Opinions

 

All court opinions may be accessed at no charge via PACER through the "Written Opinions" link on the Reports page. You must, however, have an account to access the report via CM/ECF or PACER.

Access to opinions from 1997 to present, that are PDF searchable, unrestricted & unsealed, are also available through the Government Printing Office using the Advanced Search for Government Publications. There is no login required and publications are available free of charge.

Court's Web Site Opinions Database

The court's web site provides free access of some opinions, at the discretion of the judges, for the years 1998 to present. The results shown below are automatically displayed for all years, all judges, and all keywords/topics.

A search may be performed using the Search box above, or filtering by year, judge, and/or keyword/topic. To search for more than one judge and/or keywords/topics simultaneously, hold down the Ctrl key (or Command key) and select each item.

Keywords/Topic Date Title Description Judge
Appeals     03/12/2019     Manuela Q. Franco     

Creditor filed a motion to extend the time to appeal arguing excusable neglect.  After reviewing the motion and the facts of the case, the Court concluded that excusable neglect had not been shown and denied the motion.

 Judge David T. Thuma
Avoidance Actions, Judicial Liens - Avoidance     02/11/2019     Teresa Christine Tapia     

Debtor brought motion to avoid a judgment lien on her house to the extent that it impaired her homestead exemption.  Judgment creditor countered that his lien did not attach to the homestead exemption, did not impair it, and therefore could not be avoided.  The Court found that the judgment lien did attach to the homestead exemption and that the judgment lien impaired Debtor’s homestead exemption and was subject to avoidance.

 

 Judge David T. Thuma
Jurisdiction     02/08/2019     Sunnyland Farms, Inc.     

Debtor and creditor disagreed about Debtor’s proposed merger with another corporation.  Debtor asked the Court to enforce a provision of its bylaws that allegedly required creditor to arbitrate a dispute.  The Court concluded that it lacked jurisdiction to compel arbitration.  

 Judge David T. Thuma
Attorneys Fees, Chapter 13     01/28/2019     Jenice R. Walton     

Debtor’s counsel could be paid her allowed attorney’s fees for Chapter 13 services following conversion from Chapter 13 to Chapter 7 based on Debtor’s knowing, voluntary Assignment of undistributed plan payments held by the Chapter 13 Trustee as of the conversion date.   

 Chief Judge Robert H. Jacobvitz
Avoidance Actions, Summary Judgment     01/25/2019     Dedee Diana Brakhahn v. Marvin and Linda Nash et al     

Plaintiff sought to avoid Defendant’s unrecorded special master’s deed to Plaintiff’s former homestead.  Defendant argued that a bona fide purchaser would be on notice of the foreclosure action because the lien at issue was a transcript of judgment.  The Court ruled that the transcript of judgment was sufficient to put a bona fide purchaser on notice.

 Judge David T. Thuma
Adversary Proceedings - Procedural Matters, Relief from Judgment, Statutory Construction     01/17/2019     Sandia Area Federal Credit Union v. Charles A. Fiorenza et al     

Plaintiff in adversary proceeding moved to revive a default judgment that was more than seven, but less than 14 years old. Defendant Debtor argued revival was inappropriate because it was a satisfied in rem judgment and that enforcement was inequitable under F.R.C.P. 60(b)(5). The Court held that revival was appropriate and overruled Debtor’s argument.

 Judge David T. Thuma
Reconsideration     12/21/2018     Dawn Marie Davide and Christopher Lee Luttrell     

Debtors asked the court to reconsider an order approving their counsel’s final fee application.  Since the fee order was a final order, the court reviewed it under Rule 60.  The Court determined that the Debtors’ motion did not state a claim for relief under Rule 60 and denied the Debtors’ motion to reconsider.

 Judge David T. Thuma
Automatic Stay, Relief from Stay     12/12/2018     MBF Inspection Services, Inc.     

Parties sought relief from automatic stay so that they could return to federal district court and pursue a pending class action lawsuit.  The court weighed the relevant factors and determined that it would deny stay relief, subject to certain conditions.

 Judge David T. Thuma
Employment of Professionals, Judicial Estoppel, Professionals     12/07/2018     Victor P. Kearney     

Debtor moved to employ the Dotson Law Firm, located in Nevada. The Dotson Law Firm had already filed a lawsuit in Nevada on behalf of the Debtor. The Court noted there was significant (estimated $1 million) administration costs, a small likelihood of any benefit to the estate, and that dismissal of the Nevada suit was highly probable. Thus, the Court denied the motion to employ.

 Judge David T. Thuma
Adversary, Dischargeability, Nondischargeability, Res Judicata     12/07/2018     WLC Enterprises, Inc. v. Walter F. Rylant, III     

Plaintiff filed an adversary proceeding seeking a determination of nondischargeability of  a state court judgment for breach of contract.  The Court determined that Debtor's state court judgment was nondischargeable under § 523(a)(6) and that the findings and conclusions of the state court judge did not preclude a finding of nondischargeability.  

 Judge David T. Thuma

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