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 | |
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Fraudulent Transfers | 01/23/2014 | Wagner v. Eberhard, et al |
In a suit filed by the trustee to recover fraudulent transfers under § 548 and New Mexico’s version of the Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act, the Court held that transfers made to defendant’s IRA constitute transfers to the individual defendant, reasoning that a self-directed IRA is not a separate legal entity from its owner and functions similar to a self-settled revocable trust. Alternatively, the Court reasoned that transfers to an IRA are recoverable from the individual defendant as the person for whose benefit the transfers were made. AP No. 11-1226 J (Docket No. 53). |
Chief Judge Robert H. Jacobvitz | |
Fraudulent Transfers, Ponzi Scheme Issues | 01/23/2014 | Wagner v. Eberhard |
In a case involving a Ponzi scheme, the Court found that: (1) the good faith defense does not protect against the recovery of net winnings; (2) for fraudulent transfer purposes, payments to an individual’s self-directed IRA constitute payments to that individual; and (3) the Trustee appropriately applied the “netting rule” to calculate the amounts invested and received. Adversary No. 11-1226 (Bankr.D.N.M. Jan. 23, 2014). |
Chief Judge Robert H. Jacobvitz | |
Fraudulent Transfers, Ponzi Scheme Issues | 01/22/2014 | Wagner v. Fenton et al |
In a case involving a Ponzi scheme, the perpetrator does not receive reasonably equivalent value in exchange for the payment of referral fees. Adversary No. 12-1116 (Bankr.D.N.M. Jan. 22, 2014). |
Chief Judge Robert H. Jacobvitz | |
Abstention, Chapter 11, Confirmation, Judicial Estoppel, Jurisdiction | 01/16/2014 | Tres Hermanos Dairy, LLC. |
In a chapter 11 case, a creditor asked the Court to determine whether the confirmation order modified its treatment under the confirmed plan. The debtor objected to the requested relief, argued that the court lacked jurisdiction, and argued that the court should abstain. The court overruled the debtor's jurisdiction argument, ruled that neither mandatory nor permissive abstention was required, and ruled that the confirmation order did modify creditor's plan treatment. |
Judge David T. Thuma | |
Summary Judgment | 01/15/2014 | United Tort Claimants, as individuals v. Quorum Health Resources, LLC |
Application of Rule 26 incorporated into parties’ negotiated case management order and requirement to disclose fact witnesses. Court allowed Plaintiffs to add new witnesses and to take the deposition of certain high level executives, but required Plaintiffs to supplement their disclosures. Plaintiffs could not rely on Rule 30(b)(6), which allows a party to name a corporation as deponent, to designate a fact witness for trial without naming a particular individual. 2014 WL 184984 (Bankr. D.N.M. Jan. 22, 2014); Case No.11-11-13686 JL; Misc. No. 13-0007. |
Chief Judge Robert H. Jacobvitz | |
Motion to Sell | 01/14/2014 | Montoya v. Moreno |
In accordance with 11 U.S.C. § 363(h), trustee had authority to sell real property in which non-debtor held co-ownership interest. |
Chief Judge Robert H. Jacobvitz | |
Property of the Estate, Sales of Assets, Trustee | 01/14/2014 | Montoya v. Moreno et al |
In accordance with 11 U.S.C. § 363(h), trustee had authority to sell real property in which non-debtor held co-ownership interest. (Case No. 7-09-10073 JL; AP No. 09-1174 J) |
Chief Judge Robert H. Jacobvitz | |
Reconsideration | 12/23/2013 | Gayle-Smith v. Wilson et al |
Court denied plaintiff's motion to reconsider, which was not based on newly discovered evidence or an intervening change in the law, but rather on alleged inaccuracy in fact finding. The Court found plaintiff's arguments to be meritless. |
Judge David T. Thuma | |
Collateral Estoppel, Dischargeability, Nondischargeability, Summary Judgment | 12/12/2013 | Lopez Roofing Service, Inc., v. Baker |
Court entered summary judgment that debt to plaintiff was nondischargeable under Sec. 523(a)(4) (embezzlement), based upon debtor's guilty plea in prior criminal prosecution. Court found that fact issues prevented judgment on the amount of damages. Plaintiff's state court default judgment could not considered under claim preclusion principles because the judgment was based on alternative theories of recovery, at least one of which was dischargeable. |
Judge David T. Thuma | |
Contract Interpretation, Integrated Agreement | 12/09/2013 | College of Christian Brothers of New Mexico |
Contract consisted of three separate documents that must be read together as the parties’ integrated agreement. (2013 WL 6410408 (Bankr. D.N.M. Dec. 9, 2013); Case No. 7-12-11195 JS) |
Chief Judge Robert H. Jacobvitz |