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Where different debtors filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy at a time when the value of the equity in their homes was less than the amount they were eligible to claim, respectively, under the federal or Arizona homestead exemptions, leaving no value in the homestead properties that could be claimed by the bankruptcy estate, but the value of the properties subsequently increased before the cases were closed so that the debtors had equity in excess of their exemptions, the trustee could force a sale of the properties in order to recover the excess equity because the exemptions allowed the debtors to claim an interest in dollar amounts, not specific properties. The fact that the value of the claimed exemption plus encumbrances equaled market value at the time of filing did not remove the entire asset from the estate. Assuming estoppel is available as a remedy in bankruptcy proceedings, debtor could not estop trustee from selling debtor’s home where debtor made no showing that the trustee–who left the case open for years–intended for the debtor to act as if he would be able to retain the property permanently; that the debtor had a right to believe the trustee, by her inaction, intended the debtor to believe she had released all rights to the homestead; or that the debtor was ignorant of the true facts. Any duty to police misconduct by the trustee fell upon the U.S. Trustee in debtor’s district, and abandonment of an asset is not a remedy for a trustee’s alleged misconduct

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NINTH U.S. CIRCUIT COURT OF APPEALS

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Where member of board of directors of corporation that later went into bankruptcy attempted to assist the corporation by purchasing its real property, and trustee brought a fraudulent conveyance claim, district court erred when it determined that the value of the real property was its fair market value because bankruptcy court’s determination of value, which applied reductions based on a quick and bundled sale, was not clearly erroneous. Bankruptcy and district courts did not err in holding that board member was a good faith transferee and in reducing his liability by the value he paid for the property where board member entered the transaction to enable the company to survive and proposed a repurchase option to protect the company. Board member was entitled to a credit for the amount that his codefendants paid in a settlement agreement where member and the settling codefendants committed the same injury under California Code of Civil Procedure Sec. 877, and board member was entitled to credit in entire amount paid. Debtor’s repayment of a loan to a group, which included several directors, was not per se a preference where special circumstances tipped in favor of board member as a director-creditor.
In the Matter of JTS Corporation – filed August 10, 2010

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Debtors, who owned a family farm and brought a Chapter 12 petition, were required to pay federal income tax on the gain from the sale of their farm during bankruptcy proceedings.
United States v. Hall

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A new case : Where Chapter 7 debtor, prior to filing petition, assigned its accounts receivable to bank, but account-holder made payments directly to debtor instead of bank, and bankruptcy court later avoided bank’s security interest in a preference action by the trustee, bank was barred from proceeding in a separate action against the account-holder for amounts the account-holder paid to the debtor because the bank did not possess any claim separate and distinct from those which were adjudicated in the bankruptcy proceedings.

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New Bankruptcy Case from U.S. Supreme Court re: Exemptions: Where Chapter 7 debtor gave “the value of [her] claimed exemption[s]” on her Schedule C dollar amounts within the range the Bankruptcy Code allows for what it defines as the “property claimed as exempt,” the trustee was not required to object to the exemptions within 30 days to preserve the estate’s right to retain any value in the equipment beyond the value of the exempt interest claimed.
Schwab v. Reilly.

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Another Bankruptcy case on punitive damages: Where entities filed involuntary bankruptcy petitions against two alleged debtors that were ultimately dismissed, and the alleged debtors filed motions against the petitioning creditors for costs, attorney’s fees and punitive damages under 11 U.S.C. Sec. 303(i), the bankruptcy court properly concluded that the statute permits an award of attorney’s fees for a Sec. 303 action as a whole, including fees incurred to litigate claims for fees and damages under Sec. 303(i)(1) and (2); court also properly concluded that Sec. 303(i) permits an award of punitive damages under Sec. 303(i)(2)(B) in the absence of an award of actual damages under Sec. 303(i)(2)(A). Bankruptcy court properly held two individuals who exercised control over the petitioning creditors jointly and severally liable for the costs and attorney’s fees the debtors incurred in obtaining dismissal of the involuntary petitions, but erred in holding the individuals liable for the debtors’ costs and fees incurred on the Sec. 303(i) motions themselves.
In re Southern California Sunbelt Developers, Inc. – filed June 9, 2010

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Sufficient evidence supported bankruptcy court’s order denying debtor a discharge under 11 U.S.C. Sec. 727(a)(4)(A) where the debtor knowingly and fraudulently made a false oath in connection with the case, which related to a material fact, in his schedules and statement of affairs; debtor’s purported reliance on counsel did not demonstrate a lack of fraudulent intent where it was not in good faith. Where debtor transferred a house to his brother for $60,000 less than the market value within one year before filing his petition, and several badges of fraud were present, sufficient evidence supported denial of discharge under Sec. 727(a)(2)(A) for transferring property to hinder, delay, or defraud a creditor. Sufficient evidence supported denial of discharge under Sec. 727(a)(2)(B) over debtor’s participation in the transfer of his portion of family-owned assets belonging to the bankruptcy estate without notice to the trustee, with the intent to hinder, delay and defraud creditors, regardless of whether estate lost value as a result. Sufficient evidence supported denial of discharge under Sec. 727(a)(5) for failing to explain satisfactorily loss or deficiency of assets where debtor’s schedules and statement of affairs remained inadequate despite his production of over 28,000 pages of records. In re Retz – filed June 4, 2010.

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New bankruptcy case: When a bankruptcy court calculates a Chapter 13 debtor’s “projected disposable income,” the court may account for changes in the debtor’s income or expenses that are known or virtually certain at the time of confirmation, and is not bound by the “mechanical” approach under the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act that looks only at the six months preceding the petition. Hamilton v. Lanning – filed June 7, 2010.

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