Where a trustee sued the United States to void a debtor’s tax penalty obligations to the IRS, and to recover the debtor’s prior payments to the IRS, his claims were dismissed. A “noncompensatory tax penalty that is statutorily required and ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Bankruptcy Judge A. Marvin Quattlebaum Jr.

Where the district court previously addressed the debtor’s arguments when it reversed and remanded the bankruptcy court’s judgment as to two claims filed by a bank, the debtor’s motion for rehearing was denied. Background On July 10, 2018, appellee Byron ...

Tagged with: Bankruptcy Judge Rossie D. Alston Jr. U.S. District Court - Eastern District

Because employing a law firm on behalf of a bankruptcy estate amounts to acting for the estate, the bankruptcy court must determine whether a Chapter 11 trustee has standing to hire professional persons on behalf of an estate after the ...

Tagged with: Bankruptcy Judge Michael S. Nachmanoff U.S. District Court - Eastern District

Where the bankruptcy court provided little analysis for its approval of third-party releases that released the claims of hundreds of thousands of potential plaintiffs not involved in the bankruptcy, it exceeded the limits of its constitutional authority. The third-party releases ...

Tagged with: Bankruptcy Judge David J. Novak U.S. District Court - Eastern District

Getting businesses to file their Chapter 11 cases closer to home seems like a good idea, which is why some bankruptcy attorneys elsewhere in the country are hoping Congress enacts bipartisan legislation intended to cut down on forum-shopping. But bankruptcy ...

Tagged with: Bankruptcy

The United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virginia will implement a randomized judge assignment protocol for mega chapter 11 bankruptcy cases next year, according to a Nov. 30 standing order from the court. The order states that ...

Tagged with: Bankruptcy Judge Frank J. Santoro U.S. Bankruptcy Court U.S. District Court - Eastern District

Where a Virginia Code exemption for equipment used in the householder’s “occupation or trade” did not include language restricting the exemption to a debtor’s principal occupation or trade, a part-time farmer could exempt farming equipment. Background Trevor G. Ross and ...

Tagged with: Bankruptcy Judge Rebecca B. Connelly U.S. Bankruptcy Court

Where the trustee sought to set aside an alleged fraudulent transfer of real property, but the property didn’t belong to the debtors and was instead held by an LLC in which they had an interest, the fraudulent conveyance and transfer ...

Tagged with: Bankruptcy Judge Brian F. Kenney U.S. Bankruptcy Court

Where the debtor inflated his expenses to hide disposable income, and the record showed a pattern of making unsubstantiated expense claims, the court concluded that he filed his three Chapter 13 plans in an effort to unreasonably delay and thwart ...

Tagged with: Bankruptcy Judge Klinette H. Kindred U.S. Bankruptcy Court

Where the bankruptcy trustee for the defunct law firm LeClairRyan sought to avoid and recover transfers made to Gary LeClair, one of the firm’s founders, her claims may proceed because the transfers were allegedly made to hinder, delay or defraud ...

Tagged with: Bankruptcy Judge Kevin R. Huennekens U.S. Bankruptcy Court