Nolin Production Credit Ass'n v. Vance (In Re Vance)

MEMORANDUM OPINION

MERRITT S. DEITZ, Jr., Bankruptcy Judge.

Counting cattle may be a pacifying exercise for small children on long trips, but it makes for poor reading in judicial opinions. Nonetheless, counting cattle — how many there were, who they belonged to, and where they went — is what this opinion is all about.

The case takes the form of a creditor’s complaint invoking the most severe noncriminal remedy available against debtors, the absolute denial of a bankruptcy discharge. The reason given is the debtors’ failure to adequately account for their assets. There are additional grounds…