Court denies reinstatement of lien denied in this case when CoreStates Bank inadvertently released a secured lien it held on debtor’s Mercedes automobile. The release took place after the debtor filed a Chapter 13 bankruptcy. CoreStates attempted to reinstate the lien and requested the bankruptcy court to enforce imposition of the mistakenly released lien. The bankruptcy court […]

Here, a state court judgment found the debtor liable for fraud. Although the federal court has exclusive jurisdiction as to determining dischargeability in bankruptcy, the federal court nevertheless found the debtor was precluded from refuting the state court judgment. Hence, the debtor could not collaterally attack the state court judgment in federal court, and the […]

Here, the debtors somehow were able to have title to their vehicles issued that did not reflect the creditor’s lien. Debtors then filed a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy and Sears filed an adversary complaint with the Bankruptcy Court alleging the debtors committed fraud in having the creditor’s lien removed from the title. A discharge under the […]

In this case, the Federal Court held that a guarantor on a loan is not excused from liability even when the principal debtor files bankruptcy. In this case, an obligation to the creditor was guaranteed by a third-party. The principal debtor filed bankruptcy and proposed to “cram down” the obligation to the creditor. Creditor filed an action […]

A “cram down” in a Chapter 13 plan proposes repayment to the creditor of only the actual value of the collateral. Here, the debtor attempted to cram down a secured loan with an interest rate on the unpaid balance of less than the original contract rate and less than the prime rate of interest. Debtor’s […]

Here, the debtor owed more than $3,900 to ITT Financial Services on a loan secured by various items of personal property, including a Pentax Camera and lens, snowblower, color television set, VCR, stereo system, a gun, power saw and an electric guitar. The initial debt was refinanced several times by the debtor and on each […]

In this case, the Court addressed whether the prohibition against transfers to creditors prior to the bankruptcy filing begins from the date of transfer, or runs backward from the date the bankruptcy is filed. Here, the creditor obtained a judgment lien against the debtor’s property 90 days before the date of the filing of the debtor’s […]

Here, debtor purchased more than $1,100 of collector Barbie dolls and accessories within 40 days of filing for bankruptcy. Debtor sought to discharge these debts to the creditor who issued the credit card upon which the charges were placed. Creditor filed an adversary complaint with the Bankruptcy Court claiming that these Barbie doll purchases were “luxury […]

Debtor’s attempt to re-open his bankruptcy case was denied by the Court when debtor asked to reopen his bankruptcy case fourteen months after the case was closed.   The debtor sought to reopen the case and add an additional creditor which had not been listed in the initial case. The bankruptcy court applied the “doctrine of laches”, which prohibits an […]

Bankrupt Debtor may only redeem collateral in one payment. Redemption installment payments prohibited if debtor elects to retain vehicle.     Here, debtor sought to redeem Ford Motor Credit collateral by paying installment payments for the value of the vehicle, instead of one lump-sum redemption payment. Section 722 of the Bankruptcy Code provides, in pertinent part: An individual debtor may, whether or not the […]