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
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
Jurisdiction, Proof of Claim, Property of the Estate, Remand     08/10/2018     Sky Country Estates Property Owners Association v. Sky Country Estates, LLC, et al     
 Non-debtor defendants removed proceeding to bankruptcy court. Plaintiff moved to remand. The court reviewed whether remand was required under the mandatory abstention doctrine, and also whether remand was advisable under the permissive abstention doctrine. The court decided that remand was neither required nor desirable. The remand motion was denied.
 
 Judge David T. Thuma
Attorneys Fees     07/31/2018     Hungry Horse, LLC.     
Debtor's counsel filed a fee application, which requested reimbursement for amounts paid to two lawyers who worked as contract attorneys for counsel. Debtor never filed an application to employ either attorney. The Court denied reimbursement as contrary to Section 327-330 and Rules 2014 and 2016. 
 
 Judge David T. Thuma
Proof of Claim, Setoff     07/23/2018     Tanya Leree Williams     

Ex-husband filed proof of claim against ex-wife in her bankruptcy case, and asserted setoff rights under their marital setoff agreement. Ex-wife objected to the setoff. The court held that ex-husband qualified for both setoff and recoupment, and that the equities favored the exercise of those rights.

 Judge David T. Thuma
Chapter 13, Property of the Estate, Stay Violation     07/16/2018     Anissia Gonzales     

After confirmation of a chapter 13 plan, state taxing authority served a warrant of levy on the chapter 13 trustee, levying any amounts she owed to debtor's counsel for allowed fees. The trustee asked for instructions. The court held that on confirmation, estate property became debtor's property, so the taxing authority did not violate the automatic stay. Since the trustee held enough debtor property to pay counsel's approved attorney fees, the court ordered the trustee to pay the funds to the taxing authority, less an exemption amount provided for by the state tax levy statute.

 Judge David T. Thuma
Nondischargeability     06/29/2018     Jose Jess Monge et al v. Francisco J. Jayme et al     

Plaintiffs' requested that Defendants' discharge be denied under sections 727(a)(2)(A) and/or (a)(4)(A). The Court concluded that Defendants made false oaths in their bankruptcy petition, schedules, and “SOFA” and gave false trial testimony, all about material facts, and with fraudulent intent. The Court therefore denied Defendants' discharge under §§ 727(a)(2)(A) and (4)(A).

 Judge David T. Thuma
Relief from Judgment, Res Judicata     06/14/2018     Aquatic Pools, Inc.     

Count denied a motion to set aside, under Rule 60(b)(4) or (6), an order approving bankruptcy counsel's fee application, finding that there were not sufficient grounds to do so. The Court also opined that the fee order did not have res judicata effect on a dispute between debtor and counsel on advice given relating to procurement of insurance.

 Judge David T. Thuma

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