From the Editor – Reopening Closed Case

By The Honorable William Houston Brown (Retired)

Reopening for purpose of disputing subject matter jurisdiction denied. In a closed Chapter 7 case in which the bankruptcy court had entered judgment against the trustee of a family trust (see In re Bell Family Trust, 251 Fed.Appx. 864 (5th Cir. 2007)), the trustee moved to reopen that case to seek vacation of the judgment on the grounds the court lacked subject matter jurisdiction. The trustee contended that the family trust was a spendthrift trust rather than a business trust and ineligible for Chapter 7 relief . . .

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