The Cook v. Chapter 13 Trustee decision is one of those deceptively modest Chapter 13 cases that, on closer inspection, carries outsized importance for consumer practitioners.
The Fourth Circuit recently issued a published opinion in Dale v. Peoples Bank Corp. addressing a question that arises whenever creditors pursue bank accounts to satisfy a judgment: can a bank be sued for conversion when it turns over funds pursuant to state judgment-enforcement procedures? The court’s answer was a clear no.
In JSmith v. Clancy & Theys, Judge Joseph Callaway addressed a familiar temptation in bankruptcy litigation: trying to convert an ordinary contract dispute into a turnover action under 11 U.S.C. § 542. The court allowed most of the debtor’s claims to proceed—but drew a clear line around turnover.
In Israel v. Zachary, the North Carolina Court of Appeals affirmed that a landlord who interferes with a tenant’s efforts to retrieve property after eviction can be liable for conversionand unjust enrichment, though the court vacated the damages award for lack of sufficient valuation evidence.
