In
re Bigelow
(DBN Subscription Required) |
9th Cir. BAP |
Under
Washington law a default judgment cannot support the
"actually litigated" requirement of collateral
estoppel, thereby precluding use of such a judgment to
establish nondischargeability.
Although Washington law imposes a fiduciary relationship
between an attorney and his client, this is the broad
fiduciary status, which does not fit the narrow federal
definition required for nondischargeability, although
nondischargeability can arise from defalcation with client
trust funds. An attorney who receives a "classic
retainer" (i.e., a retainer which simply secures an
attorney's availability over a given period of time, and which
is considered earned by the attorney upon receipt, whether or
not services are actually provided) is not required to place
such funds in a client trust account or to account for such
funds as client trust funds. |
In
re: Farid Labib-Kiyarash
(DBN Subscription Required) |
9th Cir.
BAP |
Although
the Court had previously upheld denial of confirmation of a
Ch. 13 plan that separately classified and favorably
treated student loan debt, the Court reversed and
remanded denial of confirmation of a similar plan in this case
because: (i) the subject debt was long-term debt which fell
within the ambit of 11 USC 1322(b)(5) and (ii) the trial court
failed to apply the Wolff factors (i.e., (1) whether
the discrimination has a reasonable basis; (2) whether the
debtor can carry out a plan without the discrimination; (3)
whether the discrimination is proposed in good faith; and (4)
whether the degree of discrimination is directly related to
the basis or rationale for the discrimination) in evaluating
confirmation. |
In
re Madigan
(DBN Subscription Required) |
9th Cir.
BAP |
The
bankruptcy court did not err in denying equitable recoupment
to a disability insurer when a bankruptcy petition intervened
between overpayments on a prepetition policy and a second
postdischarge disability claim. |
In
re Qualitech Steel
(DBN Subscription Required) |
7th Cir. |
The
bankruptcy court did not err in giving a lien on preference
recoveries to prepetition secured lenders whose lien was
primed by DIP financing. Moreover, when it turned out
that "good money had been thrown after bad," the
unsecured creditors could not contend on appeal that the
petition date collateral valuation (from which the secured
creditors' "diminution claim" was calculated) was
erroneous when those creditors had not raised this issue at
trial. |
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