The Movant, Mr. Roger Munn, filed this motion to object to discharge and objection to confirmation of the Debtor’s plan. The Court found the motion to object procedurally deficient and otherwise lacking in merit. The Court overruled the Movant’s objection under § 1325(a)(3) because it found the Debtor filed her case in good faith in accordance with the factors in In re Kitchens, 702 F.2d 885. The Court also overruled the Movant’s objection under § 1325(b)(3) and § 1325(a)(4) because it found the Debtor’s income and estate do not include child support arrearages.
Opinions
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Judge John T. Laney, III
The Debtors in this case had previously motioned to the Court and received permission to sell two loaders and a lawn mower in satisfaction of a claim by the Creditor, Southern Pine Credit Union. In exchange for the proceeds from the sale, the Creditor would release the liens on the three pieces of equipment and a Nissan Armada owned by the Debtors. The Chapter 13 Trustee consented to the Debtors’ motion to sell. After the order of sale was entered but before the proceeds were received by the Creditor, the Debtors converted their case to Chapter 7. Shortly after the conversion, the Creditor filed a motion to relief from the stay. The proceeds have since been received.
The Chapter 7 Trustee investigated and contests the validity of the liens on the two loaders and the lawn mower, but not the Nissan Armada, and has demanded turnover of the sale proceeds as part of the Chapter 7 estate. The Trustee responded to the Creditor’s motion for relief from the stay on those grounds. The Debtors filed a motion for turnover against the Creditor requesting clear title be transferred on the Armada because the proceeds had been paid in accordance with the Court’s previous order to sell. The Creditor filed a motion for relief from order claiming the Chapter 7 Trustee is barred by res judicata and, in the alternative, requesting relief from the Court’s order requiring the liens be released.
The Court found the proceeds from the sale are part of the Chapter 7 estate under § 348(f)(1)(A), but the Trustee is barred by res judicata from contesting the liens because the Chapter 13 Trustee consented to validity of the liens in the Debtors’ motion to sell.
Vacating and withdrawing the opinion and order entered July 13, 2022, as well as its order sustaining Debtor’s objection to Movant’s claim, the Court reexamined the Movant’s due process and priority arguments. First, the Court vacated its order sustaining Debtor’s objection to Claim no. 2. The Court found that Movant’s active litigation of his claim’s priority status, through his motion to reconsider, oral argument, and brief, adequately preserved his position. The Court then reexamined Movant’s argument that he was denied due process. The Court found that because Movant received no notice beyond mere existence of the case, he was deprived notice and opportunity to be heard as to the chapter 13 plan and confirmation hearing. Accordingly, Movant was not bound by the terms of the confirmed chapter 13 plan. Finally, the Court evaluated the merits of Movant’s contention that his claim, arising from attorney’s fees which accrued during his representation of Debtor, qualify as a domestic support obligation. Although Movant represented Debtor in a domestic proceeding, Debtor is the beneficiary of a domestic support obligation owed to her by her ex-spouse. Thus, the Court held that the debt owed by Debtor to Movant is not a domestic support obligation. Because Movant’s claim is not a domestic support obligation, the Court found it is not entitled to first priority status.
This Movant, Roger Munn, filed this motion to vacate or set aside plan confirmation. The Movant claimed the lack of notice of the plan’s contents and confirmation date from the BNC, despite actual notice from the attorney representing the Respondent, Esther Collins, violated his due process rights. He also argued his claim for attorneys’ fees from his representation of the Respondent had priority status as a domestic support obligation. The Court found the Movant’s motion to vacate procedurally defective because a motion to set aside plan confirmation must be brought as an adversary proceeding. Despite its procedural deficiencies, the Court found the motion also lacked merit because the Movant had actual notice of the Respondent’s claim and had the duty to inquire to protect his rights. Finally, the Court found the Movant did not present adequate evidence of a claim against the Respondent for attorneys’ fees. Thus, the Court denied the Movant’s motion.
This matter came to the Court on cross motions for summary judgment filed by the Plaintiff and Defendant. The sale for the Plaintiff’s house was cried out and the deed was executed before the passage of the CARES Act, but the foreclosure deed was not recorded until after the CARES Act was signed into law. The parties disagreed as to whether the foreclosure moratorium prohibits the recordation of a foreclosure deed. The Court found under Georgia law the foreclosure sale was complete before the passage of the CARES Act, therefore, the CARES Act foreclosure moratorium did not apply. Thus, the Court granted the Defendant’s motion for summary judgment and denied the Plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment.In
Creditor Commercial Capital Bank filed a motion to dismiss the Chapter 7 case of the Debtors Eric and Jerrie Lee for abuse of the bankruptcy system under 11 U.S.C. §§ 707(a), 707(b)(2), and 707(b)(3). The Court found that the presumption of abuse did not arise under § 707(b)(2), but the totality of the circumstances showed their case should be dismissed under § 707(b)(3). The Court did not rule on the motion under § 707(a).
Kelley, Lovett, Blakey & Sanders P.C. (“KLBS”) requested writs of execution against clients Hood Farms, Inc. and Hood Landscaping, Inc. for unpaid attorneys’ fees. KLBS had previously been granted administrative claims in both bankruptcy cases for their attorneys’ fees. Guardian Bank, which also held administrative claims, objected. The Court found a writ of execution to collect attorneys’ fees is impermissible, sustained Guardian Bank’s objections, and denied KLSB’s requests.
Kelley, Lovett, Blakey & Sanders P.C. (“KLBS”) requested writs of execution against clients Hood Farms, Inc. and Hood Landscaping, Inc. for unpaid attorneys’ fees. KLBS had previously been granted administrative claims in both bankruptcy cases for their attorneys’ fees. Guardian Bank, which also held administrative claims, objected. The Court found a writ of execution to collect attorneys’ fees is impermissible, sustained Guardian Bank’s objections, and denied KLSB’s requests.
This matter came before the Court by the Debtors’ objection to the IRS’s proof of claim number three. The IRS’s amended proof of claim included $2,780 owed for Shared Responsibility Payments under the Affordable Care Act. The IRS claimed the Shared Responsibility Payments were entitled to priority under § 507(a)(8) as either “an excise tax on a transaction…” or “a tax on or measured by income.” The Court found that the Shared Responsibility Payments are not levied on a transaction, therefore not entitled to priority under § 507(a)(8)(E), but are measured by income and entitled to priority under § 507(a)(8)(A).
Movant, Regions Bank, filed a motion for adequate protection or, in the alternative, relief from the stay. The Trustee objected. The Trustee presented evidence that the Movant’s financing statements, which listed Debtor’s name with the Debtor’s middle initial not the Debtor’s full name as listed on his driver’s license, were seriously misleading. The Court found the Trustee’s evidence persuasive and denied the motion. The Court also addressed the Movant’s unpersuasive arguments that the Trustee’s objections were barred by res judicata and judicial estoppel and that the Debtor filed his plan in bad faith.