In re Van Meter
| Decision Date | 30 August 1962 |
| Docket Number | No. 8570.,8570. |
| Citation | 208 F. Supp. 835 |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Southern District of California |
| Parties | In the Matter of William VAN METER, Bankrupt. |
William F. Gavin, San Diego, Cal., for bankrupt.
John R. Hellen, San Diego, Cal., trustee in bankruptcy.
The petition for review herein was tried with the review in the case of In the Matter of Goodson, D.C., 208 F.Supp. 837. In the Goodson case, we reached the question of the title to proceeds of a refund check received by the bankrupt after bankruptcy, and our opinion in such matter is filed as of this date.
In this case the bankrupt Van Meter caused excess withholdings to be made from his pay so that at the end of the taxable year he would be entitled to a refund, as did the bankrupt in the Goodson case. Here, also, bankruptcy intervened prior to the close of the taxable year, and likewise, at the first meeting of creditors the Referee (September 1, 1960) signed an "income tax order" directing the bankrupt Van Meter to file with the trustee a copy of his federal income tax return when he should make the same after the close of the taxable year and to endorse and turn over to the trustee any refund he should receive. Here, also, it appears that by said order on September 1, 1960 the Referee did not intend to, and did not, adjudicate title to the tax refund, and we are likewise of the view here that such order was not rendered res judicata as to title by the bankrupt's failure to petition for review.
At this point, similarity between the two cases, procedure-wise, ends. The bankrupt did not comply with the order and then seek to have title adjudicated as did the bankrupt Goodson. Van Meter did not comply, and did nothing to have title adjudicated, and on the other hand, the trustee took no further action in the matter. Nor were any contempt proceedings instituted.
A copy of the income tax return made by the bankrupt Van Meter was not given to the trustee; the refund check was sent to the bankrupt, and he did not turn it over to the trustee. Instead, at the direction of his attorney, he endorsed it to said attorney, who deposited it in a special account, and now holds the moneys subject to order of Court.
Objections to the discharge of the bankrupt were filed by the trustee, who cited the bankrupt's refusal "to comply with a lawful order of the Court." The bankrupt moved to dismiss the specifications of objections. The motion was denied.
On November 20, 1962, the Referee denied the discharge of the bankrupt on the ground that he had refused to comply with a lawful order of the Court, to-wit, the order of September 1, 1960. The...
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In re Goodson
...to part of the proceeds of the check; further, in a transcript of a hearing held February 7, 1962 in a similar case (In re William Van Meter, D.C., 208 F.Supp. 835) we note at page 32 of Vol. 1, the "MRS. ROSSI: Well, then, as a matter of practice, although the order doesn't specify it, we ......
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In re Kokoszka
...1327 (3 Cir. 1970); Jayne Meadows Travel Agency v. Dashiell, 416 F.2d 1253, 1254 (9 Cir. 1969); In Re Boudreau, supra; In Re Van Meter, 208 F.Supp. 835 (S. D.Cal.1962). The denial of a discharge can work a serious deprivation upon a debtor, and there are many circumstances where a bankrupt'......
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In re Jones, 73-2496 Summary Calendar.
...Jayne Meadows Travel Agency v. Dashiell, 9 Cir. 1969, 416 F.2d 1253, 1254; In re Boudreau, D.Conn.1972, 350 F.Supp. 644; In re Van Meter, S.D.Cal.1962, 208 F. Supp. 835; In re Edwards, S.D.Cal.1947, 73 F.Supp. 312; In re Setzler, S.D.Cal. 1947, 73 F.Supp. 314. As the Kokoszka court noted, T......
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In re Boudreau, 36601.
...exercise of the Referee's discretion, it is not an automatic bar that obviates the need to exercise any discretion. Cf. In re Van Meter, 208 F.Supp. 835 (S.D.Cal.1962). The circumstances of the bankrupt's receipt and expenditure of the tax refund check here may well justify denial of discha......