In Re Jimmy Wakefield, Debtor Hawkins Equipment Company v. Bernard Goldstein, Trustee

This is the second time this case has come before us. 1 The trustee in bankruptcy appeals from a judgment entered in the District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas 2 affirming the bankruptcy court’s decision that under Arkansas law a usurious contract is voidable, not void, and that the debtor’s release constituted a voluntary payment in satisfaction of the debt.

For reversal the trustee argues that the district court erred in (1) failing to apply the law of the case; (2) holding that under Arkansas law a usurious contract is voidable, not void; and (3) finding that the creditor…