Source: http://nmb.uscourts.gov/judges-info/opinions?field_opinion_date_value%5Bvalue%5D=&field_judge_nid=All&page=11
Timestamp: 2018-05-26 08:19:42
Document Index: 403359199

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 706', '§329', '§ 327', '§ 362', '§ 521', '§ 521', '§ 521', '§ 1112', '§ 1127', '§ 523', '§ 523']

Chapter 13, Good Faith 03/31/2016 Ely Yao
Debtor who had completed 54 of 58 payments under his confirmed Chapter 13 plan and then voluntarily converted from Chapter 13 to Chapter 7, sought to reconvert to Chapter 13 to complete the remaining payments under the confirmed Chapter 13 plan. The Chatper13 Trustee objected on grounds that conversion from Chapter 13 to Chapter 7 nullified the confirmed plan and that the Debtor had not demonstrated that he sought to reconvert in good faith. The Court held that conversion from Chapter 13 to Chapter 7 does not nullify, terminate, or vacate a confirmed Chapter 13 plan. Rather, the provisions of Chapter 13 making the plan binding simply no longer apply upon conversion to Chapter 7 and again become applicable upon reconversion to Chapter 13. The surrounding facts and circumstances satisfied the good faith analysis under the Marrama standard applicable to motions to convert under § 706. The Court granted the Debtor’s motion to reconvert for the purpose of completing the remaining payments under the original confirmed plan. The Court expressly did not decide whether reconversion is barred per se.
Chapter 11, Contract Interpretation 03/28/2016 Sunnyland Farms, Inc.
Creditor asked Court to interpret ambiguous confirmed plan to allow him to receive stock rather than cash. Using applicable contract interpretation principles, the Court interpreted the plan to allow the creditor to receive stock.
Employment of Professionals 03/14/2016 Quick Cash, Inc.
Any attorney who forms an attorney-client relationship with the debtor and who provides legal advice to the debtor is required to make the disclosures required by 11 U.S.C. §329, and the debtor must seek approval of such attorney’s employment under 11 U.S.C. § 327(a), even if the attorney is acting in a consulting capacity, had been retained by a third party, and does not intend to seek compensation for such services from the bankruptcy estate.
Automatic Stay, Stay Violation 03/14/2016 Bartolo Montoya
Debtor sought damages against the Pueblo of Isleta Tax Administration based on an alleged willful stay violation. The Court held that the tax lien order entered in tribal court after debtor filed a voluntary Chapter 7 petition violated 11 U.S.C. § 362(a)(1) and was void ab initio, even though the order imposing the tax lien included a provision recognizing and respecting the existence of the automatic stay; debtor failed to meet his burden of proving any actual damages; and the circumstances did not warrant imposition of punitive damages.
Discharge Injunction, Jurisdiction, Reconsideration, Standing 03/10/2016 Tammy Sprague, personal representative of the estate of Fred Dale Van Winkle v. Williams et al
Defendants asked the Court to reconsider its order denying their motion to dismiss the adversary proceeding for lack of jurisdiction. Since the order was interlocutory, the Court reviewed it under a discretionary standard and declined to reconsider. The Court found that reopening the bankruptcy case was unnecessary since the adversary proceeding was filed while the main case was open. The Court also determined that the personal representative of the deceased debtor's estate had standing to assert a violation of the discharge injunction, and that the claim did not require a jury trial. stand
Attorneys Fees, Chapter 11, Fees, Professionals 03/03/2016 Steven Howard and Judy Pimentel
UST objected to the final fee application of debtor's counsel, arguing that the fees were not reasonable because there was no way debtor could confirm a plan of reorganization. The Court sustained the objection in part, holding that the debtor had a chance to confirm a plan during much of the case, but that the debtor's second amended plan had no chance of being confirmed.
Chapter 13, Reconsideration, Statutory Construction 02/19/2016 Gloria L. Marcott
Chapter 13 Debtor asked the Court to set aside dismissal order entered pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 521(i), prompted by Debtor’s failure to file a “Chapter 13 Statement of Current Monthly Income” within 45 days of the petition date. The Court concluded the Chapter 13 statement of current monthly income (commonly known as "Form B22") is not required by § 521(i). In Chapter 13 cases, that form is required by Bankruptcy Rule 1007. Because Debtor's failure to provide the statement of current monthly income should not have triggered "auto-dismissal" under § 521(i)(1), the Court vacated the dismissal order and reinstated the Chapter 13 case.
Relief from Stay 02/11/2016 Kadlubek Family Revocable Living Trust
Creditor sought relief from stay under Section 362(d)(2) to continue a foreclosure action on a commercial property. The Creditor asserted that the Debtor lacked equity in the property and the property was not necessary to an effective reorganization. The Court found that although the Debtor lacked equity in the property, the property was necessary to an effective reorganization. The property was necessary in that it furthered the interests of the estate in the Chapter 11 plan of liquidation, and there was a reasonable possibility of a successful reorganization within a reasonable time.
Cause, Chapter 11, Dismissal 02/05/2016 Sandia Resorts, Inc.
Court dismissed Chapter 11 bankruptcy case for “cause” under 11 U.S.C. § 1112(b), finding that the debtor’s second chapter 11 case filed for the purpose of restructuring debt with its principal lender that had already been restructured through a substantially consummated plan in a prior chapter 11 case was an impermissible attempt to circumvent the prohibition against post-substantial consummation modifications contained in 11 U.S.C. § 1127. None of the justifications the debtor offered in support of its good faith in filing its second chapter 11 case were sufficient to fall within the generally recognized exception of unforeseeable or unanticipated changed circumstances that affect a debtor’s ability to perform under a confirmed plan in a prior Chapter 11 case. None of the other recognized exceptions applied.
Dischargeability, Nondischargeability, Statutory Construction 02/04/2016 Esparsen v. Esparsen et al
Debtor filed an adversary proceeding seeking a determination that a debt was dischargeable under 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(15). Debtor-Plaintiff was ordered to pay his ex-wife (the Defendant) a net equalization payment as part of the allocation of property in their divorce proceeding. When the Defendant failed to pay her attorney, the state court judge ordered Debtor to pay the equalization payment directly to Defendant's attorney. In the adversary proceeding, Debtor argued the debt was dischargeable because it was no longer payable to a former spouse. On Defendant's request, the Court dismissed the adversary proceeding. The Court found that the debt was nondischargeable under § 523(a)(15) because the payment by the Debtor to Defendant's attorney pursuant to a charging lien was an indirect payment to Defendant.