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New Cases For the Week of March 10,
2003 - March 14, 2003
Brought to you by BKINFORMATION.COM
- The Source for Business Bankruptcy Information on the Internet
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March
14, 2003
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Case
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Court
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Holding
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In
re Dyer
(DBN Subscription Required) |
9th
Cir. |
A
bankruptcy trustee is not an
"individual" entitled to recover
stay violation damages under section
362(h). However, a trustee may be entitled
to recovery for violation of the automatic
stay "under section 105(a) as a
sanction for ordinary civil
contempt.
For contempt purposes,
knowledge of the pendency of a bankruptcy
does not equate to knowledge of the
automatic stay. There must be clear
and convincing evidence that alleged
contemnor had specific knowledge of the
automatic stay.
Once such knowledge is
established however, a person violating
the automatic stay who fails to remedy the
violation is subject to contempt
sanctions.
Punitive damages are not
authorized as sanctions in a contempt
award under section 105. |
In
re Trans World Airlines, Inc.
(DBN Subscription Required) |
3rd
Cir. |
Because
section 363(f) of the Bankruptcy Code
permits a sale of property "free and
clear" of an "interest in such
property]" when claims against a
debtor are connected to or arise from the
assets sold, the Bankruptcy Court's can
sell the assets "free and clear"
of successor liability. |
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March
12, 2003
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Case
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Court
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Holding
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In
re Long
(DBN Subscription Required) |
8th
Cir. |
The
BAP and bankruptcy court erred in holding
that repayment of a student loan would
impose an undue hardship on the debtor.
In evaluating the
totality-of-the-circumstances, bankruptcy
courts should consider: (1) the debtor's
past, present, and reasonably reliable
future financial resources; (2) a
calculation of the debtor's and her
dependent's reasonable necessary living
expenses; and (3) any other relevant facts
and circumstances surrounding each
particular bankruptcy case. If the
debtor's reasonable future financial
resources will sufficiently cover payment
of the student loan debt-while still
allowing for a minimal standard of
living-then the debt should not be
discharged. |
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March
10, 2003
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Case
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Court
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Holding
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In
re Hamlett
(DBN Subscription Required) |
4th
Cir. |
The
bankruptcy court did not err in holding
that its disallowance of a creditor's
claims as untimely did not void the
creditor's underlying liens. |
Hoseman
v. Weinschneider
(DBN Subscription Required) |
7th
Cir. |
The
bankruptcy trustee waived any rights to
bring a claim for a profit share against
the debtor due to the trustee's prior
settlement with, and release of, the
debtor. |
Grausz
v. Englander
(DBN Subscription Required) |
4th
Cir. |
Failure
to raise malpractice by a debtor's
bankruptcy attorney prior to a final fee
award bars the malpractice action. |
Itofca,
Inc. v. Megatrans Logistics, Inc.
(DBN Subscription Required) |
7th
Cir. |
When
a bankruptcy court approves the sale of an
asset of the debtor, a person who has
notice of the sale cannot later void it on
the ground that he is the asset's real
owner. |
In
re Nelson
(DBN Subscription Required) |
8th
Cir. |
A
debtor's interest in an ERISA-qualified
retirement plan should be excluded from
the debtor's bankruptcy estate when the
interest derives from a qualified domestic
relations order (QDRO) rather than
directly from the plan |
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