Dale L. Somers

A Former Officer Was Not ‘Disinterested’ but Could Be Retained as a Professional Person

Judge Dale Somers adopted a ‘liberal’ construction of Section 1107(b) to retain a professional person who had been an officer of the debtor.

Court :

10th Circuit

Kansas

Courts Disagree on a Trustee’s Ability to Use the IRS’s Longer Statute of Limitations

Two or three years from now, the Tenth Circuit may have a chance to agree or disagree with the Fifth Circuit on an important question under Section 544(b).

Court :

10th Circuit

Kansas

Debtors May Wind Up Operations in Chapter 12 and Farm Through LLCs

Judge Somers wrote two opinions on debtors’ eligibility to reorganize in chapter 12.

Court :

10th Circuit

Kansas

Chapter 13 Debtors Keep Windfalls with No Connection to Assets on the Filing Date

Taking sides with the minority on a split, bankruptcy judges in Kansas allow chapter 13 debtors to retain windfalls acquired after filing.

Court :

10th Circuit

Kansas

Deeply Subordinated Creditor Barred from Voting or Objecting to Plan Confirmation

Subordination agreement did not transfer voting rights, but prudential standing nevertheless barred the subordinated creditor from participating in confirmation, Judge Somers says.

Court :

10th Circuit

Kansas

Earmarking Seems to Be a Dead Letter in the Tenth Circuit

BAP says the Tenth Circuit adopts legal fictions to create preferences.

Court :

10th Circuit

Gift Cards Can’t Be Exempt Because They’re the Same as Nonexempt Cash

Pre-bankruptcy planning was ‘creative’ but didn’t succeed in enlarging the debtor’s exemptions.

Court :

10th Circuit

Kansas

Discrimination in Favor of Student Loans Makes Plan Fatally Defective

Bad policy choice in chapter 13 is an issue for Congress, not the courts, judge says.

Court :

10th Circuit

Kansas

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