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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Discharge, Dischargeability, Dismissal, Nondischargeability | 05/04/2018 | Dennis O'Brien v. Dennis William Montoya |
Defendant filed motion to dismiss Plaintiff's § 523(a)(2)(A) claim for failure to state a cause of action. Court denied the motion, finding Plaintiff's complaint sufficient to state a cause of action because the complaint contained each of four elements necessary under Tenth Circuit case law, including a "receipt of benefits" by way of fraud. |
Judge David T. Thuma | |
| Avoidance Actions, Jurisdiction, Preference | 04/23/2018 | Yvette J. Gonzales v. Geer et al |
Defendant, who represented Debtor in her divorce, encumbered Debtor's house with an attorney charging lien to recover unpaid fees. The house was sold a month prior to bankruptcy. The Court ruled that (1) the Court has jurisdiction since the Rooker-Feldman doctrine does not apply, (2) the attorney charging liens were invalid, and (3) there are genuine fact issues about Debtor's solvency. |
Judge David T. Thuma | |
| BAPCPA, Discharge, Equitable Remedies, Reaffirmation Agreements, Statutory Construction | 04/17/2018 | Jimmie L. Templin |
Creditor filed motion to compel individual debtor to comply with sections 521(a)(2) and (6) of the Bankruptcy Code, and to delay entry of debtor's discharge until such compliance. The Court denied the motion on grounds that the Code, post-BAPCPA, provides specific remedies for debtors' noncompliance with section 521, and does not not provide explicit authority to compel compliance or delay entry of discharge. |
Judge David T. Thuma | |
| Property of the Estate, Trustee | 02/28/2018 | Clarke C. Coll v. Carla Franco et al |
Counterplaintiffs brought action against chapter 7 trustee under four separate counts (a quiet title claim, disparagement of title, civil conspiracy to disparage title, and for the imposition of a constructive trust). The trustee responded with a Motion to Dismiss the counterclaims, and the Court granted the Motion as to Counts Two, Three, and Four under the Barton doctrine and quasi-judicial immunity. |
Judge David T. Thuma | |
| Automatic Stay | 02/20/2018 | Edward Crespin and Janis Crespin |
Plaintiff sought relief from automatic stay to allow the state court to determine the total amount of punitive damages, costs, attorney’s fees, and interest owed by Debtors. The Court created eight new factors to determine whether or not to lift the stay. The Court concluded that there is insufficient cause to modify the automatic stay, because the Court can quickly determine the remaining issues and the claims allowance process is a core bankruptcy function. |
Judge David T. Thuma | |
| Exemptions | 01/31/2018 | Pedro Mendoza and Sandy M. Armijo |
Debtors moved to reopen their case to schedule a cause of action resulting from a car accident and exempt a post-petition settlement. Trustee objected to the exemption. The Court held that the failure to disclose was not texemphe result of excusable neglect. Therefore, Debtors will not be able to amend their Schedule C. |
Judge David T. Thuma | |
| Abstention, Remand | 01/25/2018 | Smith & Marrs, Inc., v. Hoskins Family Enterprises Inc., et al |
Debtor removed adversary proceeding from state court, after having filed its main chapter 11 case on the eve of trial. Debtor owned a working interest in oil and gas wells, and had no business operations, cash flow, employees, or bank accounts. Case was remanded under both mandatory and permissive abstention. |
Judge David T. Thuma | |
| Assumption and Rejection | 01/09/2018 | Edward A. Mazel, Trustee v. Michael Allen Holley |
The Court denied the Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment to determine that the Purchase of a Business Agreement and Promissory Note is an Executory Contract. The Court found that there were significant fact issues that precluded the Court from deciding whether the Business Agreement and Promissory Note was either an executory contract or merely a financing device. |
Judge David T. Thuma | |
| Fraudulent Transfers | 01/04/2018 | Philip J. Montoya, Trustee v. Richard Lieberman, M.D. |
Court found that Debtor did not receive reasonable equivalent value for a sale of a membership interest and was insolvent during the course of the payments. Most of the payments were clawed back under 11 U.S.C. § 548(a)(1)(B)(ii)(I) and N.M.S.A. § 56-10-19(A).f |
Judge David T. Thuma | |
| Dischargeability, Nondischargeability | 12/22/2017 | Dennis O'Brien v. Dennis William Montoya |
Court dismissed sec. 523(a)(2)(A) claim because it did not allege that the debtor obtained a benefit from the creditor by the alleged fraud. |
Judge David T. Thuma |