Sullivan v. Glenn, 782 F.3d 378 (7th Cir. 2015) –
A creditor sought to have its debt excepted from discharge because he advanced funds to the debtors in reliance on fraudulent misrepresentations. The bankruptcy court found in favor of the debtors, the district court affirmed, and the creditor appealed to the 7th Circuit. Continue reading
Washington v. Green Tree Servicing, LLC (In re Washington), 529 B.R. 654 (Bankr. D. S.C. 2015) –
After filing a second chapter 13 bankruptcy, a debtor brought a proceeding to determine the creditor’s lien rights, if any, in her mobile home and to assert violations of the automatic stay, discharge injunction and provisions of the state unfair trade practices act. The debtor and creditor each moved for summary judgment. Continue reading
G4S Technology LLC v. US, 779 F.3d 1337 (Fed. Cir. 2015) –
A subcontractor worked on construction of wireless broadband networks for rural communities that was funded in part by a loan to the prime contractor from a US agency. After the prime contractor filed bankruptcy, the subcontractor sued the US seeking to get paid as a third-party beneficiary of the loan agreement. The Court of Federal Claims held that the subcontractor was not a third-party beneficiary, so it appealed to the Federal Circuit. Continue reading
Bank of America, N.A. v. Casey, 517 B.R. 1 (D. Mass. 2015) –
A Chapter 7 trustee sought to avoid a mortgage using “strong-arm” powers based on a defect in the acknowledgement. The mortgagee contended that the defect was cured by a subsequently recorded affidavit. The bankruptcy court found in favor of the trustee, and the mortgagee appealed. Continue reading
Marcum v. Marcum (In re Marcum), 508 B.R. 499 (Bankr. M.D. Fla. 2014) –
A creditor made two prepetition loans to a chapter 13 debtor for payment of delinquent real estate taxes. The loans were supposed to be secured by the debtor’s homestead, but no mortgages were executed. The creditor filed an adversary proceeding in bankruptcy court seeking a determination that she held a valid first mortgage on the property, or alternatively requesting specific performance of an agreement to execute a mortgage. Continue reading
Peet v. Checkett (In re Peet), 529 B.R. 718 (8th Cir. BAP 2015) –
A chapter 7 trustee proposed to sell real and personal property that was owned by the chapter 7 debtors as joint tenants with parents of one of the debtors as of the beginning of the bankruptcy case. After the joint tenant parents passed away during the case, the trustee contended that the debtors owned all of the interests in the properties pursuant to their survivorship rights. The debtors countered that the bankruptcy filing constituted a transfer that severed the joint tenant interests. Continue reading
Bankruptcy-RealEstate-Insights 