Roberta A. Colton

How Judge Colton rules, drawn from 12 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.

Court
U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Florida
Position
bankruptcy
Commissioned
2016-04-01
Education
University of Virginia, B.S., 1979; College of William and Mary, J.D., 1982
Signed orders read
12

How Judge Colton decides

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

What persuades

An unsigned negotiation record will not defeat a statute-of-frauds defense when it does not show assent to the essential terms.

“A mere agreement to agree is unenforceable as a matter of law.”

Procedural preferences

Competing summary-judgment motions are evaluated independently under the ordinary Rule 56 standard.

“The Court considers each motion separately, ‘resolving all reasonable inferences against the party whose motion is under consideration.’”

Cautions

A bankruptcy surrender statement does not automatically eliminate every later foreclosure defense, especially after substantial post-bankruptcy conduct by the lender.

“Failla should not be viewed as carte blanche for post-bankruptcy lender misconduct.”

Signed rulings

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

In re Holzenthal
· 2016-07-11
Motion to approve settlement (chapter 7 trustee Carla Musselman) Denied

“Accordingly, it is ORDERED that the Trustee’s Motion to Approve the Settlement Agreement relating to debtor Kathleen M. Bishop’s products liability claim is DENIED.”

In re Ayala
· 2017-04-17
Motion to reopen chapter 7 case (Space Coast Credit Union) Denied

“Accordingly, it is ORDERED that Space Coast’s Motion to Reopen Chapter 7 Case and to Compel Surrender of Mortgage Property is DENIED, and the remaining requests for relief in the Motion are DENIED as moot.”

Motion to compel surrender of mortgaged property (Space Coast Credit Union) Denied
In re Bateman
· 2018-05-21
Motion to compel arbitration (Verizon Wireless Personal Communications, LP) Denied

“For these reasons, the Motion to Compel is denied.”

Luria v. ADP, Inc. (In re Taylor, Bean & Whitaker Mortgage Corp.)
· 2018-11-01
Motion for partial summary judgment (plan trustee Neil F. Luria) Denied

“Accordingly, the Trustee's motion for partial summary judgment will be denied, and ADP's cross-motion for partial summary judgment on the control element of its mere conduit defense will be granted.”

Cross motion for partial summary judgment on control (ADP, Inc.) Granted
Motion for partial summary judgment on good faith (ADP, Inc.) Granted

“Accordingly, ADP is entitled to partial summary judgment on the issue of its good faith for purposes of its mere conduit defense.”

In re Carmen Joseph DeSocio
8:22-bk-02614-RCT · 2023-01-03
Amended motion for relief from stay and codebtor stay (Andrew Fowley) Denied

“It is therefore ORDERED that the Motion (Doc. 22) is DENIED.”

Hallucination Media, LLC v. The Ritz Ybor, LLC
8:19-ap-00134-RCT · 2022-02-22
Amended renewed motion for summary judgment (The Ritz Ybor, LLC and N.C.J. Investment Company) Granted

“Ritz and NCJ’s Amended Renewed Motion for Summary Judgment on Counts I and II of Plaintiff’s Complaint (Doc. 115) is GRANTED.”

Quintanilla v. Nelnet Servicing LLC
8:17-ap-00800-RCT · 2020-11-20
Cross motion for summary judgment (Nelnet Servicing LLC and Nelnet Private Loan Funding, LLC) Granted in part

“Defendants’ Cross-Motion for Summary Judgment on the Dispositive Issue is GRANTED, in part, and DENIED, in part, as follows.”

Summary judgment (Julie Anne Quintanilla) Denied

“Debtor’s Motion for Summary Judgment on the Dispositive Issue is DENIED, without prejudice.”

In re Carl Sanders
8:20-bk-02731-RCT · 2021-11-01
Motion to determine secured status and void junior lien (Carl Sanders) Granted

“A separate order consistent with these findings and granting Debtor’s motion shall issue shortly.”

In re Wildwood Villages, LLC
3:20-bk-02569-RCT · 2022-08-15
Application for administrative expense (Ad Hoc Residents’ Committee) Granted in part

“Based on the above, the Court finds that the lot owners are entitled to administrative expense priority for their claims of MMF overpayments to the extent that they paid MMF during the relevant period of time that contained the improperly included profit component. The lot owners do not have an administrative priority claim for any diminution damages.”

In re Paul A. Barrera and Katherina G. Barrera
8:10-bk-26730-RCT · 2016-11-29
Motion to avoid judgment lien (Paul A. Barrera and Katherina G. Barrera) Granted

“For the reasons stated, Debtors’ Motion to Avoid Gerard’s lien will be granted.”

In re Sara Aye
8:16-bk-08453-RCT · 2017-02-21
Motion to dismiss chapter 13 case (Walter Aye) Granted

“This chapter 13 case shall be dismissed in fourteen (14) days, unless it is converted to chapter 7 or chapter 11 before that time.”

Vology, Inc. v. Collis
8:19-ap-00006-RCT · 2019-04-11
Motion for temporary injunction (Vology, Inc.) Granted in part

“Defendant Ronald Collis is preliminarily enjoined from contacting the customers and prospective customers identified on Plaintiff’s Exhibit 22 as initially presented to the court, Bates Stamp identification: ‘Vology 010739-010742.’”

Motion in limine (Vology, Inc.) Granted

“Plaintiff’s Motion In Limine (Doc. 40) is GRANTED.”

Ore tenus motion to conform pleadings to evidence (Vology, Inc.) Denied

“Plaintiff’s ore tenus Motion to Conform the Pleadings to the Evidence, is DENIED for purposes of preliminary injunctive relief, but, otherwise, without prejudice.”

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