Blackwell v. Lurie

71 P.3d 509 (2003)

Purchase the Printed Copy at bsmsphd.com

Nature of the Case

To access this section all you need to do is click here and register.

Facts

Ronald Lurie (D) was a general partner in the Missouri law firm of Popkin & Stern. The firm went into bankruptcy upon the filing of an involuntary Chapter 7 petition. The law firm elected to convert the proceedings to Chapter 11, and P was appointed. Pursuant to Section 723 of the Bankruptcy Code, P obtained a deficiency judgment against Ronald Lurie (D) in the amount of $1,121,743. Ds purchased a valuable sketch by Frederic Remington entitled 'Scenes of Navajo Life' in Missouri in 1978. In 1993, while still domiciled in Missouri, Ds placed the sketch on consignment at the Fenn Gallery in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where it remains. Ds relocated to Montana, their present domicile. P sought the sketch. In 1995, the Missouri bankruptcy court entered an order by which all parties were stayed from 'transferring, selling, or otherwise disposing of' certain assets, including the sketch. The court lifted the order in March 2001, and P was expressly authorized to execute on the sketch, as well as any other non-exempt assets. Ds argued that the sketch is owned by them as tenants by the entirety, such that it is exempt from execution in satisfaction of the deficiency judgment. The district court quashed P's petition for a writ of execution. P appealed.