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
Implied Contract, Turnover, Unjust Enrichment     10/25/2018     Edward Mazel, Chapter 7 Trustee v. Lovelace Health System, Inc., Individually and d/b/a Heart Hospital of New Mexico at Lovelace Medical Center     

An action for turnover of a debt under 11 U.S.C. § 542(b) is limited to a presently payable undisputed debt. It is inappropriate to liquidate a breach of contract or unjust enrichment claim by a turnover motion.

 

Chief Judge Robert H. Jacobvitz
Property of the Estate, Remand, Standing, Turnover     10/24/2018     New Mexico Health Care Assn., Inc. v. Plaza De Retiro Inc. et al     

Plaintiff filed an interpleader action in state court, seeking determination of the proper recipients of a fund of money.  Defendant removed the action and filed a motion for turnover of the fund.  Another Defendant objected to turnover and sought remand, arguing that the case had been closed for three years, so the court lacked jurisdiction.  The court determined that it did have jurisdiction, granted the motion for turnover, and denied the motion to remand.

Judge David T. Thuma
Abstention, Remand     10/17/2018     Victor Kearney v. Louis Abruzzo et al     

Debtor removed pending state court action, and creditor filed a motion to abstain and remand. The court held that it was required to remand under mandatory abstention, and that it should abstain and/or remand under the permissive abstention standard.

Judge David T. Thuma
Jurisdiction, Standing, Summary Judgment     10/15/2018     Marvis Wynn et al v. Innovations Credit Union     

 Defendant filed for summary judgment on all claims. The court dismissed the claims filed by the non-debtor co-plaintiff for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, and granted summary judgment against the debtor plaintiff because he did not support his position with any evidence.

Judge David T. Thuma
Adversary Proceedings - Procedural Matters, Limitation of Actions     10/03/2018     Franco v. Franco et al     

Plaintiff filed a motion to amend her complaint to reassert a count for slander of title, 13 months after the court dismissed a similar count under Rule 12(b)(6). The court denied the motion, on the bases of undue delay, futility, and undue prejudice.

Judge David T. Thuma
Appeals     10/01/2018     Victor P. Kearney     

 Debtor  sought an emergency stay pending appeal. The court denied the request, finding that the debtor did not make the required showing of any of the four requirements for such a stay (i.e. likelihood of success, irreparable harm, no harm to the other party, and public good).

Judge David T. Thuma
Automatic Stay, Relief from Stay     09/18/2018     Victor P. Kearney     

Party sought relief from the automatic stay so it could return to state court and obtain a ruling on certain testamentary trust modification proposals. The court weighed the relevant factors and determined that the requested relief was appropriate, given the circumstances of the case.

Judge David T. Thuma
Collateral Estoppel, Discovery     09/14/2018     Victor P. Kearney     

Debtor filed a motion for an order allowing extensive Rule 2004 discovery directed at a third party business. The court ruled that it would allow a limited amount of the discovery, but would deny the balance of the request as being, inter alia, unduly burdensome, harassing, unnecessary, and improperly motivated.

Judge David T. Thuma
Default Judgment, Proof of Claim, Standing     09/12/2018     Railyard Company, LLC     

Chapter 11 trustee objected to a proof of claim filed by a limited liability company. the company's members responded pro se, but the company did not retain counsel and respond. The court struck the member responses and sustained the objection by default, and also on the merits.

Judge David T. Thuma
Dischargeability, Nondischargeability, Summary Judgment     08/16/2018     The Estate of Wayne Marshall Coleman v. Michelle Renee Mladek     

Plaintiff brought a nondischargeability action against defendant under sec. 523(a)(2) and (a)(6), based on defendant's filing an improper claim of lien on plaintiff's property and attempting to quiet title to the property in defendant. Defendant filed a motion for summary judgment on both counts. Plaintiff conceded that summary judgment was appropriate on its 523(a)(2) claim. The court ruled that there were fact issues precluding summary judgment on the 523(a)(6) claim.

Judge David T. Thuma

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