Mark S. Wallace

How Judge Wallace rules, drawn from 27 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.

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

Court
U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California
Position
bankruptcy
Status
Retired 2022
Served
2011–2022
Appointed by
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
Commissioned
2011-01-20
Signed orders read
27

How Judge Wallace decides

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

Procedural preferences

Repeated, willful failure to follow pretrial orders supported terminating sanctions after lesser warnings had not produced compliance.

“The striking of Defendants’ answer and the entering of a default is proportionate to their repeated and serious violation of the Court orders referenced above”

Cautions

A creditor whose claim was genuinely disputed even in part could be disqualified from joining an involuntary petition.

“The Court holds that a bona fide dispute exists as to the amount of the Maddox claim, and therefore that Mr. Maddox is not qualified to be a petitioning creditor in this case.”

Signed rulings

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

Federal Trade Commission v. Lake (In re Dennis Edward Lake)
8:18-ap-01035 · 2022-02-22
Motion to dismiss complaint (debtor-defendant Dennis Edward Lake) Granted

“The Motion is granted, and the Amended Complaint hereby is dismissed without leave to amend.”

In re Terry Lee Fleming, Sr.
6:17-bk-19513 · 2021-05-21
Objection to plan confirmation (Havasu Lakeshore Investments, LLC) Denied

“For these reasons, the Court overrules the objections of HLI to confirmation of the Plan.”

In re Affordable Auto Repair, Inc.
6:19-bk-18367 · 2020-09-02
Motion to approve disclosure statement (debtor Affordable Auto Repair, Inc.) Granted

“Therefore, the Motion is granted, and the Court approves the Disclosure Statement, with all rights reserved to the United States Trustee and any interested party to take appropriate action with respect to the matters discussed above.”

United States Trustee v. Katona (In re Paul Gregory Katona and Gail Marie Katona)
6:17-ap-01221 · 2020-03-10
Complaint to revoke discharge (United States Trustee for Region 16) Granted

“Based upon the foregoing analysis, the Court concludes that the UST has proved up all the elements of a cause of action under 11 U.S.C. § 727(d)(1) and therefore revokes the discharge granted to the Katonas.”

Ford Walker Haggerty & Behar, LLP v. Simons (In re Maria Elena Rodriguez)
6:19-ap-01047 · 2019-12-16
Summary judgment (Ford Walker Haggerty & Behar, LLP and Timothy McDonald) Denied

“For these reasons, the Court denies each of the cross-motions for summary judgment.”

Summary judgment (Chapter 7 trustee Larry D. Simons) Denied
Kosmala v. Baek (In re John Olaf Halvorson)
8:17-ap-01119 · 2019-10-31
Motion to appoint receiver (Chapter 7 trustee Weneta M. A. Kosmala) Denied

“The Motion is denied with prejudice.”

In re Albert Torres, Jr. and Katherine Lea Torres
8:16-bk-12250 · 2018-12-21
Motion for civil contempt sanctions (debtor Katherine Lea Torres) Denied

“Sanctions against Mr. Roennau are not awarded because Mr. Roennau did not know that the discharge injunction was applicable to the actions he was taking in the State Court Action.”

In re QDOS, Inc.
8:18-bk-11997 · 2018-10-31
Motion to dismiss involuntary bankruptcy case (debtor QDOS, Inc.) Granted

“The Court grants Debtor’s Motion. The involuntary petition against QDOS is dismissed with prejudice for the reasons stated above.”

Bruce v. Fazilat (In re Dakarai Nyamyke Bruce)
8:15-ap-01028 · 2018-07-12
Claim for automatic stay violation damages (debtor Dakarai Nyamyke Bruce) Granted

“The Court concludes that Plaintiff is entitled to actual damages of $12,500.00 plus punitive damages of $2,500.00 (for a total of $15,000.00) in respect of the stay violations described above. Additionally, attorney’s fees and costs are awarded to Plaintiff.”

Claim for discharge injunction sanctions (debtor Dakarai Nyamyke Bruce) Denied

“The Court therefore declines to impose monetary sanctions for the discharge injunction violation that occurred.”

Declaratory judgment voiding post discharge judgment (debtor Dakarai Nyamyke Bruce) Granted

“The 2017 Judgment is declared to be void and of no effect.”

William G. Joiner Trust v. Magness (In re Shannon Marie Magness and Kelly Scott Johnson)
8:17-ap-01076 · 2018-06-22
Motion for case terminating sanctions (William G. Joiner Trust Dated 2/6/02) Granted

“For these reasons, the Court strikes Defendants’ answer and enters their default pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 37(b)(2)(A)(iii), incorporated by reference by Federal Rule of Bankruptcy Procedure 7037.”

Baek v. Halvorson (In re John Olaf Halvorson)
8:15-ap-01391 · 2018-02-14
Unclean hands defense (John Olaf Halvorson) Granted

“For these reasons, the balancing test weighs in Mr. Halvorson’s favor, leading the Court to determine that the Baeks are guilty of unclean hands as to Mr. Halvorson.”

In re USA Sales, Inc.
6:16-bk-14576 · 2018-01-31
Motion to determine claim priority (debtor USA Sales, Inc.) Granted

“For the reasons stated above, the Motion is granted.”

A historical record

Judge Wallace 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.