OpinionsChapter 13 Debtors' complaint alleging that mortgage servicer violated stay by charging and collecting post-petition, pre-confirmation attorneys' fees without disclosing those fees to the Court, survived motion to dismiss. In re Willems, 442 B.R. 918 (February 2011) -- Judge S.V. Kelley Supreme Court's decision in Ransom (preventing deduction of ownership expense to vehicles owned free and clear) applies retroactively to plans that have been filed, but not confirmed, when decision was issued on January 11, 2011. In re Jiter, 2011 Bankr. LEXIS 446 (February 2011) -- Judge S.V. Kelley Chapter 13 debtors violated the disposable income requirement by including priority tax claims in the calculation of payments to unsecured creditors. In re Hilgendorf, 2011 Bankr. LEXIS 429 (February 2011) -- Judge S.V. Kelley Chapter 13 debtors could not apply tax refunds to shorten length of plan, rather tax refunds had to be applied to unsecured creditors. In re George, 440 B.R. 164 (December 2010) -- Judge S.V. Kelley Debtor who moved from Illinois to Wisconsin within 730 days of her petition could claim federal exemptions even though Illinois has opted out of the federal exemptions. In re Kearney, 439 B.R. 694 (December 2010) -- Judge S.V. Kelley Post-confirmation plan modification is subject to the good faith test of § 1325, and debtor whose income increased and expenses appeared to have been manipulated to justify lower plan payments did not satisfy good faith requirement. In re May, 2010 Bankr. LEXIS 4046 (November 2010) -- Judge S.V. Kelley After Hamilton v. Lanning, in computing projected disposable income on Form B22C, Chapter 13 debtor may not deduct mortgage payment on undersecured mortgage that has been stripped because it is virtually certain that debtor will not be making the mortgage payment after confirmation. Estate of Sustache v. Mathews, 433 B.R. 732 (August 2010) -- Judge S.V. Kelley Debtor proved his affirmative defense of self-defense to willful and malicious injury claim under Bankruptcy Code § 523(a)(6). In re Meyers, 431 B.R. 823 (July 2010) -- Judge S.V. Kelley Debtors who inadvertently omitted tax refund from Schedules could amend Schedules and claim refund as exempt, when Trustee could not prove by clear and convincing evidence that refund was concealed or creditors were prejudiced. In re Arnhoelter, 431 B.R. 453 (July 2010) -- Judge S.V. Kelley Debtor could not claim Wisconsin homestead exemption in property that was owned by Debtor's LLC when judgment was docketed. |