By Scott Riddle Posted in Eleventh Circuit Cases“Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.” Samuel Beckett in Worstword, Ho. Many have tried to extend the deadline for discharge complaints that is found in Bankruptcy Rule 4007(c), almost always after missing the deadline. The Eleventh Circuit recently affirmed that equitable tolling still does not apply to extend the deadline… Continue Reading
By Scott Riddle Posted in Northern District CasesIn Barger v. Rocket Mortgage, LLC, Adv. Proc. No. 23-5164-bem, 2025 WL 1416871 (Bankr. N.D. Ga. May 15, 2025), the Chapter 7 Trustee sought to avoid a deed because every letter of the notary’s name was not fully discernible in the signature. The Court previously granted summary judgment to the lender/transferee and the Trustee sought… Continue Reading
By Scott Riddle Posted in Consumer Bankruptcy Guide,Middle District CasesIn re Thomas, Ch. 13 Case No. 24-10535-RMM, 2025 WL 1373615 (Bankr. M.D. Ga. May 12, 2025). Debtors’ Chapter 13 Plan proposed to reduce the secured creditor’s claim to the value of the manufactured home that served as collateral. The sole legal issue was whether a manufactured home that was Debtors’ residence was a “motor… Continue Reading
By Scott Riddle Posted in Eleventh Circuit Cases,Northern District CasesIn Watson v. Bradsher and Ali, 2025 WL 2205853 (11th Cir. August 4, 2025), the Debtor met Plaintiffs at a bar and invited one of them to go home with him. She sternly rejected his advances and moved with her friend to another part of the bar. Debtor tried to pay his tab and could… Continue Reading
By Scott Riddle Posted in Northern District CasesIn In re Kimball, Ch. 7 Case No. 24-11036-pmb, 667 B.R. 487 (Bankr. N.D. Ga. 2025) (click here for pdf) , the Lender foreclosed on commercial property owned by a limited liability company on August 6, 2024. The LLC, in turn, was owned by an individual Debtor who had filed a Chapter 13 case on… Continue Reading
By Scott Riddle Posted in Consumer Bankruptcy Guide,Northern District CasesIn In re Cady, Ch. 7 No. 24-41026-ejc, 2025 WL 1587266 (Bankr. S.D. Ga. June 4, 2025) the issue was whether the Debtor, a real estate agent, could claim an exemption in her vehicle as a tool of the trade. In addition to claiming vehicle and wild card exemptions, Debtor argued that her vehicle was… Continue Reading
By Scott Riddle Posted in Miscellaneous Cases,News and CommentsIt is expensive to stay in Bankruptcy. Last month a Brown Rudnick lawyer tried to increase his hourly rate from $1,000 per hour to $1,500 per hour. Chief Judge Laurie Selber Silverstein in Delaware rejected the increase, “saying that no client would approve such a steep fee hike in the middle of a case.” See… Continue Reading
By Scott Riddle Posted in News and Comments,Northern District CasesI don’t typically post about new Chapter 11 filings unless there is something compelling about them, but almost 300 Chapter 11 cases for Lavie Care Centers and related entities filed on the same day qualifies as news here in the Northern District of Georgia. The Motion for Joint Administration alone is 49 pages, most of… Continue Reading
By Scott Riddle Posted in Miscellaneous Cases,Northern District CasesAn entire blog could be devoted to the intersection of Bankruptcy and divorce, but for this post we will look at what happens when a divorce decree (or final settlement agreement) requires that one of the spouses transfer his or her interest in real property to the other spouse, but before the actual transfer is… Continue Reading
By Scott Riddle Posted in Northern District Cases… at least in Judge Sigler’s Court in the Northern District of Georgia. Primary Investments Group, Inc. v. RA Custom Design Inc., 2024 WL 607716, Adv. Proc. No. 23-05193-sms (February 13, 2024). The holding is consistent with most courts that have ruled on the issue, with the exception of the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals… Continue Reading
By Scott Riddle Posted in Eleventh Circuit CasesIn a case of first impression in the Eleventh Circuit, the Circuit Panel addressed the dischargeability of debts incurred by a produce buyer who is acting as a trustee under the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act (“PACA”). In re Forrest, 2022 WL 3908803 (11th Cir. August 31, 2022)(click here for .pdf). The court concluded that debts… Continue Reading
By Scott Riddle Posted in News and Comments,Northern District Cases,Small Business BankruptcyThe Governors Gun Club of Kennesaw filed a Chapter 11 case in the Northern District of Georgia on August 17, 2022. Case No. 22-20787-jrs. The reason for the filing, as stated in pleadings filed with the Court – Like so many other small businesses, the Debtor suffered a series of setbacks at the hands of… Continue Reading
By Scott Riddle Posted in Eleventh Circuit Cases,Northern District CasesIn Auriga Polymers, Inc. v. PMCM2, LLC, as Liquidating Trustee, No. 20-14647, 2022 WL 2800195 (11th Cir. July 17, 2022) (click here for .pdf) the creditor, Auriga, received transfers of more than $2.2 million in the 90 days before the Debtor, Beaulieu Group, LLC, filed its Bankruptcy case on July 16, 2017. During the 90… Continue Reading
By Scott Riddle Posted in Consumer Bankruptcy Guide,Northern District CasesIn the case of In re Ruff, 2022 B.R. 1638964, Ch. 7 Case No. 20-68855-pwb (Bankr. N.D.Ga. March 31, 2022) (click here for .pdf) the issue was whether the educational loans owed by the Debtor were “consumer” debts as defined by 11 U.S.C. §101(8) of the Bankruptcy Code, and incorporated into 11 U.S.C. §707(b). If… Continue Reading
By Scott Riddle Posted in Eleventh Circuit Cases,Northern District CasesOnce again, a Bankruptcy case leads to a key opinion in Georgia real estate law and, as often the case, the Chapter 7 Trustee prevails. In In re Lindstrom, 2022 WL 1041192 (11th Cir. April 7, 2022) (click here for .pdf) the issue was the validity of a security deed, the interpretation of the Georgia… Continue Reading
By Scott Riddle Posted in Eleventh Circuit CasesIn a relatively brief opinion, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on the deadlines for appealing an order from the District Court (acting as an appellate court for a Bankruptcy Court Order) to the Court of Appeals. Appellants appealed a Bankruptcy Court Order to the District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. On… Continue Reading
By Scott Riddle Posted in Georgia State Cases,Middle District CasesIn Georgia, does a judgment lien attach to real property as of the date the judgment was entered or as of the date and time the writ of fieri facias on that judgment is properly recorded in the county records, as required under Georgia law? The Supreme Court of Georgia answered this question in Synovus… Continue Reading
By Scott Riddle Posted in Corporate & Fiduciary Litigation,Miscellaneous CasesIn Jay Alix, as assignee of AlixPartners, LLP v. McKinsey & Co., Inc., 2022 WL 163800 (2nd Cir., January 19, 2022) (click here for .pdf), two major competitors in the niche market of Bankruptcy advising to estates with a billion dollars or more of assets were in court against each other over lucrative consulting assignments.… Continue Reading
In In re Kimball, Ch. 7 Case No. 24-11036-pmb, 667 B.R. 487 (Bankr. N.D. Ga. 2025) (click here for pdf) , the Lender foreclosed on commercial property owned by a limited liability company on August 6, 2024. The LLC, in turn, was owned by an individual Debtor who had filed a Chapter 13 case on… Continue Reading
In In re Cady, Ch. 7 No. 24-41026-ejc, 2025 WL 1587266 (Bankr. S.D. Ga. June 4, 2025) the issue was whether the Debtor, a real estate agent, could claim an exemption in her vehicle as a tool of the trade. In addition to claiming vehicle and wild card exemptions, Debtor argued that her vehicle was… Continue Reading