Case Summaries
Bankruptcy Law
Landlord Tenant
Bankruptcy Law
[01/07]
Settembre v. Fidelity & Guar. Life Ins. Co.
Appeal of a district court reversal of a bankruptcy court grant of summary judgment on creditor's complaint for denial of discharge is dismissed where a decision by the district court on appeal remanding the bankruptcy court's decision for further proceedings in the bankruptcy court is not final and appealable unless the further proceedings contemplated are of a purely ministerial character, and the remand for a trial here was not of a purely ministerial character.
[01/06]
In Re: Smart World Techs., LLC
In the bankruptcy context, pre-approval of a fee agreement under 11 U.S.C. section 328(a) depends on the totality of the circumstances, including whether the professional's application, or the court's order, referenced section 328(a), and whether the court evaluated the propriety of the fee arrangement before granting final, and not merely preliminary, approval. In the circumstances of this case, the circuit court rules that: 1) the bankruptcy court's Retention Order was a pre-approval within the meaning of 11 U.S.C. section 328(a); and 2) no subsequent developments warranted modifying the terms of appellee-firm's retention.
[12/31]
In the Matter of: Owens
Bankruptcy court did not abuse its discretion in dismissing debtor's bad-faith Chapter 11 case rather than converting it to Chapter 7. When deciding between dismissal and conversion under 11 U.S.C. section 1112(b), the court must consider the interests of all the creditors; here, the other creditors would fare worse under Chapter 7 because the accompanying discharge would deny them access to debtor's future income.
[12/31]
In re: Belcher
District court erred in allowing bankrupt husband to claim a homestead exemption in marital home because wife's name alone appeared on the title. Husband's potential equitable property interests in the home under divorce law, and his "possessory interest" in the family residence as spouse of the homeowner, were insufficient to permit him to claim the homestead exemption.
[12/17]
In re: Ross-Tousey
A Chapter 7 debtor who owns his car free and clear may take the IRS Local Standard vehicle ownership expense deduction under the 11 U.S.C. section 707(b)(2)(A)(ii)(I) means test.
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Landlord Tenant
[06/12]
936 Second Avenue L.P. v. Second Corporate Dev. Co., Inc.
In a lease dispute involving the issue of whether the net lease itself must be considered by appraisers in valuing the demised premises for purposes of establishing the net rent for a renewal term of the lease, the Court of Appeals rules that, because the net lease does not exclude its consideration, it must be taken into account in valuing the property.
[06/10]
Golden Rain Foundation v. Franz
Judgment finding plaintiff was an "association" subject to the Davis-Stirling Common Interest Development Act is affirmed where: 1) substantial evidence supported that plaintiff was a non-profit association created to manage a common interest development; and 2) the declaration of trust which created the common interest development was effective.
[06/05]
Young Apts., Inc. v. Town of Jupiter, Florida
In an action brought by an apartment complex owner claiming that the purpose behind a Florida town's enactment and enforcement of an "Overcrowding Ordinance" was to reduce the growing population of Hispanic immigration residents by targeting landlords who provide affordable housing to them, judgment dismissing plaintiff's equal protection claims against the town and its officials is reversed and remanded where: 1) plaintiff satisfied the requirements for asserting third-party standing; and 2) the district court erred in finding that plaintiff's complaint failed to state a cause of action against town officials in their individual capacities. However, dismissal of plaintiff's breach of contract claims against the town based on allegations of a negotiated agreement is affirmed where, under Florida law, a town can neither waive nor contract away its police powers.
[06/03]
Pultz v. Economakis
In a case involving landlord-defendants who sought to recover possession of rent-stabilized apartments on grounds of owner-occupancy, judgment, holding that landlord-defendants' plan to recover was governed by the "owner occupancy provision" rather than the "market withdrawal provision" of the Rent Stabilization Code, is affirmed where: landlords may not recover the stabilized apartment units unless they establish in Civil Court (at holdover proceedings against tenant-plaintiffs) their good faith intention to recover possession of the subject apartments for the owner's personal use as the primary residence.
[06/03]
ComMet 380, Inc. v. TAG 380, LLC.
In an appeal considering whether a long-term ground tenant breached its lease by obtaining insurance coverage expressly excluding "terrorism" when the lease included an insurance clause which required the tenant to maintain insurance coverage against loss or damage by fire and other named perils included under the terms of the New York Standard Fire Insurance Policy and Extended Coverage Endorsement, the court of appeals rules that: 1) the lease at issue required tenant to procure insurance covering the named perils without excluding "terrorism" as an underlying cause of the named peril; and 2) by failing to do so, the tenant breached its lease.
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