The court granted summary judgment to the debtors, ordering that a wholly unsecured junior lien on the debtors= residential real estate may be avoided after the debtors complete Chapter 13 plan payments.

The court sustained the objection to confirmation filed by the Subchapter V trustee regarding the plan provisions for payment of a secured creditor’s § 1111(b) claim. The court found that the plan proposes to pay to the secured creditor “far more than it is entitled to receive as a result of its election under 11 U.S.C. § 1111(b), [so] there is less money available to pay to unsecured creditors. Accordingly, the plan discriminates unfairly and is not fair and equitable to the class of unsecured creditors.”

After a trial on objections to discharge, the court ruled in favor of the plaintiffs and denied the debtors a discharge under § 727(a)(2) (transfer or concealment of property with intent to hinder, delay, or defraud a creditor) and § 727(a)(4)(A) (false oaths or accounts).

The court granted an unopposed motion for summary judgment to avoid and recover preferential transfers from an unsecured creditor and to disallow the creditor’s claim until the preferences have been repaid.

The court granted default judgment to the debtors, ordering that a wholly unsecured junior lien on the debtors’ residential real estate may be avoided after the debtors complete Chapter 13 plan payments.

Unexpected excess funds remain after the sale of farm equipment by the senior secured creditor. The Chapter 12 trustee proposes to pay the funds to unsecured creditors, but another creditor also claims rights to them, and the debtors would like to use them in their farming operation.

The court had granted relief from the automatic stay to sell the equipment because the evidence indicated the debtor sold the equipment to another creditor, so it was no longer property of the estate.

The court denied summary judgment on the United States Trustee’s complaint seeking a denial of discharge under §§ 727(a)(2), (a)(4)(A), and (a)(4)(D). While the plaintiff proved that the debtor failed to disclose several bank accounts, gave incorrect balances for accounts that were disclosed, and failed to disclose a number of cash transfers, under circumstances that lead to a presumption of intent to deceive, the debtor should be given the opportunity to rebut that presumption at trial.

On stipulated facts, the court denied the creditors’ motions to approve a purported settlement or extend the deadline to file an adversary proceeding. The parties had already obtained an extension of time in which to file an adversary complaint while they negotiated the non-dischargeability of and a payment plan for the debts owed to these creditors. However, that extended deadline expired while the parties were close to, but had not yet completed, a settlement.

After a trial, the court reluctantly denied the debtor’s complaint to discharge his private student loan debt. The court found that the debtor, a combat veteran, holds a stable position with a good salary in the Veterans Administration in a field that will qualify him for debt forgiveness on student loans from the U.S.

After a trial, the court ruled in the debtor’s favor in a § 523(a)(2) non-dischargeability action. The debtor had given security interests in personal property to two creditors – the bank and his father; the lien priorities are the subject of a pending state court action between the creditors. The bank filed this adversary proceeding to except the deficiency, if any, from discharge under § 523(a)(2)(A) and (B).