Summary: Kenneth Jones filed a Chapter 13 bankruptcy on behalf of his minor nephew in 2003.  After finding no evidence that Jones was his nephew's court appointed guardian, the Trustee moved for the appointment of a guardian ad litem pursuant to Bankruptcy Rule 1004.1.  Prior to that motion being heard, however, the case was dismissed for non-payment. Recently, however, the Nephew (now presumably having reached his majority) experienced difficulties obtaining credit due to this bankruptcy.  Accordingly then moved to have the bankruptcy re-opened and then dismi

Summary: Smithville Crossings’ Chapter 11 plan was confirmed wherein the Richardsons, the Debtor’s sole equity owners, agreed to grant a lien to creditor Rialto of unencumbered real estate, if the Richardsons were able to retain their ownership in Smithville Crossings.  The plan provided that the Richardsons would pay $10,000 to purchase that ownership interest and invited competing bids.  The highest bidder, however,   was neither the Richardsons nor Rialto, but a subsidiary of Rialto. The bankruptcy court held that such an equity auction following confi

Summary: After Wells Fargo commenced foreclosure, the Debtor filed an action against Wells Fargo first in North Carolina Superior Court, which was then removed to the Middle District Court.  (This series of events actually occurred twice.)  When the Debtor eventually filed bankruptcy in the Eastern District, venue in her case against Wells Fargo was transferred. Following a Motion to dismiss the Debtor’s complaint, the Debtor sought to voluntarily dismiss her Chapter 13 case, requesting that the Complaint against Wells Fargo then be remanded to either the Eastern D

Summary: The Male Debtor executed a promissory note in favor of Option One Mortgage, the predecessor to Wells Fargo, and at the same time both Debtors executed a Deed of Trust.  Subsequently, the Male Debtor defaulted on the note and the property was sold at foreclosure.  A Substitute Trustee’s Deed was then recorded, conveying the property to Wells Fargo. Later, the Clerk of Court was informed that the Notice of Sale had not been included in the foreclosure file and Clerk set aside the foreclosure sale.  Wells Fargo then transferred the property to Male Debto

Summary: The Debtor filed Chapter 13 in 2009, subsequently converting to Chapter 7 on May 9, 2011.  This conversion was one day prior to a hearing to determine the status of the claim of the Debtor’s ex-wife, Ms.  Day. Ms.  Day argued that the conversion was only done in an attempt to avoid paying her claim through the Debtor’s Chapter 13 plan, which otherwise only required $21.50 to complete.   Additionally, Ms.  Day alleged that the Debtor self-reported environmental hazards on their property, in an effort to reduce the value.  Accordingl

Summary: Creditors filed an involuntary Chapter 7 bankruptcy for SilverDeer.  On the motion of SilverDeer, the bankruptcy court dismissed the involuntary bankruptcy finding that the pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 303(b)(1), the claims of the creditors were subject to a bona fide dispute.  Subsequently, the bankruptcy court awarded Howard Jacobson, the manager/member of SilverDeer, his attorney fees and costs incurred defending SilverDeer, pursuant to 11 U.S.C.

Summary: Following a determination of the appropriate interest rate to pay on a secured claim, the creditor filed a Motion for Reconsideration under Rule 59(e).  The reconsideration of an order, the moving party must show:

1. An intervening change in controlling law;
2. New evidence not available at trial; or
3. A clear error of law or prevent manifest injustice.

In essence finding that the secured creditor was merely seeking to relitigate the issue, the Court denied the Motion for Reconsideration, finding (again) that its previous ruling

Summary: The Debtors’ home was damaged by Hurricane Irene while they were in Chapter 13.  Their insurance issued a check for damages in the amount of $9,052.93 to the house and a second check for $1,376.54 for personal property, both payable jointly to the Debtors and Chase, the mortgage servicer. The Debtors followed the instructions on Chase’s website for insurance checks in the amount less than $20,000.00, endorsing the check and forwarding it to Chase, believing that since they were current on their Chapter 13 payments, Chase would expeditiously return the money to

Summary: Property Agreement provided that the Debtor would be primarily liable for the mortgage debt and "[t]o the extent of any obligation contained herein is discharged in bankruptcy and the non-bankrupt party is held liable for said debt, the non-bankrupt party shall have the right to petition a court of competent jurisdiction for spousal support in an amount sufficient to cover any amounts so discharged."  The Debtor, of course, filed Chapter 13 and disputed whether this created a domestic support obligation under 11 U.S.C.

Summary: Ocwen filed a Motion for Relief from Stay.  At the hearing, the Debtor testified she was under a loan modification with Ocwen and provided copies of the loan modification agreement and bank account statements showing that payments under the loan modification had been made.  Ocwen provided absolutely no evidence to support its position that the Debtor was in default. In addition to denying the Motion for Relief from Stay, sua sponte, the Bankruptcy Court has ordered Ocwen to show cause why it should not be sanctioned pursuant to Rule 9011(c)(1)(B)