In a dispute over competing rights to the debtor’s accounts receivable, the court granted partial summary judgment to the lender holding perfected pre-petition security interests in inventory, accounts, equipment, and other collateral. The other claimants to the accounts receivable were the multi-employer pension and welfare benefit plans representing the debtor’s employees. The plans argued that because the debtor failed to pay plan contributions withheld from employees’ wages, the unpaid contributions were property of the pension and welfare benefit plans under ERISA and were held in trust by the debtor, giving the plans a superior claim to the money. The court found that the evidence showed the funds at issue were the employer’s share of the plan contributions, rather than contributions that were withheld from the employees’ paychecks, and thus were not held in constructive trust. The funds were properly treated as part of the lender’s collateral.
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Reported at 366 B.R. 919. The automatic stay didn't go into effect because debtor had two cases pending within the previous year. Moreover, she did not rebut the presumption that she did not file her latest case in good faith, as her plan wasn't feasible.
Published at 366 B.R. 919. Debtor's motion to extend or impose automatic stay was denied under section 362(c)(4) because she did not present evidence to rebut the presumption that the current case was not filed in good faith, as she appears unable to propose a feasible Ch. 13 plan.
The confirmed plan in a prior case materially modified the rights of a tax sale certificate holder and transformed a non-recourse obligation into a contractual payment obligation. That plan is res judicata as to the creditor's claim in this case.
Debtors' motion to avoid a third deed of trust lien against their home is denied because there is some value in the property to partially secure the lien. The Sanders decision, interpreting Nobelman, permits wholly unsecured liens to be stripped off.
Although the debtor did not sign a promissory note for a loan from her in-laws, she still could be liable on the debt. A trial was necessary to determine the nature of the transfer (whether it was a loan or a gift) and the validity of the in-laws' claim.
Plaintiff objected to the discharge of credit card debt on "hold harmless" language in a dissolution decree. The debtor's motion to dismiss the complaint as untimely and for failure to properly allege the elements of a cause of action was denied.
Debtor's transfer of stock sale proceeds to a trust created for his children is avoidable under the Neb. Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act. The transfer was made while debtor was insolvent; he did not receive a reasonably equivalent value in exchange.
Vehicle wear-and-tear deducted by debtors' appraiser was already factored into the NADA valuation, so it shouldn't have been deducted again. The body damage should have been repaired with insurance proceeds, so no deduction was allowed for that.
A creditor who was not notified of, and was unaware of, the debtors' bankruptcy received funds garnished from the debtor on a post-petition judgment. He did not have to turn those funds over, but the automatic stay prevents further collection efforts.