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 Opinions Database

The court's 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
Adversary Proceedings - Procedural Matters, Attorneys Fees, Sanctions     03/31/2015     The Northern New Mexico Orthopaedic Center, P.C., v. Auge et al.     

Plaintiff served detailed requests for production of documents.  Defendants' responses were deficient, and after attempting to obtain adequate responses, plaintiff filed a motion to compel and for reimbursement of expenses.  Defendants eventually responded to the requests for production, completing the production about eight months after the initial response.  The Court ruled that plaintiff was entitled to reimbursement of its expenses incurred in compelling compliance, including reasonable attorney fees.

Judge David T. Thuma
Attorneys Fees, Sanctions     03/10/2015     Virginia McCauley, Individually and as Personal Representative of the Estate of Fred L. McCauley, Russel Reed, and Tom McCauley & Sons, Inc. v. William Arthur McCauley and Terri Lynn McCauley     

Plaintiff asked for attorney fees in connection with  filing a motion to strike improper responses in defendant's answer.  Court granted the motion to strike (with leave to amend) but denied the sanctions motion, holding that there were other remedies available in the civil procedure rules, so entering a sanction under Sec. 105(a) was not indicated.

Judge David T. Thuma
Chapter 13, Discharge, Good Faith     02/25/2015     Larry C. Montes and Susie L. Montes     

Chapter 13 trustee filed motion to dismiss case because it was filed while a prior chapter 7 case was still pending.  The court reviewed the case law in the area and concluded that there was no per se prohibition against simultaneous cases, since the discharge had been entered in the chapter 7 case and the debts to be treated were different in the two cases.  Motion denied.

Judge David T. Thuma
Trustee, Turnover     02/05/2015     Picacho Hills Utility Company, Inc.     

Chapter 7 trustee in converted chapter 11 case moved the court to transfer funds in the court registry to him.  Two creditors objected, arguing that the funds were safer in the court registry and should not be spent in any event.  The court overruled the objections, after reviewing the trustee's statutory and other duties.

Judge David T. Thuma
Joint Petitions     02/04/2015     Karen T. Chilson     

Court addressed whether an individual debtor could amend her petition 100 days after entry of the order for relief to add her spouse as a joint debtor.  The court concluded that the debtor was not permitted to do so, and that if the spouse needed bankruptcy relief, he would have to file a separate case.joint

Judge David T. Thuma
Jurisdiction, Miscellaneous     01/28/2015     DDMD Trucking, Inc.     

Creditors filed motion to transfer venue to Midland, Texas.  After taking evidence, the court ruled that venue was proper when filed, per 28 U.S.C. Sec. 1408, and that movants did not carry their burden of proving that venue should be transferred under Sectjuriion 1412.

Judge David T. Thuma
Cause, Chapter 11, Dismissal or Conversion, Motion to Sell     01/20/2015     Angel Fire Water Co., LLC.     

Debtor filed motion to sell certain assets, while the U.S. Trustee and several creditors filed motions to convert the case to Chapter 7.  The Court denied the motion to sell and granted the conversion motions.  In so doing the Court found that cause existed to convert under Section 1112(b), but ruled that a small business debtor's failure to file or confirm a plan within the deadlines set forth in the Code does not constitute cause.

Judge David T. Thuma
Compromise, Exemptions     12/24/2014     Edward J. Smith and Tonya G. Smith     

Upon discovery of omitted claim, trustee in reopened case settled the claim and sought approval.  Debtors amended their schedules to exempt the settlement amount and the trustee objected.  The Court approved the settlement and sustained the trustee's objection to the amended exemptions, both because debtors were required to show excusable neglect before being allowed to amend their schedules in a reopened case, which they did not do,, and also because debtors could not use both New Mexico homestead and in lieu of homestead exemptions.

Judge David T. Thuma
Chapter 13, Damages, Garnishment, Standing, Stay Violation     12/19/2014     Timothy Seigfried et al v. W. Byron Board     

Creditor obtain judgment against debtor pre-petition and garnished debtor's wages.  After debtor's bankruptcy filing, employer sent check to creditor for the garnished portion of pre-petition wages.  Debtor demanded turnover; creditor refused until a court order directing payment was entered.  The court held that creditor was guilty of a willful stay violation, and set a hearing on damages.

Judge David T. Thuma
Compromise, Injunctions, Motion to Sell, Sales of Assets     12/11/2014     Sunland, Inc.     

 Trustee filed motion to sell estate's interest in insurance policies back to insurer.  Claimant objected.  The court ruled that the proposed sale was fair and reasonable, as was the requested "channeling" injunction preventing claimants from pursuing claims against the buyer.

Judge David T. Thuma

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