The court denied confirmation of the debtor's Chapter 11 plan of reorganization, addressing a creditor's objection on three grounds. First, the court ruled that the plan had been accepted by the holder of an impaired allowed post-petition claim. Second, the court declined to reverse its position that the absolute priority rule does not apply to individual Chapter 11 debtors. Third, the court found that, regardless of whether the means test deductions should be considered when calculating a Chapter 11 debtor's disposable income, this debtor appeared to have more disposable income than she was proposing to pay toward the plan.
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Because factual issues exist regarding elements of the denial-of-discharge causes of action, particularly as to the debtor's intent in transferring the asset in question, summary judgment was denied with the matter to be set for trial.
In issuing a written opinion to deny the plaintiffs' motion for default judgment, the court seeks to provide guidance to practitioners with regard to unambiguously identifying entity defendants and accomplishing effective service of process. A defendant should be described by its proper name, type of entity, and state of organization so the appropriate party is readily identifiable. Specific identification also helps in determining how to properly serve the defendant under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 4 and Federal Rule of Bankruptcy Procedure 7004.
Funds deposited with the Chapter 13 trustee are to be returned to the debtor upon dismissal of the case, but those funds are subject to the remedies of creditors under state or federal law, so they may be attached, levied, or garnished while in the trustee's possession upon the termination of the automatic stay.
The bankruptcy court recommended that the district court withdraw the reference of this adversary proceeding because a jury demand had been made. The court further ruled that the defendant's challenges to the bankruptcy court's jurisdiction did not need to be resolved in light of the right to a jury trial, which should be conducted by the district court.
The bankruptcy court recommended to the district court that it deny the debtor-defendant's motion to withdraw the reference of the bankruptcy case and adversary proceeding because the motion was unfounded. The issues raised in the adversary proceeding arise under Title 11 and are clearly within the bankruptcy court's constitutional authority to adjudicate. The court further recommended the imposition of monetary sanctions under Rule 9011 against counsel for the debtor-defendant for repeatedly filing frivolous pleadings that were not well-grounded in fact, warranted by existing law, or based on a good-faith argument.
An unsecured junior lien on the debtor's residential real estate may be avoided after the debtor completes Chapter 13 plan payments. The case law in the Eighth Circuit, interpreting Nobelman, permits wholly unsecured liens to be stripped off.
An unsecured junior lien on the debtor's residential real estate may be avoided after the debtor completes Chapter 13 plan payments. The case law in the Eighth Circuit, interpreting Nobelman, permits wholly unsecured liens to be stripped off.
The court entered summary judgment for the bankruptcy trustee, finding pre-petition payments made to the creditor to be preferential transfers. The creditor placed cattle at the debtor's feedlot to be fed out, and was to be paid after the cattle were sold and an amount deducted by the debtor for feed costs. The sale proceeds were deposited into the debtor's general operating account, and the debtor made payments to the creditor and others out of that account. Because the creditor's funds were not segregated, he did not have a bailment, nor was a constructive trust warranted.
The bankruptcy court found that a debtor's pre-petition disclaimer of an inheritance did not relate back to the date of death to prevent the property from becoming part of the bankruptcy estate. Instead, the disclaimer constituted a transfer and a trial was necessary to determine whether the transfer was made with intent to hinder, delay, or defraud creditors, which would warrant a denial of discharge.