The district court reversed the bankruptcy court's entry of default judgment against defendants for failure to comply with a discovery order because a lesser sanction would have served the purpose as there was no evidence of willfulness or bad faith

When a debtor is not in default pre-petition, a mortgage creditor cannot rely upon post-petition "defaults" to justify perfecting a security interest in rents and profits and obtain an order sequestering such rents and profits

This is an order to show cause as to why the parties should not be held in contempt of court for failing to obey a court order and prepare appropriately for the scheduled pretrial conference

District court affirmed bankruptcy court ruling denying motion of debtor's officers & shareholders to take Rule 205 examination of banks. Trustee is the proper party to conduct examinations & determine whether causes of action exist for estate's benefit

Court denied motion to dismiss complaint regarding preferential transfers because the transfers made from third parties to the defendant may have been accounts receivables of the plaintiff debtor, which would render them property of the debtor

Lien held by debtor's former wife on debtor's homestead, awarded as part of a property settlement agreement, couldn't be avoided under section 522(f) because it protected the wife's pre-existing interest and, alternatively, was a consensual lien

Reported at 15 B.R. 223. Under sec. 523(a)(5), marital debts owed to a third party which one spouse is ordered in divorce proceedings to pay can be non-dischargeable as in the nature of alimony or support despite not being payable directly to a spouse

The district court dismissed the debtor's appeal for lack of diligent prosecution in failing to file a brief in accordance with the court's scheduling order

Reported at 18 B.R. 115. The debtor's business operation was solely in Ohio, while its corporate office was in Nebraska. Under the circumstances, the court found the debtor's "principal place of business" – and therefore the proper venue – to be in Ohio

The court approved settlement over creditors' committee's objection, finding the compromise to be commercially reasonable under the circumstances, particularly because debtor's management had made significant progress toward rehabilitation