George C. Paine II

How Judge Paine rules, drawn from 19 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.

Judge Paine no longer hears cases. This profile is preserved as a historical record of how they ruled.

Court
U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Tennessee
Position
bankruptcy
Status
Retired 2011
Served
1981–2011
Commissioned
1981-01-01
Education
University of the South, undergraduate degree; University of Mississippi School of Law, J.D.
Signed orders read
19

How Judge Paine decides

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

What persuades

Plan procedures that clarify payment application and notice are acceptable when they preserve rather than alter a creditor's substantive rights.

“Section 1322(b) prohibits modification of Wells Fargo’s rights. It does not limit the process by which Wells Fargo and other mortgage lenders assert those rights.”

Procedural preferences

A party that neither responds in writing nor appears at a scheduled hearing risks losing the ability to relitigate the same exemption issue through a later amendment.

“The debtors’ failure to file a written response or even appear at the scheduled hearing on the exemption issue precludes relitigation of this issue by amendment to their Schedule C.”

Cautions

Expert evidence is weighed for independence, record support, and credibility rather than accepted merely because it is presented by a qualified witness.

“The acceptance of one expert’s testimony over another is based upon the perception of the credibility of one expert over that of other experts who testify.”

Signed rulings

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

In re Clemmons
· 1993-02-04
Motion to reopen meeting of creditors (ITT Financial Services Corporation) Granted

“The motion should therefore be granted and ITT’s employee should be permitted to question the Debtor.”

In re Barbutes
· 2010-09-08
Objection to chapter 13 plan (The Chapter 13 trustee) Granted in part

“the trustee’s objections pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 1325(b) are sustained in part and overruled in part”

Holcomb Health Care Services, LLC v. Quart Limited, LLC (In re Holcomb Health Care Services, LLC)
· 2004-12-30
Consolidated adversary complaints for declaratory and monetary judgment (Holcomb Health Care Services, LLC) Granted

“JUDGMENT is hereby granted to the Plaintiff Holcomb Healthcare Services, LLC”

Request for injunctive relief (Holcomb Health Care Services, LLC) Denied

“HHCS’s request for injunction is dismissed without prejudice to HHCS’s right to renew its request in another proceeding.”

Request for substantive consolidation or corporate veil piercing (Holcomb Health Care Services, LLC) Denied

“HHCS’s alternative relief counts seeking substantive consolidation and/or piercing of the corporate veils of the defendants is hereby dismissed;”

Request for exemplary damages (Holcomb Health Care Services, LLC) Denied

“HHCS failed to demonstrate its entitlement to exemplary damages and that count is therefore dismissed;”

Request for attorney fees (Holcomb Health Care Services, LLC) Denied

“HHCS failed to demonstrate its entitlement to attorney fees and therefore that count is dismissed;”

Request for prejudgment interest (Holcomb Health Care Services, LLC) Granted

“HHCS shall receive prejudgment interest from the filing of the adversary complaint until entry of judgment at the federal judgment rate;”

In re American Homepatient, Inc.
· 2003-11-19
Request for quarterly fees (The United States Trustee) Granted in part

“the UST is allowed and awarded quarterly fees in these cases in the amount of $50,000.00”

In re Billington
· 2007-09-26
Objection to life insurance exemption (The Chapter 7 trustee) Denied

“the court hereby OVERRULES the trustee’s objection to the debtor’s claimed exemption in the insurance policies.”

In re Thurman
· 2000-11-28
Objection to retirement fund exemption (The Chapter 7 trustee) Granted

“the court sustains the trustee’s objection to the debtor’s claimed exemption in the ‘Lexington Clinic 401K/retirement funds.’”

In re Crim
· 2011-03-14
Motion to modify chapter 13 plan (The debtors) Granted

“The Debtors shall be permitted to modify their Chapter 13 plan to reflect an increase in the mortgage payment as well as an increase in monthly expenses.”

Motion to modify chapter 13 plan or add continuing payment (The Chapter 13 trustee) Denied

“The Trustee’s Motion to Modify Chapter 13 Plan or Add Continuing Payment shall be denied.”

Vergos v. Adams (In re Adams)
· 1997-07-10
Motion to vacate prior decision after settlement (The United States Trustee) Moot / procedural

“the court’s earlier decision, although correctly decided under the law, is vacated due to the settlement of this matter on appeal.”

In re Staggs
· 2008-01-16
Objection to chapter 13 plan (The Chapter 13 trustee) Denied

“the trustee’s objection to confirmation based on the debtors’ homestead exemption pursuant to T.C.A. § 26-2-301(0 is OVERRULED.”

In re Ramsey
· 2009-10-02
Objection to chapter 13 plan (Wells Fargo Bank) Denied

“All objections raised by Wells to confirmation are hereby OVERRULED.”

Request for confirmation of chapter 13 plan (The debtor) Granted

“the debtor’s chapter 13 plan, as proposed, is hereby CONFIRMED.”

Unicor Mortgage, Inc. v. James (In re James)
· 1999-10-29
Motion for relief from automatic stay (Unicor Mortgage, Inc.) Granted

“the court grants Unicor’s motion for relief from the stay.”

In re Grantham
· 1999-11-12
Objection to amendment of exemptions (The Chapter 7 trustee) Granted

“the court sustains the trustee’s objections”

Motion to amend exemptions (The debtors) Denied

“denies the debtors’ motion to amend.”

Caseload & timing

From public federal docket records for this judge.

All five sampled matters were terminated; their retained docket streams were empty.

A historical record

Judge Paine 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.