Opinions

 

All court opinions may be accessed at no charge via PACER through the "Written Opinions" link on the Reports page. You must, however, have an account to access the report via CM/ECF or PACER.

 

Access to opinions from 1997 to present, that are PDF searchable, unrestricted & unsealed, are also available through the Government Printing Office using the Advanced Search for Government Publications. There is no login required and publications are available free of charge.

Court Opinions Database

The court's provides free access of some opinions, at the discretion of the judges, for the years 1998 to present. The results shown below are automatically displayed for all years, all judges, and all keywords/topics.

A search may be performed using the Search box above, or filtering by year, judge, and/or keyword/topic. To search for more than one judge and/or keywords/topics simultaneously, hold down the Ctrl key (or Command key) and select each item.

Keywords/Topic Date Title Description Judge
Adversary Proceedings - Procedural Matters, Agency Liability, Summary Judgment     08/06/2014     Carmen A. Clark v. Envoy Mortgage, Ltd.et al     

"Debtor asserted claims against loan broker/lender for breach of contract, negligence, and violation of the Unfair Trade Practices Act, all based on defendant's failure to close a reverse mortgage loan.  Defendant moved for summary judgment on all counts, alleging no material facts in dispute.  The court ruled that numerous disputed facts prevented entry of summary judgment.  The court also ruled, however, that plaintiff should amend her complaint to cure a number of pleading deficiencies."

 Judge David T. Thuma
Collateral Estoppel, Dischargeability, Nondischargeability, Summary Judgment     07/30/2014     Jeff Baldwin v. Tamara L. Phillips     

Creditor sought a determination that debtor's obligations to him were nondischargeable under Sec. 523(a)(5) or (a)(15).  The court granted summary judgment on the nondischargeability issue, based on the undisputed fact that the judgments were entered by the state court in connection with the divorce proceeding between creditor and debtor.  The court reserved judgment in two discrete areas on the amount of the claim.

 Judge David T. Thuma
Collateral Estoppel, Confirmation, Res Judicata, Summary Judgment     07/21/2014     Angela R. Parra     

Debtor's ex-husband objected to debtor's chapter 13 plan, arguing inter alia that his claim is a priority claim (domestic support obligation) in an amount sufficient to require denial of plan confirmation. Debtor argued that the claim was a general unsecured claim.  Ex-husband filed a motion for summary judgment on the priority issue, attaching a ruling from the state court on the issue.  Debtor did not respond.  The court held that the state court judgment did not satisfy the requirements of issue or claim preclusion, so the summary judgment motion could not be granted.

 Judge David T. Thuma
Dischargeability, Dismissal, Due Process, Service, Summary Judgment     07/03/2014     Julie Brown v. Kathleen Blair Humphrey     

Defendant filed motion to dismiss nondischargeability action because it was filed after the deadline.  Plaintiff responded that she was not given notice of the bankruptcy case until after the deadline.  The court ruled that it would treat the motion to dismiss as a motion for summary judgment because the response relied upon documents outside of the pleadings.  The court gave the defendant additional time to support its position on summary judgment.  The court also put the parties on notice that it would consider granting summary judgment on the issue to plaintiff, pursuant to Rule 56(f).

 Judge David T. Thuma
Collateral Estoppel, Dischargeability, Res Judicata, Summary Judgment     06/12/2014     Charles B. Duff et al v. Richard Ayala et al     

Plaintiff moved for summary judgment in its Sec. 523(a)(6) action, based on a prior state court judgment.  The Court held that claim preclusion did not apply, but that issue preclusion did apply.  The Court then compared the elements of a 523(a)(6) action with the findings of the state court, and determined that issue preclusion left some key facts undetermined.  The Court denied summary judgment but limited the facts to be litigated at trial to those that were not determined by the prior state court judgment.

 Judge David T. Thuma
Collateral Estoppel, Dischargeability, Nondischargeability, Summary Judgment     05/06/2014     Benjamin Bates v. Raymond Siggins et al     

Plaintiff sued debtor alleging that a debt was nondischargeable due to fraud.  Debtor moved for summary judgment, arguing that a limitation of remedies in the subject contract precluded entry of a nondischargeable  money judgment.  The court denied the motion, holding, inter alia, that state court judgment entered pre-petition foreclosed such an argument under Rooker-Feldman and related doctrines.

 Judge David T. Thuma
Discharge, Summary Judgment     02/25/2014     Kirtland Federal Credit Union v. Mesibov     

Creditor sought summary judgment denying debtor's discharge, primarily for failing to disclose certain alimony and child support rights and payments.  The court denied the motion, finding there were fact issues about the debtor's intent when she failed to disclose the rights and payments, and about the materiality of such failures.

 Judge David T. Thuma
Automatic Stay, Chapter 11, Summary Judgment     02/19/2014     Melanie Milasinovich     

Creditor granted relief from the automatic stay to obtain possession of Santa Fe house from the Chapter 11 debtor in possession.  The Debtor's interest in the house was foreclosed pre-petition, and the house sold by a special master.  Despite losing ownership, the debtor continued to live in the house and rent it out to tenants, seeking bankruptcy protection when threatened with a writ of assistance to evict her.

 Judge David T. Thuma
Collateral Estoppel, Dischargeability, Nondischargeability, Summary Judgment     12/12/2013     Lopez Roofing Service, Inc., v. Baker     

Court entered summary judgment that debt to plaintiff was nondischargeable under Sec. 523(a)(4) (embezzlement), based upon debtor's guilty plea in prior criminal prosecution.  Court found that fact issues prevented judgment on the amount of damages.  Plaintiff's state court default judgment could not considered under claim preclusion principles because the judgment was based on alternative theories of recovery, at least one of which was dischargeable.

 Judge David T. Thuma
Collateral Estoppel, Nondischargeability, Summary Judgment     10/15/2013     Sierra Chemicals, LLC v. Mosley     

Plaintiff's motion for partial summary judgment based on issue preclusion denied; federal arbitration findings are entitled to preclusive effect, but a key finding of "willfulness" under Sec. 523(a)(6) was not made by the arbitrator.

 Judge David T. Thuma

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