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Opinions

 

The summaries on this website are summaries of the opinions issued by the judges of the Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Virginia from October 2004 to date. The opinions may be searched by year, judge, category and chapter. For a more detailed search, enter a keyword in the search box above. This opinion bank, however, is not an exhaustive list of opinions issued by the judges of the Western District. These summaries are not intended to replace other research methods, but may be used as a starting point for your research. These summaries do not contain information as to whether an opinion has been published, appealed or the disposition of any such appeal, or otherwise overruled or affected by subsequent case law or statute. These summaries have been prepared for the convenience of the researcher and in no way constitute an interpretation by the Court of the opinion summarized. Please rely on the opinion not the summary. Please contact Judge Connelly's chambers or Judge Black's chambers regarding any questions or errors.

In re Belcher (Case No. 06-72448) 06/02/09

The Debtors motioned for Final Decree. The Debtors subsequently motioned for the entry of an order granting discharge, and in the alternative, waiving the quarterly fee. The Court held that Congress did not intent to provide additional discretion to bankruptcy courts to grant an early discharge once the creditors had received at least as much as they would have received in a chapter 7 liquidation case and that unless the modification of the plan pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 1127(e) would not be practicable within the meaning of §1141(d)(5)(B)(ii).

In re Lester (Case No. 09-70048) 05/04/09

Debtor filed a motion to convert from chapter 13 to chapter 11. Grundy National Bank objected. Debtors filed this adversary proceeding to prevent an allegedly fraudulent transfer induced by the bank and the recovery of money and property transferred in accordance therewith. Grundy asserts that the motion to convert was not filed in good faith. The Court noted that the case law on the issue was sparse and that the Court has discretion whether to grant or deny a motion to convert to chapter 11.

In re Turner (Case No. 08-60030) 03/17/2009

The Court denied the United States Trustee's motion to dismiss the case under 11 U.S.C. § 707(b)(1) & (3). The Court considered whether it would be an abuse of the provisions of chapter 7 to allow the debtors to continue prosecuting their case under chapter 7. After considering the debtors' disoposable income and the deductions reasonably necessary for their support, the court held that it would not be an abuse of the provisions of chapter 7 for the debtors to prosecute this case under chapter 7.

In re Meadows (Case No. 06-62050) 02/20/2009

The debtors objected to a proof of claim on the grounds that it failed to comply with Bankruptcy Rule 3001(a) and (c) and did not include the original or duplicate writing, or explanation of the loss thereof, upon which the claim was based.  The debtors did not, however, disagree with the amount owed.  A proof of claim is presumed to be prima facie valid. The presumption may be overcome only if the objecting party offers evidence of equally probative value in rebuttal.  The burden then shifts back to the claimant to produce evidence meeting the objections and establishing the claim.    As the debtors did not provide any evidence that the proof of claim was invalid as to amount or character, there was no controversy before the court and the court overruled the objection. 

In re Harrington (Case No. 08-70439) 02/17/09

United States Trustee filed a motion to dismiss the case under 11 U.S.C. §707(b)(1) on the grounds that the petition was an abusive filing. The 2005 Amendments to the Bankruptcy Code eliminated the requirement that the Court find a substantial abuse and also eliminated the prior presumption in favor of granting Chapter 7 relief. The Court found that a presumption of abuse did arise pursuant to § 707(b)(2). Further, even if no presumption of abuse arose, the Court found that the totality of the circumstances demonstrated abuse pursuant to § 707(b)(3).

In re White (Case No. 08-71107) 01/22/09

Creditor Wells Fargo Bank filed a motion for relief with regard to a deed of trust upon the Debtor’s residential property. Both parties failed to comply with pre-hearing orders of the Court. Accordingly, the Court declined to rule upon the motion for relief. The Court ordered the Creditor to file a completed certification form. The Court ordered the Debtor to file a response to the certification.

In re Mack (Case No. 08-72445) 01/14/09

Debtor sought the Court to enter a wage deduction order directing her employer to withhold and remit a portion of her wages to fulfill her obligation to a mortgage company. The language and statutory constructions of 11 U.S.C. § 1325(c) grant the Court the power to order a debtor’s employer to direct part of the debtor’s wages only to the Trustee, not to secured creditors. Such an order in this case was also not appropriate under 11 U.S.C. § 105(a). Accordingly, the Court denied the entry of the proposed wage order.

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