Subscribe to All Opinions09 B 19329
Opinions
The District of Northern Illinois offers a database of opinions for the years 1999 to 2013, listed by year and judge. For a more detailed search, enter the keyword or case number in the search box above.
Judge Carol A. Doyle
Judge Jack B. Schmetterer
12 B 14383, 12 A 00748
12 B 21010, 12 A 01021
Judge Janet S. Baer
12 B 26295, 12 A 01630
The Court held that wages withheld pre-petition under an Illinois Citation to Discover Assets, and an order for installment payment of judgment, are not exempt assets and thus may not be recovered by the debtor as a preferential transfer. Personal property exemptions do not apply to wages that are required to be withheld in a wage deduction proceeding under Part 8 of Article XII of the Illinois Code of Civil Procedure. The issue before the Court was whether the same was true of wages withheld pursuant to a citation to discover assets, which is a special proceeding under Part 14 of Article II, as opposed to a wage deduction proceeding under Part 8 of Article XII. In holding that the debtor could not claim an exemption in wages withheld pursuant to a citation to discover assets, the Court based its decision on the language in 735 Ill. Comp. Stat. 5/2–1402(k-5) that directs the Court, in the event property held by a third party respondent is wages, to proceed as if a wage deduction proceeding had been filed. Accordingly, the Court granted the creditor’s motion to dismiss the preference action.
In re: Michael C. James
April 18, 2013
April 18, 2013
After his chapter 13 case was dismissed without a plan being confirmed, the debtor moved to compel the trustee to release funds he was holding in payment to the debtor’s attorney, alleging that section 1326(a)(2) of the Bankruptcy Code mandates the disbursement of those funds. The issue addressed by the Court was whether a third-party citation to discover assets, which was served upon the trustee by creditor Brendan Financial, Inc. and which initiated supplementary proceedings in the Circuit Court of Cook County, trumps the release of funds to the debtor’s attorney. The Court found that Brendan Financial violated the Barton doctrine by initiating supplementary proceedings in the state court without obtaining leave of the Bankruptcy Court. The Court also concluded that section 1326(a)(2) governs the matter and that the plain language of that statute mandates the disbursement of funds to the debtor’s attorney. Accordingly, the Court granted the debtor’s motion and directed the trustee to release funds to the debtor’s attorney in accordance with the Court’s order which granted the attorney’s application for compensation.
Judge Jacqueline P. Cox
In re Shelia L. Martin
April 26, 2013
April 26, 2013
09 B 42237
In this Chapter 13 proceeding, the Court granted the Debtor’s motion for sanctions, after a Mortgagee continued to collect the mortgage payments from both the Debtor and the Trustee despite the Court’s approval of a loan modification agreement. The Court’s opinion highlights the importance of parties examining whether loan modifications necessitate a subsequent chapter 13 plan amendment to accurately provide for treatment of mortgage arrears.
Judge A. Benjamin Goldgar
12 B 30720, 12 A 01689