The Court denied debtor's motion to amend (under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 59, as made applicable under Federal Rule of Bankruptcy Procedure 9023) an order granting the Chapter 7 trustee's motion to compel the turnover of one-half of the debtor's tax refund generated during the pre-petition period under 11 U.S.C. § 542(a) because (1) debtor's wife did not petition for bankruptcy with debtor, (2) the tax refund is property of the estate based on In re Shearin, 224 F.3d 353 (4th Cir. 2000) because debtor had an ownership interest in at least some portion of the tax refund that he could have asserted against his wife, (3) debtor failed to timely file a homestead deed exempting the refund or any portion thereof, and (4) there is no exclusion for earned income credits in the Bankruptcy Code.
File:
Judge:
Date:
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
Category:
Appeal
Homestead Deed
Motion to Reconsider
Property of the Estate
Tax Issues
Chapter:
7