Lovald v. Tennyson, No. 11-2737 (8th Cir. 2012)
Annotate this CaseTheodore Wolk filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, and the trustee sought an order from the bankruptcy court authorizing the sale of the home Wolk owned as a tenant in common with his wife, Kathryn Tennyson. After several proceedings the bankruptcy court denied the motion to sell the home, concluding that the detriment of such a sale to Tennyson outweighed the benefit to the bankruptcy estate. Wolk appealed, and the bankruptcy appellate panel affirmed. The trustee appealed. The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed, holding that the bankruptcy court had not abused its discretion in denying the trustee's motion to sell the home, as (1) the court's findings with respect to the benefit to the estate and the detriment to Tennyson were not clearly erroneous, and (2) the court carefully balanced the equities in its judgment.
Court Description: Civil case - Bankruptcy. For the Bankruptcy Appellate Panel decision in the case, see In re Wolk, 451 B.R. 468 (B.A.P. 8th Cir. 2011). Bankruptcy court did not err in denying the trustee's motion to sell a home debtor owned as a tenant in common with his wife where the court found benefit to the estate was outweighed by the detriment to the wife.
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