Paul W. Bonapfel

How Judge Bonapfel rules, drawn from 14 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.

Court
U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Georgia
Position
bankruptcy
Appointed by
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
Commissioned
2002-04-10
Education
Florida State University, B.A. in government, 1972, cum laude; University of Georgia School of Law, J.D., 1975, magna cum laude
Signed orders read
14

How Judge Bonapfel decides

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

What persuades

A future-claimants representative must bring independence and a demonstrated commitment to protecting people who cannot participate in the case themselves.

“the individual must be not only disinterested and qualified, but also objective, independent, and loyally committed to protecting the interests of future claimants”

Procedural preferences

A party seeking to expand a closed evidentiary record must identify admissible new evidence and explain why it could not have been presented earlier.

“The Court denies the Plaintiffs motion to supplement the record.”

Cautions

Intent-dependent discharge claims are not suitable for summary judgment when material factual disputes remain.

“existence of disputed material facts prevent entry of summary judgment for either party on the § 523(a)(2) claim”

Signed rulings

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

In re Fairbanks Co.
· 2019-04-17
Application to appoint future claimants representative (The Fairbanks Company) Granted

“ORDERED that James L. Patton is appointed as the future claimants' representative in this case.”

Hylan Debt Fund, LLC-Portfolio Series 18 v. Nestor (In re Nestor)
· 2016-02-23
Motion to dismiss adversary complaint (debtor-defendant) Denied

“ORDERED that the Debtor’s motion to dismiss is denied.”

Perkins v. Lehman Bros., Inc. (In re International Management Associates, LLC)
· 2017-01-10
Summary judgment (Oppenheimer & Co., Inc.) Granted

“Oppenheimer’s Second Motion for Summary Judgment be, and the same hereby is,. GRANTED.”

Georgia Department of Human Services v. Ngwangu (In re Ngwangu)
· 2015-04-07
Summary judgment (Georgia Department of Human Services) Denied

“GDHS’s motion for summary judgment is denied”

Summary judgment (debtor-defendant) Granted in part

“the Debtor’s motion for summary judgment is denied in part and granted in part.”

In re Feagan
· 2016-04-11
Objection to confirmation (Chapter 13 trustee) Denied

“the Chapter 13 Trustee’s objection be, and it hereby is, OVERRULED”

Plan confirmation (debtor) Granted

“the Debtor’s Second Amended Chapter 13 Plan [26] be confirmed.”

Jackson v. Jackson (In re Jackson)
· 2016-04-11
Motion for abstention and remand (plaintiffs) Denied

“The Abstention Motion [Doc. 17] is DENIED.”

Motion to dismiss abstention motion (debtor-defendant) Moot / procedural

“Debtor’s Motion to Dismiss the Abstention Motion [Doc. 25] is DISMISSED.”

Motion to strike response (plaintiffs) Moot / procedural

“The Plaintiffs’ Motion to Strike Defendant’s Response to the Abstention Motion [Doc. 31] is DISMISSED.”

Motion to strike motion to dismiss (plaintiffs) Moot / procedural

“The Plaintiffs’ Motion to Strike the Debtor’s Motion to Dismiss the Abstention Motion [Doc. 32] is DISMISSED.”

Summary judgment (debtor-defendant) Granted

“the Debtor’s Motion for Summary Judgment [Doc. 33] are both GRANTED.”

Cross motion for summary judgment (plaintiffs) Denied

“The Plaintiffs’ Cross-Motion for Summary Judgment [Doe. 19] is DENIED.”

American Express Centurion Bank v. Allen (In re Allen)
· 2015-04-01
Nondischargeability complaint (American Express Centurion Bank) Denied

“none of Ms. Allen’s indebtedness to American Express is. excepted from discharge under 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(2).”

Thurmond v. Parker (In re Parker)
· 2013-03-29
Motions to compel tax returns (Chapter 7 trustee) Granted

“The Court will, therefore, grant the Trustee’s motions to compel the Parkers to produce their tax returns for the years 2007 and 2008.”

Georgia Lottery Corp. v. Thao Huynh (In re Thao Huynh)
· 2016-04-07
Summary judgment (Georgia Lottery Corporation) Granted

“ORDERED that the Plaintiffs motion for summary judgment is granted.”

BiTech, Inc. v. Withrow (In re Withrow)
· 2017-04-10
Motion to dismiss adversary complaint (R. Blake Withrow) Granted

“ORDERED that in each proceeding the motion to dismiss is granted.”

Motion to dismiss adversary complaint (Jessica M. Parker) Granted
Bank of America, N.A. v. Johnson (In re Johnson)
· 2012-09-25
Motion for relief from automatic stay (Bank of America, N.A.) Granted

“The automatic stay of 11 U.S.C. § 362(a) is modified for cause under 11 U.S.C. § 362(d)”

Objection to exemption (Bank of America, N.A.) Granted

“The Bank’s objection to the Debtor’s claim of an exemption in prepetition employment wages that are subject to the Bank’s garnishment and its independent claim against the Employer is sustained.”

Motion to avoid judicial lien (debtor) Granted in part

“The motion is granted to the extent that the Bank’s lien attaches to any wages received by the Debtor or that the Bank claims that its lien attaches to any other property of the Debtor on account of his receipt of any wages.”

Andrews v. Adcock (In re Andrews)
· 2013-09-17
Motion to avoid judicial lien (debtor) Granted in part

“The Court will enter judgment avoiding the lien of the Creditor with regard to all of the Debtor’s property except the Real Property, denying the Debtor’s motion to avoid the lien with regard to the Real Property”

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