Entries categorized as ‘consumer’
In re Timothy Stirneman, 09 B 20315
Timothy Stirneman v. Audrey Stirneman, 09 A 00556
Issued November 4, 2009
Judge Jack B. Schmetterer
Summary: In the case at hand, Parties entered a Term Sheet Agreement with regards to shared office space; each was to pay 50% of certain shared expenses. Defendant had not fulfilled her part of the agreement. Since the parties were intended to be personally liable, the Court has found Defendant personally liable for the unpaid shared expenses. Furthermore, Plaintiff is entitled to relief against Defendant’s transfer of funds for new personal office equipment because Defendant acted so as to defraud Plaintiff. The Court therefore has decided that a preliminary injunction against Defendant is warranted.
View and download the opinion in PDF format here.
Categories: ED · IL · ND · adversary · bankruptcy · ch 13 · ch 7 · cir 7 · consumer · current-events · individual · opinion · schmetterer
In re Dorsie Wayne Mosher, Jr., 06 B 71261
William T. Neary, US Trustee, v. Mosher, 07 A 96013
Issued: November 4, 2009
By Judge: Manuel Barbosa
Summary: The Court ruled in favor of the U.S. Trustee by denying the Debtor’s petition to discharge. Under 11 U.S.C. § 727(a)(2), the Court must grant discharge to the debtor unless the debtor intentionally hindered, delayed, or defrauded a creditor or Trustee. Debtor knowingly failed to list his income and admitted to making a conscious decision to list only certain debts in his petition. The Court finds that the Debtor “knowingly and fraudulently made false oaths” and thus should be denied a discharge under Section 727(a)(4)(A).
View and download the opinion in PDF format here.
In re Jody R. Deutscher and Kelly C. Deutscher, 08 B 73603
Issued: October 28, 2009
By Judge: Manuel Barbosa
Summary: The Court granted U.S. Trustee’s motion to dismiss. Under 11 U.S.C. § 707(b)(1), the Court may dismiss a case in which the debts are primarily consumer debts, if the granting of relief is tantamount to abuse of the provisions of Chapter 7. The Debtors fall under two applicable provisions: 1. Debtors purchased luxuries on credit on the eve of bankruptcy 2. Debtors’ budget is “excessive or unreasonable.” As the Court found, The Debtors want to continue a lifestyle of luxury, purchasing a yacht and boat, “even after seeking a bankruptcy discharge by reaffirming their debt on these luxury items rather than […] do some belt tightening.”
View and download the opinion in PDF format here.
In re Joseph M. Phelan and Mary M. Phelan, 09 B 70398
Issued: October 28, 2009
By Judge: Manuel Barbosa
Summary: Under the Fifth Amendment’s Due Process clause, creditors have the right to “reasonable notice” when being listed as a creditor in bankruptcy petitions. Creditor Employee Benefits Security Administration (ESBA) did not learn of Debtor’s intent to file for bankruptcy until at east two months after the date required by Fed. R. Bank. P. 4007(c). Furthermore, Debtors failed to list EBSA on their bankruptcy petition. Therefore the Court has granted the Secretary of Labor leave to file an adversary complaint for determination of dischargeability.
View and download the opinion in PDF format here.
Categories: 707 · 727 · IL · ND · UST · WD · adversary · bankruptcy · barbosa · ch 13 · ch 7 · chapter 7 · cir 7 · consumer · current-events · discharge · dismissal · individual
Brother Can You Spare $331 Million?
We would have accepted either C-I-T or A-D-V-A-N-T-A as a correct answer
As reported all over the Web, including this story by CNN, credit card overlord and perennial heavy-handed creditor Advanta filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection a few days ago – just one week after CIT Group, a top secured lender to small business, did the same. Both lenders experienced (ha!) a sharp rise in defaults. Welcome to the world of the consumer. Personally I hope that their creditors show them no mercy. If the Bankruptcy System is to work then it must be an equal handicap for large and small. If Advanta or CIT are reconstituted through Chapter 11 I can only hope that this time the intention is to help small business and business owners – not to hound them to death as both creditors are famous for.
Categories: Middle class · article · assets · bailout · bankruptcy · business · business filings · ch 11 · consumer · credit · credit cards · current-events · disposable · income · individual · liability · means test · median income · secured
Tagged: Advanta, CIT, Irony, Small Business, Visa
In an article that would only make sense to an economist, Bloomberg reported that fewer people this November have mortgages that exceed the value of their homes – that is, fewer people are “underwater” this year than last. That faint flicker of hope is supposed to mean that overall the housing market is stabilizing.
In related news, I came in 288th in the Chicago Marathon this year – better than I did last year so … I guess that means I’m a winner? Sure, let’s go with that.
Categories: Middle class · article · assets · bailout · bubble · consumer · current-events · data · debt · depreciation · flipping · foreclosure · income · individual · investments · means test · mortgage · property · real property · short sale
This morning I noticed on Yahoo’s front page that “Worst recession since 1930s hits end.” Let’s just say I’m still skeptical. Unemployment still hovers at 9.9% and that just doesn’t feel like a party. The actual article to which the link refers contains the more subdued headline “Economy growing but recovery could be at risk.” I thought so.
Look, the GDP has grown 3.5% this quarter. That’s good news. According to a New York Times article, this growth rate is on par with average annual growth rate that the U.S. has enjoyed for the last 80 years. Nice. But before we get too excited, this increase in consumer spending (a major component of the U.S. Gross Domestic Product) is driven by the exorbitant expenditure on government programs. And as soon as such programs as Clash for Clunkers end (and they will eventually), economists predict that this recovery may not last.
Basically, the economy grew by 3.5%… but in the long term, it may or may not matter. Does a current quarterly increase in consumer spending mean that consumer spending has actually increased for good? It’s just too early to say.
Categories: bailout · bank · bankruptcy · blogs · bubble · consumer · current-events · data · debt · economy
