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Bankruptcy – Fraud
Where a plaintiff has requested a determination that the debt owed to her is nondischargeable, that request should be denied because the plaintiff has failed to show by a preponderance of evidence that the defendant debtor made false representations or engaged in actual fraud.
Bankruptcy – Student loans – Hardship
Where a debtor has requested a discharge of his student loan obligations, that request should be granted because the debt owed to the defendant Educational Credit Management Corporation imposes an undue hardship on the debtor.
Bankruptcy – Promissory estoppel – Fraud
Where a plaintiff has moved to deny discharge of the debtors’ liability established by a state court judgment against them for promissory estoppel, neither party should be awarded summary judgment, as it is necessary to have a determination on the merits on the issue of fraud.
Bankruptcy – Denial of discharge
Where two plaintiffs obtained a substantial state court judgment against two defendant debtors, the plaintiffs have met their burden to demonstrate that the debtors should be denied a discharge because they (1) knowingly and fraudulently made false statements under oath or made those statements with reckless indifference to the truth, (2) failed to explain satisfactorily loss of assets or deficien[...]
Bankruptcy – Judicial estoppel – Collateral estoppel
Where plaintiffs have requested a determination that the debts owed to them are excepted from discharge under 11 U.S.C. §523(a)(4) based on the debtor’s criminal larceny conviction under G.L.c. 266, §30(1), the plaintiffs should be granted summary judgment in light of a stipulation made by the debtor.
Bankruptcy – Mootness – Asset sale
Where an appellant has challenged a U.S. Bankruptcy Court order authorizing the sale of a loan portfolio to a purchaser over the appellant’s objection, the appeal is statutorily moot and therefore should be dismissed.
Bankruptcy – Moot appeal
Where a U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge dismissed a Chapter 13 petition, the debtor’s appeal must be dismissed as moot since his property was sold in a judicial sale after foreclosure proceedings and he has been evicted from the property.
Bankruptcy – Abandoned property – ‘Related to’ jurisdiction
Where a Chapter 7 debtor commenced an adversary proceeding seeking a determination that she owned her residence free and clear of liens, claims and encumbrances except for property taxes, a decision by a U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge to dismiss the complaint should be affirmed because the residence ceased to be property of the estate once it was abandoned by the trustee.
Bankruptcy – Waiver
Where a defendant has filed a motion to dismiss, that motion should be allowed because the plaintiff was required to assert its prepetition claims in the defendant’s bankruptcy proceeding and by failing to do so waived them.
Maine bankruptcy judge named chief of 1st Circuit BAP
A bankruptcy judge from Maine has been named chief of the Bankruptcy Appellate Panel for the 1st Circuit.
1st Circuit affirms deadlines in involuntary bankruptcy
1st Circuit backs bankruptcy courts' authority to set joinder deadlines in involuntary petitions, clarifying creditor rights under §303 of the Code.
Bankruptcy – Involuntary petition – Joinder
Where two creditors moved to join an involuntary petition, a U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge’s decision to deny the motion should be upheld despite the creditors’ argument that Section 303(c) of the Bankruptcy Code gave them the right to join the involuntary petition at any time while it was pending.
Verdicts & Settlements
- Injury during baby’s adenoidectomy leads to stroke
- Construction worker’s hand caught in cement mixer
- Worker trapped in freezer, dies during steam cleaning
- Pedestrian, 69, hit by motor vehicle while in crosswalk
- Four-vehicle pileup leaves driver with spinal cord injury
- Nursing home staff blamed for kidney-failure death
- Pharmacy’s late delivery blamed for patient’s death
- Man, 25, drowns after swimming lesson at fitness club
Opinion Digests
- Jurisdiction – Forum selection clause – Non-signatory
- Criminal – Responsibility
- Attorneys – Lien
- Landlord and tenant – Default judgment
- Zoning – Constructive grant – Comprehensive permit
- Fraud – False Claims Act – Settlement share
- Civil practice – Discovery – Cybersecurity
