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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 assist him in exercising his avoidance powers, the Trustee seeks to retain the Sielatycki Law Firm, Plc (the Firm ) and has filed an Application for Order Authorizing Trustee to Employ Special Litigation Counsel (the Application, Dn 102). Following oral argument from the Trustee, Ms. Averycheva, and the United States Trustee, the court took the matter under advisement. 11 U.S.C. 105(a) (court may raise issues sua sponte to carry out provisions of title 11) & 327(c) (United States ...

Order Denying Motion For Relief From Automatic Stay Present: Honorable Scott W. Dales United States Bankruptcy Judge On October 22, 2013, creditor Micb-Pcb Re Holdings Iv, Llc (the Creditor ) filed a motion for relief from the automatic stay (the Motion, Dn 47) seeking to enforce its mortgage against the residence of chapter 11 debtors James and Brenda Graham (the Debtors ). The Debtors filed their response to the Motion, arguing that, in an order dated...

United States Bankruptcy Court For The Western District Of Michigan Order United States Bankruptcy Judge The court entered a judgment against Defendant Daniel E. Knickerbocker (the Defendant ) in favor of Plaintiff Phillip E. Hutchinson (the Plaintiff ), requiring the Defendant to pay the Plaintiff $70,113.00 plus costs and interest under 28 U.S.C. 1961. See Judgment in Adversary Proceeding dated April 8, 2008 (the Judgment, Dn 56). Recently, the Plaintiff has started to take steps to ...

13-80178 v. Yankee Springs Mhc, Llc, and Patterson Home Sales, Inc., Defendants. Order Denying Trustee S Motion For Approval Of Settlement Present: Honorable Scott W. Dales United States Bankruptcy Judge Chapter 7 trustee Thomas C. Richardson (the Trustee ) sued Defendants Yankee Springs Mhc, Llc and Patterson Home Sales, Inc. (the Defendants ) to avoid as unperfected a security interest in the 2007 Dutch manufactured home (the Manufactured Home ) that ...

To summarize the Trustee s opposition, he contends that Michigan Protein s attorneys charge unreasonable rates in excess of rates charged in the Western District of Michigan. In view of the affidavits from Michigan Protein s counsel, and given the absence of any opposing affidavit regarding the reasonableness of counsels hourly rates, the court will permit Michigan Protein to recover attorneys fees based on the hours spent and rates described and supported in the affidavits of Messrs. The...

Order Regarding Debtor S Objection To Claim Present: Honorable Scott W. Dales United States Bankruptcy Judge Chapter 13 debtor Bonnie Lou Keller ( Debtor ) filed a protective proof of claim in a nominal amount after her aunt-turned-creditor, Helen LePage ( Ms. LePage ), failed to file her own proof of claim. Therefore, because it was possible (under the prior version of the rule) for a creditor to file a timely claim after a debtor or trustee had filed a ...

Prior to bankruptcy, the Debtor regularly sold Fats to the Defendant, negotiating price for each truckload. A). Finally, the Plaintiff asserts that the Debtor, as debtor-in-possession, did not receive court authority to sell the Fats to the Defendant for $0.06 per pound. In making its argument, the Defendant contends that the Debtor had perfectly good business reasons, involving plant capacity and the nature of the Fats themselves, for selling Fats to the Defendant using the Split Load ...

Although Exhibits C and C1 do not support this testimony, the court does not doubt that Vestal Builders ordered the goods approximately one week before the supposed May 6, 2010 deadline reflected on Exhibit B.7 On May 7, 2010, before Vestal Builders could install these items at the Plaintiff s residence, the Plaintiff cancelled the Contract in writing, and requested that Vestal Builders return the Security Deposit. Finally, in the Third Pretrial Order, Judge Hughes also established the ...

Judge James D. Gregg

Relying on this broad definition, courts have held that when a debtor acquires an interest in marital property as a result of filing for divorce prepetition, that interest in martial property subsequently becomes property of the debtor s estate in a later filed bankruptcy case. The property that is subject to apportionment is referred to as marital property, and it is this property that comprises the marital estate. The Trustee cites these controlling Michigan cases for the proposition ...

1.) The complaint alleges that, prior to the Debtor-Defendant s bankruptcy case,1 the Plaintiff law firm represented the Debtor-Defendant in her fiduciary capacity 1 The Debtor-Defendant filed a voluntary petition under chapter 13 of the Bankruptcy Code on July 22, 2008. 60.) Although the Plaintiff was a creditor of the Debtor-Defendant at the time the bankruptcy case was filed, the debt to the Plaintiff was not listed on the Debtor-Defendant s bankruptcy schedules. 2009) (discussing narrow...

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