The bankruptcy court granted the Chapter 7 trustee's motion for turnover of a vehicle which was titled only in the debtor's name, although the debtor claimed his non-debtor spouse also held a 50% ownership in it. The court ruled that the trustee's strong-arm powers under ยง 544 trump the non-debtor spouse's claim of an equitable interest in the vehicle, and noted that creditors and bankruptcy trustees need to be able to rely on certificates of title in order to ascertain valid ownership and security interests in vehicles.
Date:
Friday, June 28, 2019
Judge:
Judge Thomas L. Saladino