Summary:

In In re Granite City Mechanical, Inc., the Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of North Carolina (Judge Laura T. Beyer) held that the United States may offset unpaid Employee Retention Tax Credits (ERTCs) against a debtor’s outstanding COVID-19 EIDL loan owed to the SBA.

Summary:

The Western District of North Carolina (Judge Volk, sitting by designation) issued a consolidated Memorandum Opinion and Order denying attempts by asbestos claimants in Bestwall and Aldrich Pump/Murray Boiler to take an interlocutory appeal challenging the bankruptcy courts’ refusal to dismiss the Texas Two-Step cases for bad faith.

Summary:

In In re Joiner, Case No. 25-30396 (Bankr. W.D.N.C. Oct. 2 2025) (Judge Ashley Austin Edwards), the court addressed the intersection between Subchapter V’s debtor-friendly lien modification authority under § 1190(3) and a creditor’s long-standing right under § 1111(b)(2) to elect to have an undersecured claim treated as fully secured.

Facts:

Summary:

In Shaf International, Inc. v. Mohammed (W.D.N.C. Sept. 22, 2025), Judge Reidinger affirmed the Bankruptcy Court’s grant of summary judgment to the debtor, holding that a single creditor lacks standing to assert fiduciary duty claims against the officer of an insolvent corporation where the injury alleged is common to all creditors.

Background:

Summary: 

In In re Ryan Lashon Ford, Judge Edwards issued two companion opinions chronicling the court’s escalating efforts to bring order to what she aptly described as an “atypical” pro se Chapter 7 case that had metastasized into a performative exercise in pseudo-law.

Summary and Commentary (In re Gilbert, W.D.N.C. 2025)

Russell Wade Gilbert filed his third Chapter 13 case in just over fourteen months, all pro se and without an attorney. His first case (June 2024) was dismissed for failure to propose a feasible plan, make initial payments, and file required tax returns. His second case (November 2024) was dismissed in July 2025 for defaulting on plan payments. Just six weeks later, he filed the present case in August 2025.

Summary:

Summary:

Judge Kenneth D. Bell’s denial of Navient’s motion for summary judgment in Ready v. Navient (W.D.N.C. No. 5:24-cv-00050) is a sharp reminder that even student loan creditors must prove the underlying debt. Navient insisted that Ms. Christy Ready had taken out a 1995 consolidation loan through “Citibank (NYS)” which was later rolled into a 2002 consolidation. Ms.

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