2012 – present  

Federal Judicial Service: 

• Judge, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Western District of New York 

Education: 

• University of Dayton Law School, J.D., magna cum laude, 1982 
• St. John Fisher College, B.A., magna cum laude, 1979 

Professional Career: 

• Clerk of Court, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Western District of New York, 2000-2012 
• Private Practice, Rochester, New York, 1982-2000 

Noteworthy Cases: 

 Gunsalus v. Ontario Cnty., Bankruptcy Case No. 17-20445, Adversary Proceeding No. 17-2008: 

The Second Circuit affirmed Judge Warren’s decisions in both Gunsalus and Duvall that, under the strict tax foreclosure scheme enacted by Article 11 of New York Real Property Tax Law, the transfer of title of the debtors’ homes to the County was not entitled to the presumption of an exchange for “reasonably equivalent value,” under 11 U.S.C. § 548(a)(1)(B).  The transfer of the property in each case was avoidable as a constructively fraudulent conveyance.  Under § 550, Judge Warren found that the return of the properties to the debtors was the appropriate remedy.  

Gunsalus v. Ontario Cnty., 613 B.R. 1 (Bankr. W.D.N.Y. 2020), aff’d, 37 F.4th 859 (W.D.N.Y. 2022), cert. denied sub nom, County of Ontario v. Gunsalus, 143 S. Ct. 447 (2022).
DuVall v. County of Ontario, 2021 Bankr. LEXIS 369 (Bankr. W.D.N.Y. 2021), aff’d, 2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 216970 (W.D.N.Y. Nov. 9, 2021), aff’d, 83 F.4th 147 (2d Cir. 2023)
https://casetext.com/case/gunsalus-v-ont-cnty-in-re-gunsalus 

 

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Arnold v. First Citizens Nat’l Bank (In re Cornerstone Homes, Inc.), Bankruptcy Case No. 1321103, Adversary Proceeding No. 15-2030: 

Individual investors executed and delivered to defendant banks written assignment of their individual lender mortgages.  The assignment of mortgages included the language “together with the bond or obligation described in the mortgage.”  The Chapter 11 Trustee asserted that the written assignment was not a valid manner by which the defendant banks could acquire ownership of the individual lender notes.  The Trustee asserted that the individual notes could only have been acquired by the defendant banks by indorsement and physical delivery of the notes.  The Court denied the Trustee’s challenge to the validity of the assignments and held that, because the defendant banks obtained written assignments of the individual investor mortgages from the actual individuals with the legal right to assign their rights under both the mortgage and the underlying note – and because the assignments specifically included the language “together with the bond or obligation described in the mortgage”– the consolidated notes and mortgages held by the defendant banks were enforceable, secured, and the defendant banks had standing to enforce them.  Judge Warren’s decision was ultimately affirmed by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. 

Arnold v. First Citizens Nat’l Bank (In re Cornerstone Homes, Inc.), 544 B.R. 492 (Bankr. W.D.N.Y. 2015), aff’d, 217 F. Supp. 3d 696 (W.D.N.Y. 2016), aff’d, 2017 U.S. App. LEXIS 9499 (2d Cir. 2017)
https://casetext.com/case/arnold-v-first-citizens-natl-bank-in-re-cornerstone-homes-inc-1