William R. Sawyer

How Judge Sawyer rules, drawn from 20 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.

Judge Sawyer no longer hears cases. This profile is preserved as a historical record of how they ruled.

Court
U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Alabama
Position
bankruptcy
Status
Retired 2022
Served
1999–2022
Appointed by
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
Commissioned
1999-05-24
Signed orders read
20

How Judge Sawyer decides

Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.

Procedural preferences

The court rejected an emergency compromise filed early in a case where the factual record had not been developed enough to justify surrendering most of a valuable estate claim.

“Haste makes waste. There was no valid reason to file this motion on an emergency basis.”

Cautions

A creditor with actual knowledge of a bankruptcy could not ignore the case for months and later rely on excusable neglect to file a late claim.

“The fact that Creditor knew about the bankruptcy filing and did nothing for almost four months is dispositive.”

Signed rulings

A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.

In re Sanders
· 2011-07-12
Motion to dismiss chapter 7 case (Bankruptcy Administrator) Denied

“Thus, the Court will DENY the Bankruptcy Administrator’s Motion to Dismiss pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 707(b)(2) by way of a separate order.”

Melvin v. Internal Revenue Service (In re Melvin)
· 2009-04-16
Motion to abstain and dismiss (United States) Denied

“For the reasons set forth below, the motion is DENIED.”

In re Clark
· 2007-08-29
Motion to approve compromise (Chapter 7 trustee and General Electric Capital Corporation) Denied

“The motion to compromise (Doc. 37) is DENIED for the reasons set forth above.”

Alexander v. J. Martin & Associates (In re Terry Manufacturing Co.)
· 2007-02-20
Summary judgment (Leeza Cherniak) Granted

“For the reasons set forth below, both motions are GRANTED and the Trustee’s Complaint is DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE.”

Summary judgment (J. Martin & Associates, Inc.) Granted
In re Hildreth
· 2007-02-09
Motion for reconsideration (Washington Mutual Bank) Denied

“As this Court has found no ground upon which to justify reconsideration, the motion is DENIED.”

Bell v. Bell
· 2006-12-12
Summary judgment (Ella Bell, Thomas Bell III, and Kahlia Bell-Fleming) Granted

“this Court grants summary judgment in favor of the Plaintiffs and denies the Defendant’s motion to dismiss.”

Motion to dismiss adversary proceeding (Thomas Bell Jr.) Denied
Alexander v. DeLong, Caldwell, Novotny & Bridgers, LLC (In re Terry Uniform Co.)
· 2006-11-02
Summary judgment (DeLong, Caldwell, Novotny & Bridgers, LLC and Earnest H. DeLong Jr.) Denied

“Based on the foregoing, the Court denies Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment as to all four claims, because there are genuine issues of material facts in dispute.”

In re Love
· 2006-08-30
Objection to plan confirmation (Chapter 13 trustee) Granted

“For the reasons set forth below, the Trustee’s objection is SUSTAINED. The Court will not confirm the plan as filed.”

In re Robinson Foundry, Inc.
· 2006-08-16
Motion to allow late filed claim (Ferrosource International, Inc.) Denied

“Because Creditor has failed to show excusable neglect, Creditor’s motion for allowance of a later filed proof of claim is DENIED.”

DePaola v. Price (In re Price)
· 2006-06-30
Motion to strike jury demand (Chapter 7 trustee Susan S. DePaola) Granted

“Accordingly, the Trustee’s Motion to Strike Jury Demand is due to be GRANTED.”

In re Vinnie
· 2006-06-23
Objection to plan confirmation (Alabama Department of Human Resources) Denied

“the objection is OVERRULED and the Chapter 13 Plan is CONFIRMED AS FILED.”

Motion to confirm chapter 13 plan (the debtor) Granted
Alexander v. Horton (In re Terry Manufacturing Co.)
· 2006-05-30
Fraudulent transfer claim (Chapter 7 trustee J. Lester Alexander III) Granted

“the Court finds in favor of the Plaintiff and against Defendants N.D. Horton, Jr., and James M. Reynolds, III, in the amount of $596,738.60.”

A historical record

Judge Sawyer no longer hears cases. This profile stays available as a record of how they ruled. If you're preparing for a matter, start from the court's current bench.