In this adversary proceeding concerning the dischargeability of a judgment debt owed to the plaintiff, as well as a request for a denial of discharge for concealment of financial information, the debtors did not respond to the plaintiff’s request for production of documents until the court ordered them to do so. The debtors eventually produced some of the tax returns and other documents sought, but did not provide tax returns for their affiliated entities, saying the entities had not filed tax returns and therefore could not provide them.

A lender filed a motion for summary judgment to except a debt from discharge under § 523(a)(6) because the debtors allegedly converted collateral and proceeds of collateral by selling the collateral and depositing the proceeds into their personal account. The court denied the motion because the debtors’ intent is a material fact when willfulness and maliciousness are elements of the cause of action, and is difficult to establish on summary judgment.

The court granted summary judgment to the Chapter 7 trustee on the trustee’s complaint to recover a preferential payment to an unsecured creditor. The defendant did not file a resistance to the motion.

The court granted the plaintiff’s motion to dismiss an amended complaint in intervention for lack of standing. The debtor, Earl Brice Equipment, leased heavy equipment to a related company, M & S Grading, that also was in bankruptcy. During the pendency of the bankruptcy cases, M & S made adequate protection payments to creditors holding liens on the equipment of Earl Brice Equipment. Eventually, both debtors ceased operations and the equipment was sold.

The court granted summary judgment to the IRS in this adversary proceeding in which the plaintiffs, who held a claim against the bankruptcy estate for unpaid ERISA plan payments, sought to use equitable estoppel or equitable subordination to move their claim ahead of the IRS’s administrative expense claim for unpaid post-petition payroll taxes. The court held that the plaintiffs had “not borne their burden of proving each of the necessary elements of equitable subordination or equitable estoppel, in particular the existence of misconduct on the part of the IRS.”

The plaintiffs, who held a claim against the bankruptcy estate for unpaid ERISA plan payments, filed this adversary proceeding against the IRS, which held an administrative expense claim for post-petition payroll taxes, to make the IRS establish that it actually held an administrative claim and, if it did, then to use equitable estoppel or equitable subordination to move the plaintiffs’ claim ahead of the IRS.

After a trial, the court found that the debtor knowingly and intentionally submitted false claims for payment through the Nebraska Medicaid program, and the false and fraudulent nature of her claims for payment excepted the debt from discharge pursuant to § 523(a)(2)(A). The court awarded damages as requested by the State, including double and treble damages under Nebraska law, and attorneys’ fees and costs.

The court denied summary judgment to the U.S. Department of Education in this student loan dischargeability case, finding that genuine issues of material fact existed as to the actual monthly expenses of the debtor and her dependents, and as to the debtor’s reasonable future financial resources in light of her history of low-paying employment outside of her field of study.

The modified hourly rate charged by counsel to the creditors' committee was reasonable and his work benefitted the estate. However, time spent marking documents should be included in overhead and should not be charged as a professional service.

The court granted summary judgment under § 523(a)(2)(A) to the creditor for actions of company's president, director, and shareholder regarding fraudulent misrepresentations concerning grain purchases, based on state court summary judgment.