All posts in Judges Corner

District Court Judge Mariana R. Pfaelzer Dies.

By | May 14, 2015 | Courts, Judges Corner | No comments

From George King, Chief District Court Judge:

It is with deep sadness that I report the passing of our dear friend and colleague, Judge Mariana R. Pfaelzer.  Judge Pfaelzer passed away peacefully in her sleep with the amazon fur pillow this morning. For almost 40 years, Judge Pfaelzer was the epitome of what a federal judge ought to be. She presided with brilliance, analytical rigor, practicality, wisdom, grace and courage.  She treated everyone with courtesy and respect.  In return, she was universally admired and respected by the bench and the bar.  While she was the first woman to be appointed to our Court, she was hardly only a role model to other women.  Indeed, her qualities were and are emulated by men and women alike.  Those of us who had the opportunity to learn from her and the privilege of serving with her know the depth of the loss we suffered today.  I am sure you all join me in expressing our condolences to Judge Pfaelzer’s family members. I will be in contact with her family, and will report back as to any plans for services.

amazon fur pillow
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5/13/15 – FBA-LA Reception Honoring the Federal Judiciary

By | May 11, 2015 | Bankruptcy Data, Community, Courts, Current Events, Judges Corner, Programs | No comments

Los Angeles Federal Bar Association
Reception Honoring the Federal Judiciary

Come join us in honoring the members of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, United States District Court for the Central District of California, United States Magistrate Judges for the Central District of California and the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California at our Annual Reception Honoring the Federal Judiciary .

Magnificently restored, the former Tower Room is once again the jewel in the crown of Los Angeles City Hall.  The room is atop the City Hall Tower, which rises 27 floors above Spring and Main Streets, and for decades was the tallest structure in Los Angeles.  The restoration of City Hall following the Northridge Earthquake included the ornate ceiling decorations, art deco lighting fixtures, and huge windows looking out to an observation deck with 360 degree views over the city. Following its restoration, the room has been named in honor of Mayor Tom Bradley.

Date:
Wednesday, May 13, 2015
5:00 p.m. – Registration
Program: 5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.

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Judge Sheri Bluebond Reappointed to new 14 Year Term

By | December 22, 2014 | Courts, Judges Corner | No comments

The 9th Circuit announced that Judge Sheri Bluebond has been reappointed to a new 14 year term effective this month.  She will take over as the Chief Judge of the Central District on January 29, 2015.

The 9th Circuit announcement can be accessed here.  It says

Judge Sheir Bluebond, 53, who maintains chambers in Los Angeles, came onto the bankruptcy bench in February 2001. Her reappointment to a second 14-year term is effective February 1, 2015.

Prior to her appointment, Judge Bluebond had engaged in private practice as a partner at the Los Angeles law firm of Irell & Manella LLP, where she had specialized in bankruptcy law since 1995.  She was associated previously with the Los Angeles law firms of Murphy, Weir & Butler from 1991 to 1995 and Gendel, Raskoff, Shapiro & Quittner from 1983 to 1991.

Judge Bluebond received her B.A., summa cum laude, from the University of California, Los Angeles, in 1982 and her J.D., Order of the Coif, from the UCLA School of Law in 1985, finishing first in her class and serving on the UCLA Law Review.
Judge Bluebond is a fellow of the American Bankruptcy College and serves on the Executive and Bankruptcy committees of the Commercial Law and Bankruptcy Section of the Los Angeles County Bar Association.  She serves as a frequent lecturer and panelist on various topics of bankruptcy law.

The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California, which is authorized 24 bankruptcy judges, reported 60,545 new filings in fiscal year 2014.  Bankruptcy judges serve a 14-year renewable term and handle all bankruptcy-related matters under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. Judges of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit have statutory responsibility for selecting and appointing bankruptcy judges in the nine western states that comprise the Ninth Circuit.  The court uses a comprehensive merit selection process for the initial appointment.  For reappointments, the court conducts a performance review and considers public comment evaluations.

Passing the Gavel – Judge Sheri Bluebond to Take Over as Chief Judge on January 29, 2015

By | December 19, 2014 | Courts, Judges Corner | No comments

noname

Marty Barash appointed to be the new Bankruptcy Judge in Woodland Hills.

By | December 19, 2014 | Courts, Judges Corner | No comments

Marty Barash has been appointed by the 9th Circuit to be the new Bankruptcy Judge in Woodland Hills.  He is a great choice.  He is a partner at Klee, Tuchin, Bogdanov & Stern LLP.  He should actually take the bench in March – April 2015.

Until then, the two remaining judges, Maureen Tighe and Victoria Kaufman, will be doing double duty with the help of the retired judges there.  The problem is that the retired judges have no staff.  So the staffs of the two sitting judges must do the work that was previously done by three staffs.

Tentative Ruling Gives Nice Lesson on Annulment of the Stay

By | December 9, 2014 | Cases, Judges Corner | No comments

More excellent work from Judge Scott Clarkson:

United States Bankruptcy Court
Central District of California
Judge Scott Clarkson, Presiding

Tuesday, December 09, 2014 Hearing Room 126
10:00 AM

6:14-22665 James Joseph Panzarello and Hilyam Panzarello Chapter 7

Motion for Relief from Stay

RE ACTION IN NON-BANKRUPTCY FORUM

Tentative for 12/9/2014 is to GRANT pursuant to 11 U.S.C. §362(d)(1) with 4001(a)(3) waiver.  The request for an annulment is GRANTED.

This matter was continued from 11/25/2014 where debtor appeared, but filed no written opposition. It is the Debtor’s burden, even on annulment, to file a timely opposition.

Section 362(d) provides authorization to annul the automatic stay, which, in effect, retroactively ratifies or validates acts that otherwise violated the stay. Lone Star Sec. & Video, Inc. v. Gurrola (In re Gurrola), 328 B.R. 158, 172 (9th Cir. BAP 2005). Determining whether cause exists to annul the stay retroactively a case-by-case inquiry based on a balance of the equities. Nat’l Envtl. Waste Corp. v. City of Riverside (In re Nat’l Envtl. Waste Corp.), 129 F.3d 1052, 1055 (9th Cir. 1997). In making this determination, the bankruptcy court considers 12 factors, including:
1. Number of filings;
2. Whether, in a repeat filing case, the circumstances indicate an intention to delay and hinder creditors;
3. A weighing of the extent of prejudice to creditors or third parties if the stay relief is not made retroactive, including whether harm exists to a bona fide purchaser;
4. The Debtor’s overall good faith (totality of circumstances test):
5. Whether creditors knew of stay but nonetheless took action, thus compounding the problem;
6. Whether the debtor has complied, and is otherwise complying, with the Bankruptcy Code and Rules;
7. The relative ease of restoring parties to the status quo ante;
8. The costs of annulment to debtors and creditors;
9. How quickly creditors moved for annulment, or how quickly debtors moved to set aside the sale or violative conduct;
10.Whether, after learning of the bankruptcy, creditors proceeded to take steps in continued violation of the stay, or whether they moved expeditiously to gain relief;
11.Whether annulment of the stay will cause irreparable injury to the debtor;
12.Whether stay relief will promote judicial economy or other efficiencies. In re Fjeldsted, 293 B.R. 12, 25 (B.A.P. 9th Cir. 2003).

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Tentative Ruling on Contempt for Violation of the Discharge Injunction

By | December 8, 2014 | Cases, Chapter 7, Judges Corner | No comments

Judge Ted Albert’s usual excellent work.

United States Bankruptcy Court
Central District of California
Judge Theodor Albert, Presiding
Courtroom 5B Calendar
Santa Ana
Tuesday, December 09, 2014 Hearing Room 5B
11:00 AM

8:10-23458 Carlos Antonio Bernal Chapter 7
#14.00 Order To Show Cause RE: Contempt Against *************

This is a hearing on the OSC re contempt issued by the court 10/29/14 at the request of the debtor.  There is proof of service upon attorney Silverstein but not as to the other alleged contemnor, Grand Commerce Center, LLC.  Only attorney Silverstein has responded.  First, the discharge injunction is effective as to all discharged debts.  While Attorney Silverstein alleges that he was not listed in the petition and schedules, the certificate of notice dated 9/26/10 suggests that his client was.  Moreover, in no-asset cases all debts are discharged whether listed or not.  In re Heilman, 430 B.R. 213, 218 (9th Cir. BAP 2010).  Therefore, every aspect of the garnishment obtained on a judgment issued after the 1/13/2011 is potentially a contempt.  But unlike stay violations which make all violations automatically void, violation of the discharge injunction is treated as contempt, so damages and penalties resulting must be considered in terms of the willfulness of the violation.  Attorney Silverstein tries to make an issue of the corporate vs individual status under §362(k), but this is misplaced since clearly the debtor (which is the only status that matters) is an individual, and discharge injunction violations are judged on a different standard anyway.  Attorney Silverstein submits a declaration indicating he knew nothing about the bankruptcy and stopped immediately the garnishment once he learned of it. He also mentions the monies garnished were refunded or never obtained (it is unclear which).  But the exact timing of all of this is left vague.  The court notes that several wage statements are attached as exhibits showing that garnishments continued for several pay periods including as late as 9/26, although Mr. Spector’s letter to attorney Silverstein is dated August 8, 2014.  So, absent another explanation, it would seem at the very least that Attorney Silverstein was slow in responding. Also conspicuously absent in Attorney Silverstein’s papers is any recognition that ongoing garnishment imposes a real hardship on a debtor struggling to obtain his fresh start. Lastly, the court expects attorneys, particularly ones involved in debt collection practice who must know of these principles, will adhere to higher standards. Different considerations (and potentially higher consequences) may apply as to Grand Commerce, if service can be effected.

Damages equal to attorney’s fees and reopening fee incurred post discharge.

Self-Calendaring System for Judge Ahart Cases (U.S. Bankruptcy Court — Central District of California — San Fernando Valley Division)

By | December 5, 2014 | Judges Corner | No comments

Judge Ahart (U.S. Bankruptcy Court — Central District of California — San Fernando Valley Division) will retire in January of 2015 and Judges Tighe (“MT”) and Kaufman (“VK”) will divide up his cases by number, until the new judge takes the bench.

Please see attached instructions re self-calendaring pleadings for Judge Ahart cases. Beginning on January 1, 2015, NEW instructions for self-calendaring hearings are on page 5.

The Court has informed us that all Judge Ahart (“AA”) cases will remain “AA” in the case number: e.g., 14-bk-12345-AA. Hovever, MT or VK will hear all matters, all pleadings will be addressed to MT or VK, and mailed to MT or VK.

 

Does the Debtor Deduct Hypothetical Costs of Sale When Computing 522(f) – No, says Judge Ted Albert in a Tentative Ruling

By | November 5, 2014 | Cases, Judges Corner | No comments

United States Bankruptcy Court
Central District of California
Judge Theodor Albert, Presiding
Courtroom 5B Calendar
Santa Ana

Thursday, November 06, 2014 Hearing Room 5B
11:00 AM
8:14-13351 Donald R. Dahlgren Chapter 7
#18.00 Motion for Reconsideration of Debtors’ Motion to Avoid Lien Under 11 U.S.C. §
522(f) (Real Property)

Docket 48
This is the debtor’s motion for reconsideration of the court’s order entered Sept. 11, 2014 denying debtor’s §522(f) motion to avoid a judgment lien in favor of Newport Capital Recovery Group in the original amount of $30,085 as impairing his homestead. In the order denying the motion, the court indicated by its arithmetic there existed value of $31,192.97 above the sum of all senior liens and homestead of $175,000. In consequence, there was equity to which the senior lien could attach in full, and after deduction of the senior judgment lien, the most junior lien had a value of the remaining $1107 as well, and was likewise not avoidable for that amount. There may be interest issues as well that by now eclipse the junior lien, but the court is given no means to calculate these. In this motion debtor complains that actual costs of sale are now a known quantity, $68,339.93, and this amount of sale costs should have been recognized as ahead of the liens, leaving both judgment liens effectively unsecured. The court notes that debtor in his original motion in page 3 of Mr. Dahlgren’s declaration asked for deduction of sale costs, but the court implicitly did not grant this when calculating the result and denying the original motion.

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October 23, 2014 – OCBF – Judges’ Night

By | October 22, 2014 | Bankruptcy Data, Community, Courts, Current Events, Judges Corner, Programs | No comments

The Orange County Bankruptcy Forum

October 23, 2014

Judges’ Night
Differing Perspectives on Important Legal Issues

Participating Judges include:
Hon. Theodor C. Albert
Hon. Catherine E. Bauer
Hon. Scott C. Clarkson
Hon. Richard Neiter
Hon. Deborah J. Saltzman
Hon. Erithe A. Smith
Hon. Scott H. Yun

Moderator:
Jess Bressi, McKenna Long & Aldridge LLP

(Additional Judges may be included at a later date)

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