Benjamin Franklin Keller
Judge Keller no longer hears cases. This profile is preserved as a historical record of how they ruled.
How Judge Keller decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
Keller treated necessary property-preservation expenses as ordinary provable debts while rejecting preferred status or administrative compensation for a pre-bankruptcy assignee.
“So far as actual and necessary expenses incident to the care and preservation of the property are concerned, I regard these as provable debts of the estate”
Keller rejected repeated bankruptcy use when it produced no distributable estate or possible discharge and only obstructed creditors.
“While the Bankruptcy Act was, as above stated, enacted primarily for the protection and benefit of embarrassed debtors, it was never intended to work hardships and possible injustices upon creditors.”
Procedural preferences
Keller treated a case as removable when the pleaded right depended on the construction of federal law, even alongside other grounds for relief.
“if the case as made upon the pleadings involves the construction of the Constitution of the United States, or a law thereof, the case will he removable”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“For the foregoing reasons the order of the referee made on the ,12th day of April, 1902, upon the hearing of the petition of Jean F. Smith, assignee, is approved in full.”
“The ruling of the referee herein is approved in full.”
“Upon consideration by the court, the foregoing ruling of the referee is approved in full.”
“Report and findings of referee sustained.”
“For the reasons assigned, an order may be entered remanding this case to the court of common pleas of Franklin county, Ohio, from which it was sought to be removed.”
After trial, the court found infringement of the asphalt patent and ordered an accounting.
On stipulated facts, the court held that personal interstate transport outside commerce did not support the criminal charge and discharged the defendant.
The court revoked a repetitive bankruptcy adjudication that surrendered no property and could not produce a discharge.
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
No assigned electronic docket sample was available for a historical caseload description.
A historical record
Judge Keller 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.