At times I will go through bankruptcy opinions by our local bankruptcy Judges so you can see what is going on at the trial court level in our bankruptcy courts. Bankruptcy cases like this one are very instructive because they outline the elements of a claim and the burden on the parties to provide evidence and what cases the court is looking at in framing the case.
Judge Somers recent opinion here offers real lessons about evaluating whether or not the actions of a debtor rise to the level of fraud. In this case the debtor, Mrs. Giles, and her husband had a business together and at some point borrowed money from their friends, the Motes, to operate the business. The loan was secured by a mortgage that was never recorded. There was a second loan made more than a year later from the Motes as well.
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