In re:  Jerome and Barbara Toppmeyer

Summary:  Creditors originally received a judgment against the debtors’ son.  This judgment was recorded and a lien was placed against the son’s undivided, one-third interest in a piece of property he shared with his parents.  The son sought relief pursuant to Chapter 7 and received a discharge discharging his personal liability on the judgment.  The in rem lien survived and remained attached to the property when, subsequent to his discharge, the son transferred his interest back to his parents, the instant debtors.  When the debtors filed Chapter 13, Creditors sought to enforce their in rem lien rights and argued that the plan should provide for any unsecured deficiency left after the sale of the property.  The Court found that the value of the claim was limited to one-third of the value of the debtors’ property minus the outstanding mortgage claim.  The Court further found that while the secured portion must be addressed in the debtors’ plan, any unsecured deficiency need not be addressed as it was not owed by the debtors.

In re: Javier Muniz v Shahriar S Bozorgzadeh, et al

Summary: The plaintiff moved for summary judgment on his complaint pursuant to 11 U.S.C. §§ 523(a)(2)(A) (actual fraud) and (a)(6) (willful and malicious injury). The plaintiff asserted that after a jury trial in the Illinois trial court, an appellate decision in his favor from the Illinois Court of Appeals, and a denial of certiorari by the Illinois Supreme Court, there were no genuine issues of material fact and that he was entitled to judgment as a matter of law. The Bankruptcy Court granted summary judgment for plaintiff under the doctrines of full faith and credit, collateral estoppel and law of the case. It held that the state court judgment was non-dischargeable in bankruptcy under 11 U.S.C. §§ 523(a)(2)(A) and (a)(6).

In re: Kimberly Clemons

Summary: Creditor holding undisputed mechanic's lien objected to debtor's claim of homestead exemption. Schedules showed value of both mortgage and mechanic's lien, independently, exceeded value of home. Objection sustained, as homestead exemption allows exemption only for debtor's "interest" in homestead property, and without equity, debtor held no interest under exemption statute.

In re:  Dennis L and Minnie L Tucker

Summary:  The Trustee objected to the secured proof of claim of the Internal Revenue Service on the basis that the documentation accompanying the IRS claim was insufficient to establish that the IRS had a valid, perfected lien.  While the IRS attached a facsimile copy of the Notice of Federal Tax Lien to its claim, it did not include a copy of the actual recorded lien.  The Trustee argued that the claim was, therefore, insufficient under Federal Rule of Bankruptcy Procedure 3001(d).  The Trustee’s objection was overruled.