Summary: In addition to a misstatement regarding their residency in the Western District of North Carolina, the Debtors failed to disclose in their Chapter 7 petition that they had transferred real property to their daughter within one year of their bankruptcy filing. Upon discovery by the Trustee (and likely facing avoidance of the transfer) the Debtors sought to convert to Chapter 13, amending their petition to include the transfer and also including additional income from the Female Debtor. Beginning from Marrama v.

Summary: The Chapter Trustee sought denial of Spiers’ discharge, exemptions, and monetary relief on the grounds that Spiers had intentionally failed to disclose numerous assets and transfers of assets he owned or had an interest in at the time of the filing of the bankruptcy petition, attempted to suborn perjury from another witness, and failed to cooperate with the Trustee to the point that the Trustee forced to expend a substantial amount of time and resources in attempting to obtain an accurate portrayal of Spier’s finances and to recover for the benefit of his creditors.

Summary: Bridgetree successfully sued, among others, Redf Marketing and its president and 50% owner, Roselli, for trade secret misappropriation, obtaining a judgment of $678,292 in federal district court. Following the entry of the judgment, Roselli and Redf made representations to the district court that they could neither post a bond nor continue operating without bankruptcy. In response, Bridgetree filed an involuntary Chapter 7 bankruptcy for Redf and Roselli, who sought dismissal of the involuntary bankruptcy. Pursuant to 11 U.S.C.

Summary: The Debtors moved to modify their Chapter 13 plan, surrendering two pieces of real property and seeking to reduce their plan payment to the lowest amount possible to pay a 100% dividend to unsecured creditors over a total period of 60 months. The Chapter 13 Trustee objected, seeking a higher monthly payment, which would have repaid the debts over a shorter period of time, on the basis that the Winns could afford the higher monthly payment.

Summary: The Debtor leased a town home from Brett Mestel for $1,395/month, with a term running from August 2009 until September 2011 and month-to-month thereafter. In February 2012, Mestel commenced an eviction action after the Debtor fell behind in rent payments. Summary Ejectment was granted on April 16, 2012, and the ten-day appeal period ran on April 27, 2012. The Debtor filed Chapter 13 bankruptcy on April 30, 2012. Thereafter, the Mecklenburg Sheriff served the Debtor with a Writ of Possession, requiring her to vacate prior to May 9, 2012.

Summary: The Debtor filed Chapter 7 and was the subject of a random audit. The audit determined that the Debtor had understated her Current Monthly Income by $4,572. In response, the Debtor filed multiple amendments variously showing net monthly income of $589.92 (original), $4,272.71 (first amendment), $2,446.71 (second amendment), or -$179.29 (third amendment). The Bankruptcy Administrator moved to dismiss based on the schedules being a “moving target”.

Summary:

The Debtor sought approval of the settlement of an Equitable Distribution, conducted in Maine, that would have allowed her to transfer funds into exempt IRAs, arguing that an Equitable Distribution  rights are not property rights and therefore not an asset of the bankruptcy estate.  The Trustee objected.

Summary: Deertrack Investors, L.L.C.

Summary: Watkins provided a letter to Latigo Investments and the other plaintiffs, that he owned RDS Diversity Capital Corp ("RDS"), which had obtained $30 million in financing from Waddell and Reed, Inc., for the purchase of an ownership interest in MB2, a NASCAR team.   RDS had never, in fact, been organized, did not have the ability to close the financing with Waddell and Reed, and had no ability to obtain other financing. Accordingly, the bankruptcy court found that Watkins had acted "with substantial certainty that harm would re

Summary: After filing Chapter 7 and attendance at the §341 Meeting of Creditors, the Female Debtor passed away.  The bankruptcy court held that pursuant to Bankruptcy Rule 1016, death of the Debtor was not an impediment to either the administration of a Chapter 7 estate or basis for denial of discharge. For a copy of the opinion, please see: Stewart- Chapter 7 Discharge allowed for Dead Debtor.PDF