Efron v. Candelario (In re Efron)
- Summarized by Michael Sugar , Commonwealth of Massachusetts
- 9 years 8 months ago
- Citation:
- BAP Nos. PR 14-027, PR 14-35
- Tag(s):
-
- Ruling:
- The Bankruptcy Appellate Panel ("BAP") upheld the Bankruptcy Court's dismissal of David Efron's (the "Debtor") bankruptcy case. The BAP determined that the Bankruptcy Court had not abused its discretion in dismissing the Debtor's case pursuant to 11 U.S.C. 305 and 11 U.S.C. 1112 when the case was primarily a two party dispute between the Debtor and his former wife over marital assets, a Puerto Rico Court would need to resolve the ownership of the marital assets before the bankruptcy could proceed and the Debtor refused to comply with court orders. The BAP also upheld the Bankruptcy Court's determination that dismissal rather than conversion was in creditors best interest because the bankruptcy court was not the proper forum to resolve the marital dispute.
- Procedural context:
- The Debtor appealed the Bankruptcy Court's decision to dismiss his bankruptcy case. Ms. Candelario, the Debtor's ex wife, cross-appealed the Bankruptcy Court's decision to dismiss rather than convert the Debtor's case.
- Facts:
- The Debtor and his former wife divorced years prior to the Debtor's bankruptcy filing. After the divorce, litigation continued for years regarding the division of the marital estate. The Debtor filed for bankruptcy in order to stay the ongoing litigation over the division of the marital estate. In the bankruptcy, the Debtor continued to refuse to make monthly payments to his ex-wife despite the Bankruptcy Court's determination that the payments constituted domestic support obligations and that the Debtor was required to make the payments.
- Judge(s):
- Hillman, Boroff and Finkle
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