U.S. Trustee's motion to dismiss for abuse under §§ 707(b)(2) and 707(b)(3) is granted. Debtors may not deduct excess housing costs in means test, and living in an expensive area does not constitute a "special circumstance" to rebut presumed abuse.
Claim for damages for delay in closing real estate sale was denied because the trustee timely assumed the contract and acted promptly to complete closing. A proof of claim on a stock sale was prima facie valid, with no substantial evidence to rebut it.
The amount of child support to be paid should be determined by the state court, although the creditor cannot execute on any judgments against the debtor's assets. Failure to pay post-petition child support is cause to seek sanctions from state court.
Debtor's pre-petition state court conviction for issuing bad checks satisfied the elements of § 523(a)(2)(A) regarding non-dischargeability for fraud. He was collaterally estopped from contesting his liability on the checks in this court.
The debtor was allowed to assume several executory contracts for the purchase of grain in order to benefit the estate by assigning the contracts to buyers of the grain. The debtor's surrender of its grain dealer's license did not void the contracts.
The court granted the Chapter 11 trustee's motion to convert the case to Chapter 7. The corporate debtor did not object, and the debtor's shareholders had not standing to object.
An unsecured junior lien on debtor's residential real estate may be avoided after the debtor completes Chapter 13 plan payments. The bankruptcy court's Sanders decision, interpreting Nobelman, permits wholly unsecured liens to be stripped off.
An unsecured judgment 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.
Because the separated debtor still owned the house in joint tenancy, he could claim a homestead exemption. The amount of equity was less than the value of the exemption, so there was nothing for the creditor's lien to attach to and it should be avoided.
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.
