was entitled to distribution of estate funds on hand although it did not file a proof of claim until after the Final Report was...
OPINION JOHN J. THOMAS , Bankruptcy Judge . The Debtors, Jeffrey and Karen Bogdanski, are advancing a Chapter 13 plan which attempts to satisfy an obligation secured by Debtors' real estate and owing to PNC Bank, N.A. The plan proposes to pay $10,007.86 together with 6% interest over the life of the plan in full satisfaction of the debt. PNC has objected arguing that its unchallenged proof of claim is in the amount of $33,553.34, and, therefore, the plan proposal is far short of what PNC...
OPINION 1 Plaintiff's Motion to Dismiss Counterclaim (Doc. #13) JOHN J. THOMAS , Bankruptcy Judge . The Plaintiff has filed a Motion to Dismiss the Counterclaim (Doc. #13). The crux of Count I of the Complaint and the allegations of the Counterclaim deal primarily with a contest between the parties as to who is the legal owner of certain equipment. The arguments advanced by the Plaintiff in its brief proceed on two distinct paths. The first argument is that judicial estoppel requires...
OPINION John J. Thomas , Bankruptcy Judge . The female Debtor, Sharon A. Wheeler, has filed a Complaint to Determine Dischargeability with regard to a student loan obligation. The Debtor filed a Chapter 13 bankruptcy case on August 7, 2015. A Plan confirmed by the Court schedules payments through August 2020. The Defendant, Educational Credit Management Corporation, has moved to dismiss the Complaint arguing that there is no case or controversy until a discharge is entered and since that...
{ Nature of Proceeding : Objection to Confirmation (Doc. #29)} OPINION 1 JOHN J. THOMAS , Bankruptcy Judge . Nissan Motor Acceptance Corporation (hereinafter "Nissan") has filed an Objection to confirmation of the Debtor's Chapter 13 plan. At the hearing on the Objection on April 5, 2016, the primary disagreements between the parties were the value of an automobile securing a debt to Nissan and the applicable interest rate which should be applied to the value of the automobile for...
OPINION MARY D. FRANCE , Chief Bankruptcy Judge . A hearing on confirmation was set on the Chapter 13 plan filed in each of the above cases. In each case either Charles J. DeHart, III, the Chapter 13 trustee (the "Trustee"), filed an objection to counsel's request for attorneys' fees, or I raised an issue regarding the fees at the confirmation hearing. The fee requests were challenged because the amounts proposed to be paid through each plan conflicted with the attorney's Disclosure of...
OPINION Before me is the Complaint of Andrew A. Vara, Acting United States Trustee (the "UST"), requesting that an order be entered suspending Jennifer Ami Hoffman, Esq. ("Respondent") from the practice of law before this Court and imposing other relief. 1 I. Procedural History On February 22, 2016, the UST filed the Complaint in this miscellaneous proceeding and, thereafter, the Court issued an order setting a March 8, 2016 answer date and scheduling a hearing for March 22, 2016. The...
OPINION JOHN J. THOMAS , Bankruptcy Judge . A Final Fee Application has been filed by the Debtor in-Possession's accountant, Kronick Kalada Berdy & Co., P.C. (Doc. #732) The Debtor operated the Chapter 11 from its inception until May 6, 2015, when the Court directed the appointment of a Trustee pursuant to 11 U.S.C. 1104. For the period prior to the appointment of the Trustee, the accountant was appointed by application filed April 21, 2014 (Doc. #14). Subsequently, a follow up...
{Nature of Proceeding: Debtor's Motion for Reconsideration of Order Overruling Debtor's Objections to Amended Claim #5 of eCast Settlement Corporation and Amended Claim #4 of American Express Centurion Bank and Allowing the Claims (Doc. #59) } OPINION 1 John J. Thomas , Bankruptcy Judge . By an Opinion and Order both dated October 26, 2015, the Court denied Debtor's objections to the claims filed by eCast Settlement Corporation, assignee of Citibank, N.A., (hereinafter "eCast") (Claim...
OPINION Motion for Reconsideration (#253) JOHN J. THOMAS , Bankruptcy Judge . After concluding that the involuntary petition must be denied, ( In re 3 Man Corp ., 2014 WL 4346747 (Bankr.M.D. Pa. 2014)), the petitioning creditors have moved for reconsideration arguing that evidence was offered on the record that established the Court made a manifest error of fact which, if corrected, would have resulted in a decision in their favor. To summarize the Court's earlier decision, I will...
OPINION John J. Thomas , Bankruptcy Judge . Mariella T. Confair, Debtor-Defendant, has filed a Rule 12 Motion to Dismiss the Complaint of her former spouse, Frederick Lohman, which Complaint seeks to determine the nondischargeability of certain debts owing to Plaintiff and seeks to dismiss the bankruptcy as one filed in bad faith. The Motion to Dismiss the Complaint does not address Plaintiff's request to dismiss the bankruptcy (Count III) but focuses on the remaining two Counts of the...
OPINION 1 Robert N. Opel, II , Bankruptcy Judge . Pending before the Court is a Motion to Allow Debtor's Counsel's Fees as an Administrative Expense Pursuant to 11 U.S.C. 1326(a)(2) and 503(b)(2) ("Motion"). The Chapter 13 case was dismissed, but I retained jurisdiction to consider the Motion. For the reasons stated below, the Motion is granted. I. Jurisdiction The Court has jurisdiction over this matter pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 157 and 1334. This is a core proceeding under 28 U.S.C....
