In re Wade

DAWKINS, District Judge.

Petitioners seek a review of the referee’s decision sustaining a claim of exemption to certain machinery and equipment used in the publication of the Caldwell News, Inc., a weekly newspaper published in Columbia, La. The claim was made under Article 644 of the Louisiana Code of Practice, which exempts from seizure for debt the tools and instruments used in a trade or profession.

Prior to filing the petition and adjudication of voluntary bankruptcy, petitioners and Wade had engaged in extensive litigation in the state court. Among other things, this same claim of…