Statute/Rule References:
29 U.S.C. § 1930 -- U.S. Trustee Fees
Key Terms:
Chapter 11 - Plan Disbursements
U.S. Trustee Fees
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Opinions
The Western District of Wisconsin offers a database of opinions for the years 1986 to present, listed by year and judge. For a more detailed search, enter a keyword, statute, rule or case number in the search box above.
Opinions are also available on the Government Printing Office website for Appellate, District and Bankruptcy cases. The content of this collection dates back to April 2004, though searchable electronic holdings for some courts may be incomplete for this earlier time period.
For a direct link to the Western Wisconsin Bankruptcy Court on-line opinions, visit this link.
Judge Robert D. Martin
Case Summary:
The debtor brought this adversary proceeding to determine whether he should be discharged from his debt to the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development ("WDWD") for unpaid unemployment insurance contributions of his corporation. The Court found the debt to be nondischargeable under either 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(1)(A) or 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(1)(B)(ii) of the Bankruptcy Code. Relying on the Eighth Circuit B.A.P. in In re Voightman, 239 B.R. 380 (8th Cir. B.A.P. 1999), the court found the unpaid unemployment insurance contributions to be an excise tax under § 507(a)(8)(E) of the Bankruptcy Code. According to the court, the obligation at issue was an excise tax because it was "an involuntary pecuniary burden imposed by the State of Wisconsin on employers . . . for the public purpose of creating a 'gradual and constructive solution of the unemployment problem.'" Finally, the court held that the debt was also nondischargeable under § 523(a)(1)(B)(ii) because this section "excepts from discharge any debt of an individual debtor for a tax where a return was filed late and within the two-year period prior to bankruptcy." Because the debtor was liable for the debt as a responsible party, and the returns were filed late and within the two-year period prior to bankruptcy, the debtor's debt for unpaid unemployment insurance contributions is not dischargeable under § 523(a)(1)(B)(ii).
Statute/Rule References:
11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(1) -- Nondischargeability - Taxes
Key Terms:
Taxes - Dischargeability
Case Summary:
The debtors brought an adversary proceeding to determine whether the post-petition maintenance fees that accrued on the debtors' campsite were dischargeable in their bankruptcy and seeking sanctions against the defendant for violating the automatic stay in attempting to collect a debt. The court (Judge Martin) held that the 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(16) requirements for an exception to discharge had not been met because (1) the unit is not a dwelling unit; (2) the debtor never physically occupied the unit; and (3) the debtors never rented or received rent from the unit. The court then, following the holding of the Seventh Circuit in In the Matter of Rosteck, 899 F.2d 694 (7th Cir. 1990), held that the post-petition maintenance fees were dischargeable in the debtors' bankruptcy because the debt was for future assessments based on a pre-petition contract to pay, and the debt arose pre-petition. The court refused to impose sanctions on the defendants because if the defendants attempted to collect a debt from the debtors, they did so under a good faith belief, supported by case law, that the debt was nondischargeable.
Statute/Rule References:
11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(16) -- Nondischargeability - Fees / Assessments to Associations
Key Terms:
Claims - Definition
Maintenance Fees
Key Terms:
Collateral Estoppel
Fraud
Statute/Rule References:
11 U.S.C. § 548 -- Fraudulent Conveyance
Wis. Stat. § 706.01 -- Statute of Frauds
Key Terms:
Fraudulent Conveyance
Statute/Rule References:
28 U.S.C. § 1651(a) -- Issuance of Writ
Key Terms:
Habeas Corpus
Statute/Rule References:
11 U.S.C. § 547 -- Preferences
Key Terms:
Insider - Definition
Preferences
Statute/Rule References:
11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(6) -- Nondischargeability - Willful and Malicious Injury
11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(7) -- Nondischargeability - Fines / Penalties / Forfeitures
Key Terms:
Restitution
Summary Judgment
Willful and Malicious - Defined
Statute/Rule References:
Wis. Stat. § 409.204 -- Security Interests - Dragnet Clause
Key Terms:
Security Interests - Attachment
Security Interests - Creation
Security Interests - Perfection