James Nichols Beverly Ann Nichols v. David A. Birdsell

WALLACE, Senior Circuit Judge:

This case presents a new issue for our court: whether debtors’ pre-bankruptcy application of their right to tax refunds to post-bankruptcy tax obligations constitutes an asset that must be turned over to the bankruptcy trustee pursuant to the Bankruptcy Code, 11 U.S.C. § 542. Plaintiffs-Appellants James W. Nichols and Beverly Nichols (Debtors) appeal from the district court’s order denying their appeal from the bankruptcy court decision. In the underlying case, the bankruptcy court concluded that the pre-petition application of the right to the tax refund was an…