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Case Summaries

Bankruptcy Law

[06/30] Tate v. Bolen
The dismissal of Debtors' bankruptcy petition for abuse is reversed, where Debtors should have been allowed to deduct a transportation ownership deduction under the plain language of 11 U.S.C. section 707(b), even though they had no loan or lease payment on their vehicle.

[06/26] Cunning v. Rucker
In an appeal from the Bankruptcy Court's order denying an exemption for Debtor's assets in pension and 401(k) plans, the order is affirmed, where the retirement plans were not designed and used primarily for retirement purposes.

[06/26] Braunstein v. McCabe
In an action related to bankruptcy proceedings, district court judgment is affirmed where: 1) the court properly denied plaintiff's jury trial demand in the turnover action as no Seventh Amendment right to trial by jury attaches to the statutory turnover action authorized by 11 U.S.C. sec. 542; 2) the court properly granted attorney Ziady's motion to dismiss the defendant's fourth-party complaint for negligent misrepresentation as attorney Ziady owed no legal duty to defendant; and 3) the court did not abuse its discretion in denying defendant's motion to amend the fourth-party complaint, as the record shows that the defendant's proposed amendment would have been futile. District court judgment is reversed where the court erred in its turnover order for the insurance proceeds as defendant's expenditures were not made in the ordinary course of business.

[06/25] Batlan v. Bledsoe
In a bankruptcy trustee's motion to avoid a transfer made pursuant to a state court judgment dissolving the Debtor's marriage, the order denying the trustee's motion is affirmed where, under Oregon law, a party who challenges a dissolution judgment must allege and prove "extrinsic fraud," and the trustee failed to do so.

[06/24] MHR Capital Ptnrs. LP v. Presstek, Inc.
In a breach of contract action, judgment for Defendant is affirmed where Defendant's obligation to perform under the stock purchase agreement at issue did not arise because an express condition precedent was not fulfilled.

[06/24] Reiber v. GMAC, LLC
The Court of Appeals answered a certified question from the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit as follows: The portion of an automobile retail installment sale attributable to a trade-in vehicle's 'negative equity' is a part of the 'purchase money obligation' arising from the purchase of a new car, as defined under New York's Uniform Commercial Code.

[06/19] Binder & Binder, P.C. v. Handel
In an appeal from an order discharging Debtor's debt to Plaintiff law firm, the order is affirmed, where the government had not waived its sovereign immunity for attorney's fee claims in social security disputes, and thus Defendant Social Security Administration was not liable for the fees incurred by Debtor.

[06/18] Wirum v. Warren
In an appeal from a Bankruptcy Court order waiving 11 U.S.C. section 521(i)(1)'s requirement that a debtor file a list of creditors within 45 days of filing a bankruptcy petition, the District Court's order vacating the Bankruptcy Court's order is reversed, where the Bankruptcy Court acted within its discretion in entering the order waiving the filing requirement even though the deadline had passed.

[06/18] Travelers Indemn. Co. v. Bailey
In objections to a settlement of tort claims against the insurer of an asbestos manufacturer, the Court of Appeals' order sustaining the objections is reversed where the terms of a prior injunction issued in bankruptcy proceedings regarding the manufacturer barred direct actions against Defendant, and the finality of the Bankruptcy Court's orders generally stood in the way of challenging their enforceability.

[06/18] Bank of Am., N.A. v. Mukamai
In an appeal from the Bankruptcy Court's order voiding a payment made by the Debtor to Plaintiff as a preferential transfer, the order is affirmed where the payments, which were made from the Debtor's other credit card accounts for debt consolidation purposes, constituted "transfer[s] of an interest of the debtor in property" under 11 U.S.C. section 547(b).
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