Abba Chima

The Trustee in Bankruptcy brought a motion seeking to revive a 2004 fraudulent conveyance action against the Bankrupt and his brother, and to set aside a 2007 order and notice of discontinuance.

The court dismissed the motion, finding that the Trustee had settled the action against the brother in 2007.

Furthermore, the court held that the fraudulent conveyance claims were res judicata, as they had been fully litigated and dismissed in a prior family court proceeding where the Trustee actively participated as an intervenor.

The court also refused to approve the Trustee's reports due to factual inaccuracies and declined to authorize criminal proceedings.

Finally, the court ordered the Trustee to pay partial indemnity costs personally, as it had pursued adversarial litigation without inspector authority and knowing the estate had no funds.

Following a summary judgment motion where the defendant successfully had the plaintiff's main action dismissed but was denied summary judgment on his counterclaim, the court determined costs.

The defendant, who was partially self-represented, sought costs of $26,325.

The plaintiff failed to provide a costs outline.

The court awarded the defendant all-inclusive costs of $10,000, taking into account the simplified procedure rules and the defendant's status as a self-represented litigant for part of the proceedings.

The defendant moved for summary judgment to dismiss the plaintiff's action and to grant judgment on his counterclaim for unpaid services.

The plaintiff elected not to file any responding evidence, relying solely on its pleadings.

The court drew an adverse inference against the plaintiff and dismissed its action, finding no genuine issue requiring a trial.

However, the court dismissed the defendant's motion for judgment on the counterclaim, finding the evidentiary record inadequate to determine liability and damages, and directed the counterclaim to proceed to a simplified procedure trial.