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Local Written Opinions

The Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Michigan offers a database of opinions for the years 1999 to present, listed by year and judge. For a more detailed search, enter the keyword or case number in the search box above.

Chief Judge Scott W. Dales

To the extent the Motion seeks to convert the case to chapter 13, the court also hesitates because it suspects that the Debtor s proposed conversion is premised on setting aside the chapter 7 discharge. Section 1328(f), however, precludes the court from granting a chapter 13 discharge if the debtor has received a discharge . . . Therefore, unless the Debtor is permitted to waive his chapter 7 discharge, or unless the court revokes it, he is ineligible for a chapter 13 discharge.

Opinion and Order Granting Motion for Summary Judgment

Order Regarding Motion To Compel Present: Honorable Scott W. Dales United States Bankruptcy Judge Victor Lotycz, purporting to be a custodian under 11 U.S.C. 543, has filed a Motion to Compel Reimbursement of Costs and Fees Under 11 U.S.C. 543 and for Other Relief (the Motion, Dn 13). The Motion recites that Mr. Lotycz is in possession of various assets that he seized pursuant to a pre-petition judgment evidently as an officer in the matter of Cavalry ...

Chapter 13 debtor Steven W. Okke (the Plaintiff ) now seeks an order requiring his ex-wife, Nola J. Okke (the Defendant ), to return certain property awarded to him as agreed in the Cpsa (the Property ). In her Cross-Motion, the Defendant claims that she has been retaining possession of the Property to maintain perfection of the security interest she claims under the Cpsa. Although the court is not aware of any pending motion from the Defendant for adequate protection of her recently ...

Opinion And Order Denying Motion To Compel Present: Honorable Scott W. Dales United States Bankruptcy Judge After years of litigation in the state and federal courts, including a trip to the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, chapter 13 debtor Richard K. Miller (the Debtor ) succeeded in confirming a plan several months ago.1 Among other things, the Plan required the State Bank of Florence (the Bank ) to release its mortgage on the ...

The Debtor obtained her Private Loans from three separate commercial lenders.3 Each lender purchased a guaranty on its loan from The Educational Resources Institute ( Teri ) at the time each lender made the loan. 3 The five Private Loans include one loan from Charter One, one loan from Bank of America, and three loans from Jpmorgan Chase. In O Brien, as here, the debtor obtained an educational loan from a private lender through one of Teri s loan programs, and Teri guaranteed the loan.

( Mr. Helm ), the Debtor proposed, and the court confirmed, a reorganization plan (as modified, the Plan, Dn 14, 52, 98), premised largely on a settlement between the Debtor and Mr. Helm. The Debtor made payments pursuant to the Plan during the 36 months following confirmation, and from time to time, Mr. Helm challenged the settlement or the Plan, complaining that the Debtor, Debtor s counsel, Helm s former counsel, the United States Trustee, and even the court engaged in misconduct ...

Judge James D. Gregg

May a chapter 13 plan be confirmed that modifies a protected residential mortgage so attorneys fees may be paid first? In the priority of payments designated by the Plan, attorneys fees and expenses are to be paid prior to payments on continuing claims, including the on-going monthly mortgage payments owed to the Mortgage Creditor. Using presumptive fees, sometimes called fixed, flat, or no-look fees, permits the bankruptcy court to award fees without requiring a debtor s attorney ...

This court s Order Granting Motion for Class Certification appointed Kanner & Whiteley, Llc and Silverman & Morris, Pllc (collectively, Class Counsel ) as attorneys for the Class. At the hearing on the Motion, Class Counsel provided the following estimates regarding the proposed distribution on the Class Claim. Class Counsel has requested minimum attorney s fees and expenses of 33% of the Net Class Claim Fund, or approximately $1,375,450.50

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