Case law

Grewe v. United States (In Re Grewe)

148 B.R. 824 · United States Bankruptcy Court, N.D. West Virginia · Nov 27, 1992

The I.R.S. concludes that, because the debtors cannot establish that the position of the I.R.S. was not substantially justified, they cannot be considered a prevailing party within the meaning § 7430(c)(4)(A), and, therefore … The court found that the statutory authorization for the award of attorneys fees, 28 U.S.C. § 2412 (b), was an express waiver, although limited, of sovereign immunity. See Conti at 128. 8 .

In Re AB & C Group, Inc.

411 B.R. 284 · United States Bankruptcy Court, N.D. West Virginia · Jul 2, 2009

To the extent that the Services Agreement would qualify as a contract that the Trustee must assume under § 365, the Trustee is free to assume it. … Establishment of an employee benefits plan creates a trust, the assets of which must be held by a fiduciary. 29 U.S.C. § 1103 (a).

Logan Medical Foundation v. Hayflich & Steinberg (In Re Logan Medical Foundation, Inc.)

346 B.R. 184 · United States Bankruptcy Court, S.D. West Virginia · Jun 26, 2006

The moving party must establish that no material issue of fact remains to be resolved and the party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(c); Fed. R. … Claims arise under title 11 if the claims “clearly invoke substantive rights created by bankruptcy law.” Glinka v. Murad (In re Housecraft Indus. USA, Inc.), 310 F.3d 64, 70 (2nd Cir.2002).

Shafman v. United States Department of the Treasury (In Re Shafman)

267 B.R. 709 · United States Bankruptcy Court, N.D. West Virginia · Aug 2, 2001

Innocent Spouse Relief Under § 6015(c) For Taxpayers No Longer Married Although Shafman does not qualify for innocent spouse relief under § 6015(b), she does qualify for limited liability under § 6015(c). 1. … Shafman clearly demonstrated a lack of knowledge as to the majority of the financial affairs of the marriage and of Tenney’s business transactions in 1991, and the IRS did not prove otherwise.

Universal Bank, N.A. v. Machnic (In re Machnic)

271 B.R. 789 · United States Bankruptcy Court, S.D. West Virginia · Jan 10, 2002

Debtor has not established that Counsel for Universal had actual authority to seek costs and attorney’s fees. Nonetheless, the evidence before the court establishes Counsel’s apparent authority to do so. … SPECIFIC VIOLATIONS OF THE ACT Having concluded that Universal qualifies as a debt collector under the Act, the Court will next consider the alleged violations.

In Re MacHnic

271 B.R. 789 · United States Bankruptcy Court, S.D. West Virginia · Jan 10, 2002

Debtor has not established that Counsel for Universal had actual authority to seek costs and attorney's fees. Nonetheless, the evidence before the court establishes Counsel's apparent authority to do so. … SPECIFIC VIOLATIONS OF THE ACT Having concluded that Universal qualifies as a debt collector under the Act, the Court will next consider the alleged violations.

In Re Morgantown Trust No. 1

155 B.R. 137 · United States Bankruptcy Court, N.D. West Virginia · Jun 3, 1993

... to establish ... uniform laws on the subject of bankruptcies.” … There are also cases which specifically address whether a “land trust” may qualify as a “business trust.”

Ingersoll-Rand Financial Corp. v. 5-Leaf Clover Corp. (In Re 5-Leaf Clover Corp.)

66 A.L.R. Fed. 497 · United States Bankruptcy Court, S.D. West Virginia · Sep 3, 1980

Nonetheless, the evidence established that the Debtors did have some equity in the equipment. … Ingersoll-Rand offered testimony to establish a depreciation rate of 2.2%, or approximately $25,000 per month.

Lockhart v. Washington County Child Support Enforcement Agency

United States Bankruptcy Court, N.D. West Virginia · Jun 24, 2021

Material facts are those which are necessary to establish a cause of action. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248 (1986). … In 1992, the Supreme Court in Nordic Village held that § 106 of the Bankruptcy Code did not establish an unequivocal textual waiver necessary to avoid the government’s sovereign immunity in bankruptcy proceedings. 503

Ratliff v. The United States Department of Education

United States Bankruptcy Court, S.D. West Virginia · Aug 27, 2021

Bankruptcy Code Section 106(a) clearly abrogates that immunity in this specific situation: the Ratliffs accuse the DOE of violating the discharge injunction (contained in § 524), which is listed in § 106(a) as a basis … for abrogation of sovereign immunity against a governmental unit.

Dodson v. Wessex Mining Corp. (In Re Boden Mining Corp.)

11 B.R. 562 · United States Bankruptcy Court, S.D. West Virginia · Mar 3, 1981

“Machinery,” though not defined in the Code, clearly is a component of equipment. The coal cleaning plant is comprised of both machinery and equipment. … The UCC establishes priorities among conflicting security interests in the same collateral.

Loudin v. J.P. Morgan Trust Co.

481 B.R. 388 · United States Bankruptcy Court, S.D. West Virginia · Sep 5, 2012

The court has already established that this case fits the description given by the Fourth Circuit of cases that are “related to” title 11 bankruptcy proceedings. … The use of “this section” in § 1334(c)(2) clearly refers to § 1334 overall, and therefore the exclusive jurisdiction sought by defendant in § 1334(e)(1) cannot qualify to defeat mandatory abstention.

Sheehan v. Valley National Bank (In Re Shreves)

272 B.R. 614 · United States Bankruptcy Court, N.D. West Virginia · Jun 12, 2001

Valley requests that this Court adopt a more lenient standard under the contemporaneous exchange defense for the perfection of non-purchase money liens than the one clearly established for purchase money security loans under … It is clearly established that three elements must be shown in order for the earmarking doctrine to apply when a new lender is involved: (1) the existence of an agreement between the new lender and the debtor that the new

Graham v. Paugh, Jr.

United States Bankruptcy Court, N.D. West Virginia · Feb 6, 2023

Once the court establishes that the services and/ or money, for example, was obtained by false pretenses or misrepresentation, then “any debt” arising therefrom is excepted from discharge. Id. at 219. … Therefore, the record clearly establishes that the Defendant misrepresented himself as a licensed Contractor. Additionally, the Defendant knew his representations to the Plaintiff were false.

Bayer Employees Federal Credit Union v. Sapp (In Re Sapp)

364 B.R. 618 · United States Bankruptcy Court, N.D. West Virginia · Mar 26, 2007

Palmer stated that the Debtor’s debt to income ratio was O. 32, *629 which qualified him for the loan. … See, e.g., In re Treadwell, 699 F.2d 1050, 1051 (11th Cir.1983) (“[L]ove and affection are clearly insufficient to protect the transfers from the Trustee....

In re Fairmont General Hospital, Inc.

569 B.R. 421 · United States Bankruptcy Court, N.D. West Virginia · Mar 24, 2017

Therefore, at the time the Debtor discharged Marquardt, it was clearly prepared to live with the risks associated with a potential termination claim. … Because Marquardt’s termination arose post-petition, his severance claim does not qualify because it did not occur within 180 days before the filing of the petition. See In re M Group, Inc., 268 B.R. 896 (Bankr. D.

Clark v. Clark (In re Clark)

574 B.R. 598 · United States Bankruptcy Court, S.D. West Virginia · Sep 30, 2017

An obligation qualifies as a DSO if it is (1) owed to a spouse or child of a spouse, (2) “in the nature of alimony, maintenance, or support,” (3) established by a divorce decree before a debtor spouse petitioned for relief … Jessee, 789 F.2d 1074, 1077-78 (4th Cir. 1986) (concluding that the structured drafting and labels attached to the agreement clearly demon strated parties’ intent to separate alimony from property settlement issues).

Horne v. Humphreys (In re James F. Humphreys & Associates, L.C.)

554 B.R. 355 · United States Bankruptcy Court, S.D. West Virginia · Jul 15, 2016

argument, that the Tazewell County Airport Authority was immune from suit, which the Plaintiffs have refuted. . … Binding precedent provides significant guidance concerning what type of action *363 qualifies as a “related to” case under title 11. In Celotex Corp. v.

Centra Bank, Inc. v. Burton (In Re Burton)

416 B.R. 539 · United States Bankruptcy Court, N.D. West Virginia · Sep 18, 2009

Thus, some courts hold that to be a “fiduciary” under § 523(a)(4), the debtor must have “either expressly signified his intention at the outset of the transaction, or was clearly put on notice by some document in existence … [at a time when] federal bankruptcy and state corporation laws were as yet ill-established.”

Scott Allen Keffer

United States Bankruptcy Court, S.D. West Virginia · Apr 16, 2021

According to one court, “[b]ased on a plain reading of this phrase, it is a clearly higher standard than the mere ‘for cause’ standard set forth in . . . … The record did not establish that the debtor would be unable to confirm a Chapter 11 plan. Tibbens, 2021 WL 1087260 at *4-5.