Bruce W. Black
How Judge Black rules, drawn from 17 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
Judge Black no longer hears cases. This profile is preserved as a historical record of how they ruled.
How Judge Black decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
A creditor seeking administrative priority for asset-recovery work needed authorization before acting for the estate.
“On its face section 503(b)(3)(B) seems to clearly require prior court approval as a prerequisite to the allowance of an administrative expense”
Procedural preferences
Clear fee agreements and reliable proof of services were central to compensation review.
“Given the lack of clarity in the fee agreement, the misleading way the fee agreement and the disclosure statement were combined, the denial of the undeniable, and the lack of proof of services beyond the court’s examination of the court’s docket, I conclude that the appropriate fee in this case is $2,000.”
Cautions
Lawyers who received bankruptcy notice were expected to determine the case status before continuing collection litigation.
“Once attorneys receive such notice, they are obligated to determine the status of the bankruptcy case before pursuing litigation against a debtor.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“The Debtor’s Motion for Sanctions is granted.”
“Given the decisions above on emotional distress damages and punitive damages, the Respondent’s Motion in Limine is denied.”
“Enterprise’s Motion for Order Granting and Requiring Immediate Payment of Administrative Expense Claim and Providing Other Relief is denied.”
“Section G.5. of the confirmed plan is vacated.”
“both motions are granted.”
“The trustee’s motion requesting authorization to liquidate the Plan, disburse the corpus to Plan participants, and pay administrative expenses from the Plan is DENIED.”
“the Debtor’s motion to dismiss Count I of the complaint pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6) is denied. As to Count II, the Debtor’s motion to dismiss, also pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6), is granted, with leave given to the Plaintiff to file an amended complaint.”
“The Trustee does not object to the costs associated with the trial transcripts or the notice of appeal, and those costs are GRANTED. For the following reasons, however, the expenses regarding the letters of credit are DENIED.”
“Accordingly, Mr. Liou will be ordered to disgorge $3,290 to the debtor.”
“Therefore, based on the following calculation, the trustee’s fees in the reduced amount of $6,092.55 will be awarded:”
“Accordingly, fees will be awarded to DKE in the amount of $8,012.50.”
“the court will award the fees as now requested.”
“Given that both will be discounted substantially when paid pro rata with available funds, the court will award their fees as requested.”
“For these reasons, the defendant's motion is GRANTED.”
“the defendant’s motion for summary judgment is granted”
“the plaintiffs motion for summary judgment is denied.”
“this court’s prior orders denying Will County’s motion to dismiss and granting in part the Debtors’ motion are hereby REAFFIRMED.”
“For the above reasons, Revolution’s Motion will be DENIED.”
A historical record
Judge Black 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.