Ebersold v. Delaughter
(Judge Dreher) (before Chief
Judge Koger, Hill, and Dreher) (3:0)
ftp://server.wulaw.wustl.edu/8th.cir/BAP/971027/976030.P8
Appellate court affirmed
bankruptcy court's decision to impose sanctions of attorney
fees and expenses pursuant to Fed. R. Bankr. P. 9011 against
debtor's attorney. Debtor's filed a chapter 13 plan separating
classifying the claim of his ex wife and attempting to resolve
his marital obligations in bankruptcy court rather than the
state divorce court. Chapter 13 trustee objected, the
objection was sustained, and then the debtor's attorney filed
the same plan again. This time the trustee and the appellee/ex-wife
both objected for the same reason as before. At the hearing
the debtor's attorney orally moved to withdraw the plan and
convert the case to chapter 7. Appellee filed a motion for
sanctions alleging that the debtor's positions were legally
unsupportable, and court awarded sanctions in the amount of
$1,575. The case was reviewed for abuse of discretion and
whether there was an erroneous view of the law of a clearly
erroneous assessment of the evidence. The appellate court held
that the bankruptcy court correctly found that appellant had
file the pleadings to needlessly delay the state court action,
increase the costs of litigation, and providing debtor
leverage in the dissolution case. Appellant had done no
research and had no reasonable basis to assert that the
bankruptcy court had jurisdiction over the matters.
Koehler v. Grant, No.
97-6053 (B.A.P. 8th Cir. 1997)
(Judge Kressel) (before Kressel,
Schermer and Scott)
http://ls.wustl.edu/8th.cir/Opinions/BAP/971031/976053.P8
Bankruptcy court had authority
to find debtor's counsel in contempt and impose sanctions of
$15,802. The order disqualifying counsel was not ambiguous,
and the claim of gender bias was completely unsupported by the
record.
|
