Debtors, who are farmers, filed for bankruptcy under chapter 11 because their aggregate debt exceeded the then-applicable debt limit in Section 108(18) and rendered them ineligible to file a chapter 12 case.  When the Family Farmer Relief Act raised the debt limit to $10 million, debtors became eligible for chapter 12.  After a period of contentious litigation, Debtors and their creditors negotiated a settlement, which included an agreement that Debtors would convert their case from chapter 11 to chapter 12.  Debtors’ former attorney, an administrative claimant, filed the only objection to conversion.  The Court overruled the objection on the ground that the bases therefor were unfounded.  The Court granted Debtors’ motion to convert based on its finding that conversion was fair and equitable to all parties.   

Debtors filed motion to assume a real estate contract for the purchase of an unimproved lot.  In a 2008 chapter 7 case, Debtors failed to disclose their interest in the real estate contract which, therefore, remained property of the chapter 7 estate.  If Debtors wish to assume the real estate contract, they must re-open the 2008 chapter 7 case, amend their schedules, and seek abandonment of the real estate contract.  In the present case, moreover, Debtors failed to comply with service-of-process rules and thereby deprived the owner of the unimproved lot notice of the bankruptcy and of the motion to assume.  Without proper service of process, the Court lacks jurisdiction over the property owner.  The motion to assume is denied.

Trial held to determine whether a contracted-for conveyance of real property title for cash was in improper post-petition transfer based on bankruptcy and state law; whether the contract transferred water rights as additional consideration for the title; whether state court proceedings curtailed this Court’s jurisdiction; and whether this Court should revisit an earlier judgment that was affirmed on appeal.  The Court concludes that the state court actions do not limit this Court’s ability to rule; that the exchange of cash for title was improper but that no water rights changed hands; and that the Court will not alter the earlier judgment.

Debtor  signed an Endorsement Agreement guaranteeing a $1.8 million loan that her father used mostly to finance the rehabilitation of a ski mountain and resort.  She was to get ten percent of the profits from the ski area—either from operating profits or from sale of parcels.  Debtor was motivated to help her father, but also motivated by profit.  When the father defaulted on the loan, the Debtor attempted to repay it, but ultimately filed for bankruptcy.  Debtor sought to reconvert Chapter 13 bankruptcy to Chapter 7, and Bank argued that under 11 USC Section 707(b), Debtor’s case must be dismissed for abuse because the debt was a consumer debt.  The main issue is whether the debt is consumer or non-consumer debt, and this opinion synthesizes the case law and sets forth several considerations that factor into a court’s resolution of the issue of whether debt is “consumer” or “non-consumer.”  Court held that debt is a non-consumer debt, and therefore allowed conversion to chapter 7, and denied Bank’s motion to dismiss.