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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Compromise, Exemptions | 12/24/2014 | Edward J. Smith and Tonya G. Smith |
Upon discovery of omitted claim, trustee in reopened case settled the claim and sought approval. Debtors amended their schedules to exempt the settlement amount and the trustee objected. The Court approved the settlement and sustained the trustee's objection to the amended exemptions, both because debtors were required to show excusable neglect before being allowed to amend their schedules in a reopened case, which they did not do,, and also because debtors could not use both New Mexico homestead and in lieu of homestead exemptions. |
Judge David T. Thuma | |
| Chapter 13, Damages, Garnishment, Standing, Stay Violation | 12/19/2014 | Timothy Seigfried et al v. W. Byron Board |
Creditor obtain judgment against debtor pre-petition and garnished debtor's wages. After debtor's bankruptcy filing, employer sent check to creditor for the garnished portion of pre-petition wages. Debtor demanded turnover; creditor refused until a court order directing payment was entered. The court held that creditor was guilty of a willful stay violation, and set a hearing on damages. |
Judge David T. Thuma | |
| Compromise, Injunctions, Motion to Sell, Sales of Assets | 12/11/2014 | Sunland, Inc. |
Trustee filed motion to sell estate's interest in insurance policies back to insurer. Claimant objected. The court ruled that the proposed sale was fair and reasonable, as was the requested "channeling" injunction preventing claimants from pursuing claims against the buyer. |
Judge David T. Thuma | |
| Appeals | 11/07/2014 | Nancy Akbari-Shamirzadi |
Debtor sought stay pending outcome of her appeal of an order confirming a creditor plan. The court reviewed the relevant factors and denied the motion. |
Judge David T. Thuma | |
| Dischargeability, Judicial Liens - Avoidance, Nondischargeability | 10/31/2014 | Dana Gross v. Jeffrey P. Osborne et al |
Plaintiff sought judgement of nondischargeability under 523(a)(2) and (a)(6). Defendants sought to avoid judicial liens under 522(f). The court ruled that a portion of plaintiff's pre-petition judgment against defendants was nondischargeable under 523(a)(2), and that the liens should be avoided under 522(f). |
Judge David T. Thuma | |
| Chapter 11, Classification of Claims, Confirmation | 10/22/2014 | Nancy Akbari-Shamirzadi |
Debtor sought confirmation of her Chapter 11 plan. The only vote received rejected the plan. Debtor argued that confirmation was appropriate because the non-voting creditors were deemed to have accepted the plan. The court ruled that the actual acceptance of an impaired class is required for confirmation, and further that once a vote has been received from a member of a class, deemed acceptance by non-voting members is no longer available. |
Judge David T. Thuma | |
| Attorneys Fees, Judicial Liens - Avoidance, Nondischargeability | 10/21/2014 | Jeff Baldwin v. Tamara L. Phillips |
Debtor sought to avoid four liens under sec. 522(f). Creditors objected because the liens either were not judicial liens or because the liens secured domestic support obligations. The Court ruled that two liens could be avoided because they were judicial liens and did not secure domestic support obligations, one lien had been paid and should be released, and one lien could not be avoided because it was not a judicial lien. |
Judge David T. Thuma | |
| Chapter 13, Classification of Claims, Dismissal or Conversion | 10/03/2014 | Sergio V. Garcia |
Creditor moved to dismiss Chapter 13 case, arguing that debtor had too much unsecured debt.. The outcome hinged on whether to count wholly unsecured junior liens on the debtor's house. The Court ruled that such "out of the money" junior liens should be considered unsecured debts for Section 109(e) purposes, so the debtor was not eligible to file a Chapter 13 case. |
Judge David T. Thuma | |
| Dischargeability, Nondischargeability | 09/22/2014 | Benjamin Bates v. Raymond D. Siggins et al |
Plaintiff sought judgment of nondischargeability for fraud in connection with debtor's sale of a horse. The court found that plaintiff failed to carry his burden of proving that debtor knew of the horse's health problems before the sale. |
Judge David T. Thuma | |
| Cause, Collateral Estoppel, Dismissal or Conversion | 09/17/2014 | Picacho Hills Utility Company, Inc. |
Creditors and U.S. Trustee's office moved to convert chapter 11 case to chapter 7 under 1112(b). The court concluded that cause existed for conversion, including a lack of need for reorganization, pre-petition misconduct, and the debtor's unwillingness to investigate potential preferential or fraudulent transfers. |
Judge David T. Thuma |