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
Damages, Discharge, Dischargeability, Nondischargeability     12/11/2017     Lujan v. Davide et al     

 Plaintiff, an investor in Defendant's business, brought claims under §§  523(a)(2)(A), (a)(4), and (a)(6), seeking to establish that Defendant's loan debt was nondischargeable. The Court found that Plaintiff carried his burden of proof under §  523(a)(2)(A) and Defendant had employed false representations or false pretenses in obtaining Plaintiff's loan. Defendant's loan debt was therefore nondischargeable. Plaintiff failed to prove his claims under §§  523(a)(4) and (a)(6).dama

 Judge David T. Thuma
Property of the Estate, Public Utility, Standing, Trustee, Turnover     12/01/2017     Clarke C. Coll v. Picacho Hills Development Company, Inc.     

Plaintiff, Chapter 7 Trustee, brought a § 542 claim seeking the turnover of funds from Defendant to the bankrupt estate. A portion of the funds at issue had previously been the subject of an administrative turnover order issued by the New Mexico Public Utility Commission; the remaining funds were proceeds from Defendant's sale of estate assets to a third party. On cross motions for summary judgment, the Court found for Plaintiff and ordered that the funds be turned over to Plaintiff.

Judge David T. Thuma
Automatic Stay, Discharge, Dischargeability, Nondischargeability, Relief from Stay     11/21/2017     Jean Marie Torres-Montoya and Dennis William Montoya     

Plaintiff sought stay relief to allow state court litigation to proceed against Defendant. The Court, after analyzing Plaintiff's request for stay relief under In re Curtis, found that the Curtis factors weighed against lifting the automatic stay. In denying Plaintiff's motion, the Court found that state court litigation for malicious abuse of process would not eliminate the necessity of a separate trial in bankruptcy court on the dischargeability of Defendant's judgment debt under §§ 523(a)(2)(A) and (a)(6).

 Judge David T. Thuma
Discharge, Dischargeability     11/09/2017     Boyer Insurance Group, LLC v. Harrison E. Smith, Jr.,     

The Defendant obtained financing by leading the Plaintiff to believe, with intent to deceive that he would execute agreements to grant the Plaintiff a security interest and automatic payments on the loan. The Court found the Defendant’s indebtedness to the Plaintiff was procured by false pretenses and is non-dischargeable under 11 U.S.C. §523(a)(2)(A).

 Judge David T. Thuma
Jurisdiction, Nondischargeability     11/09/2017     The Estate of Wayne Marshall Coleman v. MIchelle Renee Mladek     

Defendant's motion to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction to rule on Plaintiff's non-dischargeability complaint and for failure to state a claim was denied. The Court has jurisdiction over the dispute, and also that the compliant sufficiently states a proper claim for relief, with sufficient particularity.
 

 Judge David T. Thuma
Discharge Injunction, Injunctions, Setoff     10/27/2017     Alliance Well Service, LLC v. J.S. Ward & Son, Inc.     

Plaintiff sought recovery of an insurance refund from Defendant after Defendant retained the refund to offset Plaintiff's debt. The Court entered summary judgment in Plaintiff's favor, finding Defendant's claim to the refund insufficient under theories of setoff and recoupment. Additionally, Defendant's claim was limited by the Code's discharge injunction under § 524(a)(2) and by a "confirmation injunction" in Debtor's reorganization plan.

 Judge David T. Thuma
Attorneys Fees     10/19/2017     Debbie J. Wallace     

The Court granted the United States Trustee's motion to compel counsel to file a fee application in a dismissed chapter 11 case under Section 329. Additionally. the Court has jurisdiction to conduct a review of the fee application and can allow the fees in full or in part.

 Judge David T. Thuma
Fraudulent Transfers     10/05/2017     Craig H. Dill v. Soutwest Structural Services, Inc. et al     

 The Court denied the Trustee's partial motion for summary judgment to avoid previous transfer of a promissory note. There were genuine fact issues about some elements of the Plaintiff's claims against Defendant in regard to: the value of the note, the value of exchanged  consideration, Defendant's intent to incur debts beyond their ability to pay, and  whether the Defendant was financially stable after transfer.frau

 Judge David T. Thuma
Preference     09/26/2017     Edward A. Mazel v. Janice Encinias     

The Court denied the Trustee’s motion for summary judgment on claims to recover preferential transfer due to the the Trustee failing to provide admissible evidence that the transfer enabled the Defendant to receive more than she would if the transfer had not occurred.

 Judge David T. Thuma
Attorneys Fees, Fees, Professionals     09/20/2017     Hungry Horse, LLC     

Debtor's application to employ counsel was objected to by the Unsecured Creditors Committee for an increase in fees and for a fee defense provision. The Court will not rule on the reasonableness of Debtor's counsel proposed hourly rates, but takes the view that billing rates should remain constant throughout the bankruptcy case. Additionally, the Court would consider approving a fee defense provision.

 Judge David T. Thuma

Pages