In re DiPasquale (1989)
Decided: September 18, 1989 · Arthur N. Votolato, Jr., Bankruptcy Judge. Full reported pages 187–190 independently retrieved from the Caselaw Access Project, an unofficial reproduction of the primary opinion.
Source note (2026-10-18):
- Links on this page to
https://static.case.law/br/105/cases/0187-01.jsonare an (unofficial Caselaw Access Project copy, retrieved before 2026-10-18; host disallows automated access); no official or otherwise permitted full-text copy was located on 2026-10-18.
Smithfield Diesel repaired the debtor’s Caterpillar crawler/loader for USD 15,124.69 and continuously possessed it from 1986. Agreed appraised value was USD 15,000–18,000. The chapter 7 trustee argued that written demand and court proceedings under chapter 34-35 were necessary to perfect the lien against trustee avoidance powers.
The court rejected that argument and granted the repairer’s requested stay relief. Owner-requested value-adding work with retained possession supported a common-law lien. Chapter 34-35 added a way to enforce/sell; it did not displace the common-law lien or make a court action necessary for its perfection. The distinction between perfection and authority to sell is essential: stay relief was not a completed-sale title ruling or a license to ignore state sale procedure. These facts, reasoning and disposition are verified against the entire opinion, including its bankruptcy notes.
case-v-bogosian-ri-m12-1998 expressly adopted the enforcement-versus-creation proposition at 708 A.2d 906–907, while rejecting a bare automobile-storage lien. That is verified affirmative state-Supreme-Court treatment, not an inference from a citator headnote. Current § 34-35-1 retains the conditional enforcement remedy; current § 6A-9-333 states the qualifying possessory-lien priority rule. Former UCC provisions quoted in other decisions inside this opinion are not treated as current Rhode Island vehicle-perfection law. No comprehensive citator or all-bankruptcy-outcomes certificate is asserted.
Applies in rhode-island · Related: equipment-and-machinery, towing-storage-and-mechanics-lien-sales.
Legal information, not legal advice.