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Opinions

Effective January 1, 2017, Orders in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Georgia designated by the Court as "opinions" will be transmitted to the Government Publishing Office (GPO) and made available to the public at no cost.  To view these opinions, click HERE to be transferred to GPO site.

Orders designated as Opinions and issued between January 1, 2004 and December 31, 2016 are maintained on this website. Many of these Opinions are not intended for publication and are so designated. Each entry includes the style of the matter, the case number, the date entered on the docket, and a short parenthetical expression of the issue(s) raised. The most recent opinions appear first.

You can narrow your search by judge and/or year below.  You can also use the search feature above to search by name, word, or phrase. The single opinions are in PDF text format and may be searched for word, phrase, or date by using “Control F,” the Windows search function available in any Windows application.

(O.C.G.A.§ 44-13-100(a)(1); 11 U.S.C. § 522; Sustaining Chapter 7 Trustee's Objection to Debtor's Exemption)
Published

finding debts owed to debtor's former spouse were nondischargeable under sections 523(a)(5) and 523(a)(15)
NOT INTENDED FOR PUBLICATION
 

Denying U.S. Trustee's Motion to Dismiss.
Published

granting motion for sanctions for failure to comply with Court's order compelling defendant to respond to discovery requests, striking defendant's answer, and entering default judgment against defendant
NOT INTENDED FOR PUBLICATION

Judge Joyce Bihary (Retired)

Insurance company’s motion for relief from stay to file declaratory judgment action in this court against debtor and several non-debtor parties denied as no relief from stay needed to file adversary proceeding in same court where debtor’s bankruptcy case is pending and no relief from stay necessary to file adversary proceeding against non-debtor parties

11 U.S.C. § § 350(b), 727; Fed R. Bankr. P. 7001(4); creditor's motions to revoke discharge and reopen case denied as statutory deadline for filing revocation request had passed; no "cause" to reopen debtor's cases exists where it would serve no purpose;  additionally, discharge revocation must be made through an adversary proceeding, not motion; and, Court docket reflects creditor failed to properly serve motions

Insurance company’s motion for relief from stay to file declaratory judgment action in this court against debtor and several non-debtor parties denied as no relief from stay needed to file adversary proceeding in same court where debtor’s bankruptcy case is pending and no relief from stay necessary to file adversary proceeding against non-debtor parties

Honorable Paul W. Bonapfel

(Order denying motion to redeem vehicle.  Service of motion to redeem, to "Attn: President," without specifically naming the individual, does not comply with the requirements of Bankruptcy Rule 7004 and the constitutional requirements of due process.)

(Judgment for Debtor in the amount of $1,825 against her former counsel for monies entrusted to him which were not paid to mortgage company and for attorney's fees incurred by new counsel.  Court finds that counsel violated Georgia Rule 1.15(I) by failing to account to client for funds entrusted to him, and that reasonable grounds to believe that counsel also violated Georgia Rule 5.5(a), which prohibits a lawyer from assisting in the unauthorized practice of law; Georgia Rule 5.3 which requires proper supervision of legal assistants; Georgia Rule 3.3(a), which imposes a duty to be candid with the Court; and Georgia Rule 1.1, which requires a lawyer to provide competent representation to his client.  Court referred matter to State Bar of Georgia for further investigation and proceedings)
NOT INTENDED FOR PUBLICATION

Judge James E. Massey (Retired)

Motion of creditor for order approving reaffirmation agreement with pro se debtor denied where creditor failed to provide copy of contract being reaffirmed and debtor’s schedules showed on their face that she could not afford the payments.
NOT INTENDED FOR PUBLICATION

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