James E. Massey
How Judge Massey rules, drawn from 22 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
Judge Massey no longer hears cases. This profile is preserved as a historical record of how they ruled.
How Judge Massey decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
Valuation evidence needs a transparent connection between comparable sales, adjustments, and the property being valued.
“The adjustments are unsupported by any evidence, are known only to Dr. Carson and for all the Court knows could be entirely arbitrary.”
Projected-income analysis can account for a documented change that makes the historical calculation impossible to sustain.
“section 1325(b) permits a bankruptcy court to adjust CMI to approximate the income a debtor will receive during the plan term in order to better insure that a debtor pays what the debtor is able to pay but is not required to pay what is impossible to pay.”
Procedural preferences
A discharge objection cannot be traded away for estate consideration because discharge is not an estate asset.
“Discharges are not property of the estate and are not for sale.”
A records search is assessed for practical diligence, not solely by whether a full-name query was mechanically exact.
“Rather, a search must be made diligently.”
Cautions
A default does not eliminate the applicant's burden to prove nonconclusory facts supporting each required element.
“Merely saying that the reliance was justified does not make it so.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“ORDERED that the Chapter 7 Trustee’s motion is GRANTED.”
“ORDERED that Wilmann LLC’s motion for a preliminary injunction is DENIED.”
“For these reasons, Debtor’s amended motion to value the Subparcel and the Property is DENIED.”
“ORDERED that the Trustee’s objection to confirmation based on section 1325(b) and the facts found in this Order is DENIED.”
“the Defendant’s motion to dismiss this adversary proceeding is DENIED”
“its motion for abstention is GRANTED IN PART”
“Accordingly, the Trustee’s motion to hold Mr. Annamalai in civil contempt is GRANTED.”
“ORDERED that the Trustee’s motion to dismiss this adversary proceeding with prejudice is DENIED”
“Plaintiffs Motion for Summary Judgment is DENIED”
“Defendant’s Cross Motion for Partial Summary Judgment is GRANTED as to any claim Plaintiff might have asserted pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(2)(B).”
The interim decision rejected one theory for recomputing the pension agency's claim while leaving other objections unresolved.
“Accordingly, Defendant’s motion for summary judgment is GRANTED.”
“ORDERED that the Defendant’s motion for summary judgment is GRANTED.”
“ORDERED that the motion of the Housing Authority of the City of Decatur, Georgia is GRANTED.”
A historical record
Judge Massey 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.