Supreme Court Report

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Machele L. Goetz v. Victor Felix Weber, Chapter 7 Trustee

Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, No. 23-2491 · judgment March 8, 2024


Certiorari denied · October 7, 2024
Pre-decision estimate: 2% cert probability

Before the decision, well below the 4.1% base rate, with no standout signals pointing toward a grant.

Questions presented

  1. Whether the language in 11 U.S.C. § 541(a)(1) creates a bifurcation of interests in the assets of a bankruptcy estate into pre-petition (i.e., “as of the commencement of the case”) interests and post-petition (i.e., “after commencement of the case”) interests, such that post-petition interests, which might include new equity in assets, are not included in the bankruptcy estate upon conversion from Chapter 13 to Chapter 7.

  2. Whether the language of 11 U.S.C. § 348(f)(1) (A), when read in conjunction with 11 U.S.C. § 541(a) (1), is ambiguous such that the legislative history should be consulted to determine Congress’ intent regarding whether post-petition interests in assets are to be included in the Chapter 7 bankruptcy estate upon conversion.

Counsel of record

For petitioner
Errin Preston Stowell
WM Law

For respondent
Victor Felix Weber
Merrick, Baker & Strauss, PC

Case

Conference history
Distributed for 1 conference

Proceedings

  1. Oct 07 2024
    Petition DENIED.
  2. Jul 17 2024
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 9/30/2024.
  3. Jul 01 2024
    Waiver of right of respondent Victor Felix Weber, Chapter 7 Trustee to respond filed.
  4. Jun 05 2024
    Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due July 10, 2024)