Skip to main content

Opinions


    In re Perez (June 2016) -- Judge S.V. Kelley
    Chapter 13 debtor who worked at car dealership not required to include value of demo vehicle in her current monthly income.

    Phifer v. City of Milwaukee (In re Phifer), 547 B.R. 288 (March 2016) -- Judge S.V. Kelley
    Debtor's completed Chapter 13 plan and discharge effectively stripped City's tax lien from property, and subsequent tax foreclosure to recover discharged taxes violated discharge injunction.

    In re Beck (February 2016) -- Judge S.V. Kelley
    Debtor could avoid Dept. of Workforce Development lien as a judicial lien impairing debtor's exemptions.

    In re Johnson (January 2016) -- Judge S.V. Kelley
    Reconsidering In re Washington, the Court disallowed a late-filed claim in a Chapter 13 case filed by a creditor without notice of the bar date. The Court held that the Supreme Court's Law v. Siegel decision required that equitable principles could not trump the Bankruptcy Code, and that due process was not violated because the unscheduled claim would not be discharged.

    In re Romero, 539 B.R. 557 (October 2015) -- Judge S.V. Kelley
    Debtor's Chapter 13 plan violated equal payments requirement by proposing to pay adequate protection to creditor until attorney's fees were paid and then increasing payments to secured creditor. The decision offers suggestions for provisions that do not violate the equal payments requirement. 

    In re Thomas and Natasha Rowell (September 2015) -- Judge S.V. Kelley
    Construing the language of § 707(b)(2)(D) that certain veterans are exempt from "any form of means testing," the Court dismissed the case under the totality of the circumstances because the wealthy debtors had a large surplus of income over their lavish expenses and they cited no factors such as a medical condition, calamity or inability to fund a Chapter 13 plan to demonstrate their need for Chapter 7 relief.

    In re Gary J. Ambrosius, 536 B.R. 814 (August 2015) -- Judge S.V. Kelley
    Failure to pay post-petition taxes was not cause for dismissal of Chapter 13 case where the Plan did not require the payment of § 1305 claims. The tax claims will survive the discharge, and the Debtor is liable for all applicable interest and penalties, but nonpayment did not constitute a violation of the confirmed Plan.

    In re Carl and Linda Segebrecht, 536 B.R. 810 (August 2015) -- Judge S.V. Kelley
    Homeowners Association Claim for attorneys' fees in litigating with Debtors was not allowed secured claim in Debtors' Chapter 13 case.

    Law Offices of Hans A. Buehler, LLC v. Thomas Kusz, et. al (In re Thomas Kusz and Mary Kusz ) (April 2015) -- Judge S.V. Kelley
    Where creditor did not prove debtor did not intend to pay debt when the agreement to pay was made, creditor's claim under § 523(a)(2)(A) failed.

    Kelley v. Dahle-Fenske (In re Dahle-Fenske), 525 B.R. 912 (March 2015) -- Judge S.V. Kelley
    Debt incurred was community claim but phantom discharge did not apply since creditor was not scheduled and did not have notice of deadline to file dischargeability complaint.