Bankr. E.D.N.C.: Angell v. Open Ground Farm- Amendment of Complaint

Summary: Trustee brought an adversary proceeding seeking to avoid two payments to Open Grounds Farm allegedly made by the debtor for land rent owed by the debtor’s president, James H. Winslow. Defendants answered and the Trustee sought leave to amend his complaint in two regards. The first was to correct a misstated date in the complaint, which was an obvious and harmless error, to which the Defendant did not oppose correction. The second amendment sought by the Trustee was to include of additional payments potential subject to avoidance under 11 U.S.C. § 548, which were identified following discovery. The court found that the amendment was not sought as a product of bad faith or undue delay and that the Defendant was on notice that such payments were susceptible to avoidance as preferences and accordingly allowed this amendment. For a copy of the opinion, please see: Angell v. Open Ground Farm- Amendment of Complaint