Brian F. Kenney

How Judge Kenney rules, drawn from 10 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.

Court
U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virginia
Position
bankruptcy
Appointed by
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
Commissioned
2011-04-12
Signed orders read
10

How Judge Kenney decides

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

What persuades

A stay may preserve appellate review when releasing disputed funds would likely make the appeal equitably moot.

“More fundamentally, the potential harm to the Trustee is clear — if the Court were to require that the funds be paid over to the Debtor, it is highly likely that the Trustee’s appeal will be rendered equitably moot.”

Procedural preferences

A delayed schedule amendment did not trigger judicial estoppel where the debtor credibly showed good faith and lacked a motive to conceal an exempt claim.

“The Court concludes that the Debtor did not intentionally conceal the claim from her creditors. The Court is satisfied with the Debtor’s good faith.”

Cautions

A trustee's commission request must remain consistent with the duty to preserve as much value as reasonably possible for estate creditors.

“His job isn’t just to litigate over the proceeds, nor just to settle; his job is to retain as much for the creditors as is reasonably possible under the circumstances.”

Signed rulings

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

In re Abebe
11-11374 · 2012-01-13
Motion to stay pending appeal (Chapter 13 trustee) Granted

“For the foregoing reasons, the Court will enter a separate Order granting the Trustee’s Motion for a Stay Pending Appeal of this Court’s Order of December 16, 2011.”

In re Manchester Oaks Homeowners Association, Inc.
· 2012-02-29
Objection to claim (Patrick K. Batt, Rudolph J. Grom, and James R. Martin Jr.) Granted

“the Court will: (a) disallow the Garage Owners’ claims”

Objection to claim (Patrick K. Batt, Rudolph J. Grom, and James R. Martin Jr.) Denied

“and (b) allow the Non-Garage Owners’ claims, in the amounts set forth in their proofs of claim.”

Porter v. Internal Revenue Service (In re Porter)
· 2016-12-28
Motion for turnover (the debtor) Denied

“The Debtor’s Motion for Turnover is denied.”

In re Chu
· 2019-04-10
Objection to claim (Bogart Chu) Denied

“The Debtor's Objection to the PPE Proof of Claim is overruled.”

Objection to plan confirmation (PPE Casino Resorts Maryland, LLC) Granted

“PPE's Objection to the Debtor's Amended Chapter 13 Plan is sustained.”

In re Kyeung Guk Min
· 2017-07-07
Motion to disallow claim (Kyeung Guk Min) Granted

“The Debtor’s Motion to Disallow Claim is granted, and Claim No. 31-1 is disallowed in this bankruptcy case.”

Hackman v. Nationstar Mortgage, LLC (In re Hackman)
· 2017-01-04
Motions to dismiss (Nationstar Mortgage, LLC and related defendants) Granted

“the remaining Counts of the Complaint— Counts I, IV, VI, VIH and XV—will be dismissed.”

In re Goins
· 2015-10-15
Application to employ real estate agent (Chapter 7 trustee) Granted

“The Trustee’s Motion for appointment of a real estate agent will be granted.”

Motion to compel abandonment (the debtor) Denied

“The Debtor’s Motion to compel an abandonment of the property will be denied.”

In re Padula
· 2015-04-28
Motion to authorize prosecution of state court action (Deborah Padula) Granted

“The Debtor’s Motion to. Authorize Prosecution of a State court personal injury action (Docket No. 95) is granted.”

In re Eidson
· 2012-10-24
Objection to trustee final report (the debtor) Granted

“the Trustee will not be allowed a commission based on the funds disbursed to Ms. Eidson for her interest in the property.”

In re MCSGlobal Inc.
· 2017-01-04
Motion to approve sale and settlement (Chapter 11 trustee) Granted

“the Court has entered an Order approving the Kell-ton APA including the Bar Order provisions contained therein.”

Caseload & timing

From public federal docket records for this judge.

All six sampled matters were terminated. The Abebe matter supplied one express stay-pending-appeal grant.

Draft for Judge Kenney with the record in hand

Ezel grounds your drafting and research in this profile: what has persuaded Judge Kenney, and what has not, cited to the signed orders.

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