Franklin, Denney, Ward & Strosnider PLC

Creditor's Rights

The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia upheld a favorable creditor’s rights decision on appeal from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for W.D.Va. In Phillip Guertler, et al., v. DuPont Community Credit Union, Judge Elizabeth K. Dillon ruled that a creditor who elects not to sue all debtors on a joint contract in an original action does not lose its right to sue any of the joint debtors in a subsequent action. Thus, a creditor properly filed a proof of claim against joint debtors even though it had not sued both debtors prior to the commencement of one debtor’s bankruptcy petition.

Estate Litigation

By declining to issue a writ of certiorari to the appeal filed in Walden v. Akers, Record No. 150861, the Virginia Supreme Court effectively affirmed the favorable outcome in an estate case decided by the Nelson County Circuit Court. The question raised in the petition for an appeal involved whether certain assets were properly excluded from a decedent’s estate.

Creditor's Rights

The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia upheld a favorable creditor’s rights decision on appeal from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for W.D.Va. In Phillip Guertler, et al., v. DuPont Community Credit Union, Judge Elizabeth K. Dillon ruled that a creditor who elects not to sue all debtors on a joint contract in an original action does not lose its right to sue any of the joint debtors in a subsequent action. Thus, a creditor properly filed a proof of claim against joint debtors even though it had not sued both debtors prior to the commencement of one debtor’s bankruptcy petition.

Estate Litigation

By declining to issue a writ of certiorari to the appeal filed in Walden v. Akers, Record No. 150861, the Virginia Supreme Court effectively affirmed the favorable outcome in an estate case decided by the Nelson County Circuit Court. The question raised in the petition for an appeal involved whether certain assets were properly excluded from a decedent’s estate.

Creditor's Rights

The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia upheld a favorable creditor’s rights decision on appeal from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for W.D.Va. In Phillip Guertler, et al., v. DuPont Community Credit Union, Judge Elizabeth K. Dillon ruled that a creditor who elects not to sue all debtors on a joint contract in an original action does not lose its right to sue any of the joint debtors in a subsequent action. Thus, a creditor properly filed a proof of claim against joint debtors even though it had not sued both debtors prior to the commencement of one debtor’s bankruptcy petition.

Estate Litigation

By declining to issue a writ of certiorari to the appeal filed in Walden v. Akers, Record No. 150861, the Virginia Supreme Court effectively affirmed the favorable outcome in an estate case decided by the Nelson County Circuit Court. The question raised in the petition for an appeal involved whether certain assets were properly excluded from a decedent’s estate.