Summary: The Debtor had since 1998 complied with the requirements of N.C.G.S. § 105-306 to list for taxes the personal property owned in Wake County. The Debtor was required to file such a disclosure between January 1st and 31st of 2009, but failed to do so, instead filing bankruptcy on February 18, 2009. On September 30, 2009, Wake County subsequently sent the Debtor a notice that it had assessed taxes at a “discovered value” of 125% of the value from the previous year and that the Debtor had, pursuant to N.C.G.S. § 105-312(d), thirty (30) days to contest this value.

Summary: Plaintiffs had brought suit against Howard A. Jacobson (“Jacobson”), Envision Sales & Marketing Group LLC (“Envision”), CILPS Acquisition LLC (“CILPS”), and the debtor (collectively “business court defendants”) and it was designated a mandatory complex business case and assigned to the North Carolina Business Court pursuant to N.C. Gen. Stat. § 7A–45.4(b).

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: Applying principles enunciated by the United States Supreme Court in Assocs. Commercial Corp. v. Rash, 520 U.S. 953, 117 S.Ct. 1879 (1997), the Bankruptcy Court also found that it was appropriate to apply a minority discount when gauging the fair market value of the Corporate Holdings. To hold otherwise would give the best interest of the creditors a “punitive effect” on the Debtor by requiring payment of more than the fair market value of the assets in order to retain them.

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.

Summary: The McClendons sought to purchase a home built by Jim Walters Homes (JWH) and financed by Walter Mortgage Company (WMC). Both the construction and the financing went through several permutations, with the size of the house, the amount of the loan, and the loan interest rate, increasing several times.

Summary: RTJJ is the largest owner of low-income housing in Gastonia. Following first the closure of area textile mills and then the housing crash, RTJJ became unable to pay its debts and faced foreclosure by Community One, its largest secured creditor. Despite proposing a Chapter 11 plan that would have paid creditors substantially more than a Chapter 7 liquidation, Community One objected to the plan and pressed for the sale of the assets.

Summary: Lee and Patsy Hilliard were married in 1975 and both served as officers of Royal Tours. Following their separation in 2008, the couple entered into a Separation Agreement whereby Patsy Hilliard resigned her position with Royal Tours and accepted a cash payment from Royal Tours in lieu of an Equitable Distribution consisting of 108 monthly payments of $3,500. The Chapter 7 Trustee alleged that the twelve payments made prior to the bankruptcy filing were preferences pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 547.

Summary: Following a Motion for Relief from Stay filed by ASC, the Debtor argued that ASC was not a a “party in interest” and lacked standing as there was neither an endorsement on the note nor an allonge affixed and presented in support of the Motion. \ Avoiding this issue, the Bankruptcy Court held “that a confirmed Chapter 13 plan, which represents a new contractual agreement between debtors and their creditors, is res judicata on the issue of a creditor’s rights as a party in interest with standing to seek relief from the stay.” In re Jeter, No.