David A. Scholl
How Judge Scholl rules, drawn from 28 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
Judge Scholl no longer hears cases. This profile is preserved as a historical record of how they ruled.
How Judge Scholl decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
A lien-avoidance calculation used only the debtor's fractional interest in jointly owned property, consistent with a literal and exemption-protective reading of the statute.
“We will therefore value the Debtor’s Interests at one-third of the value of the Property”
Procedural preferences
Fee applications could serve as informal proofs of claim when they clearly demanded payment from the estate and showed an intent to hold the estate liable.
“The applications were clearly filings which satisfy the requirements for ‘informal’ proofs of claim”
After plan confirmation, stay relief required proof of a postconfirmation failure to comply with the creditor's treatment under the confirmed plan.
“in light of the confirmation of the Plan it could do so only on the ground that the Debtor failed to conform to the terms of its treatment under the Plan as written”
Cautions
Prospective bars on future bankruptcy filings were treated as extraordinary relief requiring proof of abusive conduct rather than merely repeated filings.
“neither Debtors’ conduct was proven to be abusive of the bankruptcy system such as would justify the extraordinary remedies of bars on either Debtors’ future filings”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
After trials and claim-objection hearings, the court entered partner-deficiency judgments, protected settlements by injunction, and reserved most claim objections.
“our accompanying order, while granting the Motion insofar as it seeks to correct inaccuracies in the RBGSC II, Opinion, declines the Plaintiffs’ request to modify the Order accompanying that Opinion or any other Order in this case or the proceeding”
After trial, an additional escrow security interest permitted claim bifurcation, while valuation evidence fixed the home and secured claim above the debtor's figures.
“The Orders appealed from both granted Equity relief from the automatic stay to proceed to foreclose against and proceed to obtain possession of the homes of GEORGE E. FALLON (‘Fallon’) and JOYE HAMER (‘Hamer,’ with Fallon, ‘the Debtors’), but declined Equity’s further requests to preclude any future bankruptcy filings of the Debtors from operating as stays of sheriffs sales of the Debtors’ respective homes.”
“Therefore, the Motions must be granted in their entirety.”
After trial, the bank failed to prove fraud arising from an authorized user's credit-card transaction, and the debt was declared dischargeable.
“We will therefore grant not only the Motion to reject the Lease, but also the Debtor’s request that we allow it to perform its duties under the Agreement.”
After trial, the debtor did not satisfy the governing standards for discharge of either health-education or other student-loan obligations.
On the court's own initiative, debtor's counsel received a final extension to disclose compensation and was warned of sanctions for further noncompliance.
“We will also proceed to overrule the Objection, which appears dependent on an outcome of the Proceeding favorable to the Debtor.”
The previously entered discharge remained effective because the parties with the best access to the relevant filing history had not timely challenged it.
“Therefore, the Objections will be sustained, and the Claim will be stricken in its entirety.”
“As a result, the Motion, which the parties also failed to mention in their briefs, must be granted. However, as the $83,000 posted by GS was arguably security to stay the enforcement of valid judgments against any of the Defendants, we will deduct the $20,169.11 valid judgment”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
All five sampled matters were terminated between November 1988 and June 1991.
A historical record
Judge Scholl 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.