Subscribe to All Opinions17 B 12405
Upon a tax purchaser’s motion for relief from stay in a chapter 13 case, arguing that the expiration of the state-law period for redeeming taxes prior to the debtor filing for bankruptcy case gives cause to modify the stay, held: The tax purchaser has not established the necessary elements of section 362(d)(1) or (d)(2) to be granted relief from stay. Because the tax purchaser has not obtained a tax deed, under Illinois law, the debtor remains the owner of the underlying real property even though the redemption period has expired prior to the commencement of the debtor’s case. The debtor therefore has the right to attempt to treat the tax purchaser’s claim and the debtor’s property in a chapter 13 plan. The existence of that right, under the facts at bar, trumps the tax purchaser’s desire to bolster its claim postpetition by acts proscribed by the automatic stay. The motion for relief from stay is, therefore, DENIED.
Opinions
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Judge Timothy A. Barnes
December 4, 2017
Judge LaShonda A. Hunt
November 28, 2017
17bk10117
The Chapter 13 trustee objects to confirmation of the debtor’s plan on two grounds: (1) feasibility, as debtor relies on a prorated anticipated annual tax refund that constitutes one-third of her monthly income; and (2) good faith, since Schedule J lists unsubstantiated anticipated expenses as opposed to the actual expenses of a below-median debtor. The court concludes that the debtor has presented enough evidence to satisfy her burden of proof at confirmation. Both objections are overruled and the plan is confirmed.
November 27, 2017
16bk29693, 16ap00657
Pro se debtor/plaintiff seeks a new trial pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 50(d) following the court’s ruling that she failed to present sufficient evidence to establish undue hardship under 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(8). The court concludes that there is no basis to grant a new trial or to reconsider its prior decision finding that her student loan debts are non-dischargeable.
Judge Jack B. Schmetterer
Judge Deborah L. Thorne
November 16, 2017
16 A 00479, 16 B 13005
September 13, 2017
17 A 00286, 16 B 24652
Judge Thomas M. Lynch
September 29, 2017
14 B 82161, 16 A 96043
Judge Jacqueline P. Cox
September 20, 2017
17 B 20163
The issue was whether Debtor Adger's filing of a Chapter 13 case on July 5, 2017 at 6:26 p.m., rather than before 5 p.m. when the Cook County Clerk's office closed was filed timely for purposes of allowing the debtor to treat a tax purchaser's claim over the life of a Chapter 13 plan. The court analyzed the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure, the Illinois Supreme Court's Electronic Filing Standards and Principles and our local Bankruptcy Court's Administrative Procedures for CM/ECF that govern electronic filing. Generally those Rules and Standards provide that a document filed on the due date before midnight is timely filed. The Amended Motion to Modify Automatic Stay was denied.
September 13, 2017
09 B 49112, 17 A 00280
The Debtor sued Wells Fargo Home Mortgage alleging that it violated the discharge injunction when it sent her three informational letters concerning its lien. The court found that the creditor did no more than what Bankruptcy Code Section 524(j) allows mortgagees to do post-discharge: communicate with debtors to maintain periodic payments on residential property in lieu of the creditor pursuing in rem relief to enforce the lien.