The debtor's pre-petition domestic support obligation remained non-dischargeable, so the former spouse's efforts to collect on that debt, including obtaining a contempt order and having him arrested for failing to purge the contempt, were not sanctionable. While the request for an arrest warrant was made without obtaining relief from the automatic stay, no action was taken against the debtor until after the automatic stay had expired, so his rights were not impaired.

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 debtors' residential real estate may be avoided after the debtors complete Chapter 13 plan payments. The case law in the Eighth Circuit, interpreting Nobelman, permits wholly unsecured liens to be stripped off.

The court sustained the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services' objection to confirmation because the department's claim is a domestic support obligation entitled to priority. The claim is for reimbursement of an overpayment of child support to the debtor for a child who was in foster care at the time, and under state law, the right to receive support payments was assigned to the department as reimbursement for the cost of care.

In a dispute over the rights to money recovered in a South Dakota bankruptcy case, the court ruled that, although the funds were not property of the Nebraska debtor's bankruptcy estate, the Nebraska bankruptcy trustee was entitled to be compensated for his efforts to recover the money from the South Dakota debtor and litigate its ownership because his actions were reasonable. As between the trustee and the creditors to whom the recovered funds were ultimately awarded, the equities favor the trustee and the recovered funds may be surcharged for his fees and expenses.

The court agreed that this adversary proceeding, which had been referred from district court upon a party's bankruptcy filing, should be returned to district court to determine liability for fraud related to the sale of securities. The third-party indemnification and contribution claims against the debtor could be severed and held in abeyance in the bankruptcy court pending the outcome of the district court litigation.

The court sustained a creditor's objection to confirmation of the debtor's Chapter 13 plan on the basis of the proposed post-confirmation interest rate on the debt. The court ruled that the debtor should pay the contract rate of 8.5 percent, rather than the formula rate of 5.25 percent, because of the significant degree of risk the creditor will face. The debt was delinquent on the petition date, the debtor had not made payments pursuant to the plan, and there would be delays and possible additional costs before the creditor could collect if the case was dismissed.

The debtor established that her age, health conditions and unemployed status were such that repayment of her student loans would be a hardship for her. Her gross income was below the federal poverty level, and her living expenses were meager. It was unlikely her situation would improve sufficiently in the future to permit her to make payments.

The court granted a protective order for the deposition of an out-of-state defendant in an action to recover an account receivable. The defendant's counterclaim did not alter the general rule that defendants should be deposed in their home states.

The court denied the debtor's objection to the claim of the Nebraska Department of Health & Human Services regarding the overpayment of child support to the debtor while the debtor's child was in foster care. The debtor argued that the money she received was not child support and therefore was not assigned to the department because the funds were garnished from someone falsely using the Social Security number of the child's deceased father.