In a matter of first impression in this district, the bankruptcy court considered how to harmonize a federal agency’s Touhy regulations with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure where documents are sought from an opposing litigant and not subpoenaed or requested from the federal agency.

The bankruptcy court denied without prejudice the debtors’ objection to certain proofs of claim for medical services.

The bankruptcy court granted a preliminary injunction to the SBA to enjoin the debtors from spending the balance of a loan allegedly obtained by fraud.

A creditor’s pre-petition state court action to rescind a warranty deed and to quiet title to real estate as against the debtors was pending when the Chapter 7 bankruptcy case was filed. The creditor filed a proof of claim, but did not object to dischargeability or discharge. The parties stipulated that the creditor’s claim would be estimated at zero for purposes of distribution to unsecured creditors, and the bankruptcy court ordered that the trustee should not pay that creditor’s claim.

The court granted summary judgment to the plaintiff, finding a judgment debt excepted from discharge under § 523(a)(6) because the debtor willfully injured the plaintiff and acted with malice when he purposefully hit the plaintiff multiple times.

The court denied the pro se debtor a discharge under §§ 727(a)(2), (a)(3), (a)(4) and (a)(5), finding after a trial that the debtor misrepresented her true financial position in her schedules and statement of financial affairs. She amended these only after the U.S. Trustee investigated, found discrepancies, and filed a motion to dismiss for bad faith.

The court denied a creditor’s motion for relief from stay to compel debtor’s specific performance of a pre-petition contract to sell her home. The court found the contract to be executory, as neither party had performed as of the petition date, and it was deemed rejected under § 365(d)(1). The creditor’s right to specific performance is a claim in the bankruptcy case, which can be reduced to money damages.

The debtor moved to avoid a judgment lien on her home because it impaired her homestead exemption. The creditor agreed the lien was partially avoidable; the only dispute concerned the home’s value and therefore to what extent the homestead exemption was impaired.

After a trial, the court declined to except the debt at issue from discharge under § 523(a)(2)(A). The plaintiff consigned a boat and trailer for sale with the debtor’s business and turned over a signed title for the boat. The items sold four months later. When the plaintiff received a check from the debtor for less than he had anticipated, even accounting for the debtor’s sales commission, he learned that the debtor had reduced the sales price without authorization.

After an evidentiary hearing, the court denied a creditor’s complaint objecting to discharge and dischargeability. The debtors are the only two members in an LLC that once owned and operated golf equipment retailer with five locations in Nebraska and Iowa. The plaintiff and his business loaned money to the LLC because the plaintiff was close friends with the debtors’ family. Regular payments were made on the loan until the LLC’s cash-flow issues intensified.