Lawyer loses bid to collect from client’s tax refunds

Third Chapter 13 Petition Fails

By Deborah Elkins
Published: March 12, 2013
Tags: Bankruptcy, Judge Michael F. Urbanski, U.S. District Court - Western District

The Harrisonburg U.S. District Court dismisses pro se borrowers’ appeal of the dismissal of their third Chapter 13 petition for relief within a year; borrowers’ noncompliance with prior bankruptcy court orders made them ineligible for relief and execution of the writ of possession for their home can proceed. Lender, an individual, holds a promissory note [...]

Damages Dispute Stays in Bankruptcy

By Deborah Elkins
Published: March 12, 2013
Tags: Bankruptcy, Judge Gerald Bruce Lee, U.S. District Court - Eastern District

After the Bankruptcy Court entered a default judgment for over $13 million for real estate purchasers claiming fraud, the Alexandria U.S. District Court denies the agent’s motion to withdraw its reference of the adversary proceeding: erroneous legal judgments are not grounds for withdrawal; this case does not concern laws affecting interstate comment so as to [...]

Defense Struck for Discovery Noncompliance

By Deborah Elkins
Published: February 26, 2013
Tags: Bankruptcy, Judge Raymond A. Jackson, U.S. District Court - Eastern District

Although debtor’s wife claims an interest in real estate made a part of the bankruptcy estate by the bankruptcy trustee, she failed to comply with scheduling or discovery orders of the bankruptcy court, and the Newport News U.S. District Court accepts the bankruptcy court’s report and strikes the wife’s affirmative defense. The adversary proceeding at [...]

Bankruptcy Trustee’s Lower Fee Approved

By Deborah Elkins
Published: February 12, 2013
Tags: Bankruptcy, Judge Liam O'Grady, U.S. District Court - Eastern District

A Chapter 7 bankruptcy trustee loses his appeal arguing that the bankruptcy court failed to treat his request for fees as a commission and erred by reducing the trustee’s fee; the Alexandria U.S. District Court says the bankruptcy court found a factual basis in management of the bankruptcy estate for awarding a lower fee than [...]

Sanctions for Nonlawyer Corporate Rep

By Deborah Elkins
Published: January 29, 2013
Tags: Bankruptcy, Judge Robert E. Payne, U.S. District Court - Eastern District

A Richmond U.S. District Court upholds a finding of contempt of court and sanctions against appellant, who was repeatedly admonished that, as a non-attorney, he could not appear in bankruptcy court to represent a creditor corporation. As a threshold matter, debtor-appellee Commonwealth Biotechnologies Inc. argues this court is without jurisdiction to consider the appeal because [...]

No ‘Contribution’ Without Debtor’s ILSA Payment

By Deborah Elkins
Published: January 17, 2013
Tags: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Bankruptcy, Judge James A. Wynn Jr.

A district court did not err in dismissing a bankruptcy trustee’s adversary action against two real estate development companies and several of their sales and marketing affiliates on a claim that they jointly engaged in a scheme to sell properties at inflated prices in subdivisions in North and South Carolina and are liable for contribution [...]

Trustee Can’t Assert FDIC’s Claims

By Deborah Elkins
Published: January 7, 2013
Tags: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Bankruptcy, Judge G. Steven Agee

A bankruptcy trustee for debtor corporation whose principal asset, a bank, went into receivership with the FDIC, may not assert derivative claims against the corporate directors for breach of fiduciary duties, as these claims properly belong to the FDIC; however, the 4th Circuit says the trustee may assert a claim for improper subordination of debtor’s [...]

Defendant lost attorney-client privilege by blaming lawyers

By Peter Vieth
Published: December 20, 2012
Tags: Attorney-Client Privilege, Bankruptcy, Federal Courts, Fraud, Judge Henry E. Hudson

A former Midlothian man fighting charges of tax evasion and bankruptcy fraud cannot claim attorney-client privilege to shield information in his former lawyers’ files, a federal judge in Richmond has ruled. The bankruptcy case of Arash Moazzeni was marked by finger-pointing and backbiting among Moazzeni and his lawyers in the face of evidence suggesting Moazzeni [...]

No Transfer for Fraudulent Conveyance Action

By Deborah Elkins
Published: December 19, 2012
Tags: Bankruptcy, Judge Claude M. Hilton, U.S. District Court - Eastern District

The Alexandria U.S. District Court again denies Wells Fargo’s motion to transfer bankruptcy trustee’s fraudulent conveyance proceeding to district court: with 40 proceedings pending involving the same multimillion fraudulent loan scheme, the balance of factors considered by district courts in exercising discretion, particularly uniform judicial administration and efficient use of resources, weigh in favor of [...]