William Louis Beatty

The case involved Chapter 13 debtors who listed only the non-exempt portion of a potential personal injury recovery in their plan and sought to retain a $7,500 exemption under Illinois law. The bankruptcy court sustained the trustee's objection, required the plan to commit the entire recovery to creditors as disposable income, and dismissed the case when the debtors did not amend; the district court affirmed that ruling on appeal. The court held that 11 U.S.C. § 1325(b) requires all projected disposable income received in the three-year period—not limited by exempt status—to be paid into the plan, and a personal injury recovery qualifies as such income when not reasonably necessary for the debtors' support. The district court reinstated the proceeding solely to give the debtors ten days to modify the plan in compliance with the bankruptcy court's order.

procedureproperty

This case involves a wrongful death claim by Clara Niemann, administratrix of Vincent Niemann's estate, against aircraft manufacturers McDonnell Douglas and General Dynamics. The decedent allegedly developed asbestosis and lung cancer from exposure to asbestos-containing chafing and rub strips while repairing military aircraft at Scott Air Force Base from 1963 to 1980. The defendants moved for summary judgment on the remaining negligence count, asserting the government contractor defense established in Boyle v. United Technologies Corp. The court granted the motions, finding that the manufacturers satisfied all three Boyle elements: the United States approved reasonably precise specifications for the aircraft, the equipment conformed to those specifications, and the government had knowledge of any relevant dangers.

torts & liabilityfederal power

This case involves an appeal from a bankruptcy court's decision in the Chapter 11 reorganization of Wilnor Drilling, Inc. and related entities. The bankruptcy court had appointed both a mandatory Creditors’ Committee and a discretionary Investors’ Committee, but subordinated the latter's fees and expenses to the former's. The district court reversed this, holding that both committees' fees qualify as first-priority administrative expenses under the Bankruptcy Code and must share pro rata if assets are insufficient; equitable subordination does not apply absent inequitable conduct or statutory authority to prioritize within the same class.

business & regulatoryprocedure

This case involved a claim by Dolores Navarre for loss of consortium under general maritime law after her husband Ernie suffered a back injury in 1977 while working as a deckhand on a barge operated by Wisconsin Barge Line. Ernie had filed and settled his own Jones Act and maritime personal injury suit in 1979, but Dolores, who was not married to him at the time of the accident, married him in 1978 and later brought this separate action. The defendant moved for summary judgment, arguing that no marital relationship existed at the time of the injury. The court granted the motion and dismissed the claim with prejudice, holding that under principles from American Export Lines v. Alvez and common law precedents, a valid marriage must exist at the time of the underlying injury for a loss of consortium claim to arise, and a later marriage does not create such a right.

torts & liabilityprocedure