Summary: After the filing of a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, Mr. Nevils received a lump-sum Worker’s Compensation award of $235,000. Over the Trustee’s objection, the bankruptcy court previously allowed Mr. Nevils’ exemption of the proceeds, without ruling at that time on whether such constituted disposable income. The Trustee, supported by the Bankruptcy Administrator, then brought a motion to modify, arguing that even though exempt, the award constituted a substantial and unanticipated change in circumstances and should be considered in calculating Mr.

Summary: Despite being provided with evidence in the form of cancelled checks and insurance policies showing that they were not delinquent in their mortgage payments, Citimortgage commenced foreclosure against the Nances.  After refinancing their house, the Nances brought suit against Citimortgage alleging, among other causes of action,  unfair and deceptive trade practices, negligent and/or intentional infliction of emotional distress, defamation and negligent and/or intentional damage to credit report.  Citimortgage moved to dismiss. As to the unfair and dec

Summary: Corporate Debtor Abbington Partners, filed a Chapter 7 bankruptcy without representation by counsel. It had previously a bankruptcy in Massachusetts, which had been dismissed for lack of attorney representation. Reiterating that “[i]t has been the law for the better part of two centuries . . . that a corporation may appear in the federal courts only through licensed counsel.” In re Tamojira, Inc., 20 F. App’x 133, 133-34 (4th Cir.

Summary: The Debtor, after various alleged inconsistencies and shenanigans by Wells Fargo in application of her payments and insurance proceeds, as well as failures in the review of her loan modification application, filed bankruptcy and brought suit alleging, among other causes of action, breaches of contract and duties of good faith & fair dealing and fiduciary duty, fraud and constructive fraud, and violations of the North Carolina Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practice Act. Wells Fargo sought dismissal for failing to state a claim. Following Wigod v.

Summary: Walter sought discovery relating to communications between Waffle House and Jonathan Waller, who had served as general counsel to Waffle House since 2001. Waffle House, asserting attorney-client privilege, directed Waller not to respond. The difficulty, however, was that Waller provided legal services for Waffle House in Georgia, but only held an inactive law license in Illinois and no where else.

Summary: The Debtor served a copy of a Motion to Avoid the Judgment Lien held by Main Street Acquisition Corp. at its place of business and also by serving its attorney in the state court action.

Summary: Chapter 13 Debtors had fallen behind on payment under their confirmed plan, wherein the mortgage held be Wells Fargo was paid directly by the Debtors. Instead of following the more customary path of seeking relief from the automatic stay, Wells Fargo instead sought dismissal of the Chapter 13 case. The Motion to Dismiss was resolved by bringing the payments “inside” the Chapter 13 plan, but the parties could not agree on the allowance of attorney’s fees in the amount of $350.00.

Summary: The Debtor sought to have the bankruptcy judge recuse herself, based on an alleged financial interest held by the judge in JP Morgan Chase, a party in an adversary proceeding.

Summary: Clean Burn Fuels (CBF) operated a pant that converted corn supplied by Purdue Bionery (Purdue) into ethanol. The agreement between the parties provided that Purdue would retain ownership of the corn until it was delivered to CBF, defined as the when it passed over a weigh belt, the final stage before the conversion of the corn into ethanol began.

Summary: The SEC filed a complaint against the Debtor and two other individuals in 2005 alleging they had engaged in a $60 million Ponzi scheme, specifically alleging that the Debtor unlawfully sold unregistered securities, was not registered as a broker-dealer when selling certain billboards, and failed to disclose material information to investors. In 2006, the Debtor and the SEC filed a consent judgment wherein the Debtor agreed to, among other terms, disgorge nearly $2 million.