Allen v. Fitzgerald

590 B.R. 352
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Virginia
DecidedJuly 31, 2018
DocketCivil Action Nos. 7:18-cv-00134; 5:18-cv-00057
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 590 B.R. 352 (Allen v. Fitzgerald) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. Virginia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Allen v. Fitzgerald, 590 B.R. 352 (W.D. Va. 2018).

Opinion

Michael F. Urbanski, Chief United States District Judge

This matter comes before the court on the Defendant-Appellants Jason Royce Allen, Kevin Chern, Law Solutions Chicago, LLC ("Law Solutions"), and UpRight Law, LLC's ("UpRight," and collectively "Petitioners") Motion to Stay (the "Motion"), ECF No. 97. Previously, the court granted a partial temporary stay until July 2, 2018 so the parties could brief and the court could consider the underlying issues. Order, ECF No. 95. The Motion has now been fully briefed, and the court has considered the issues raised in the Motion. For the reasons discussed below, the court will DENY the Motion.

I. Procedural Background

On February 12, 2018, the bankruptcy court issued an Order (the "Order"), In re Williams, No. 16-07024 (Bankr. W.D. Va. Feb. 12, 2018), ECF No. 232, in favor of the U.S. Trustee for Region Four (the "Trustee") and against Petitioners.1 At issue here, Paragraph 5 of the Order (the "Privilege Revocation") revoked the privileges of Petitioners to practice before the bankruptcy court for this District for five years. In particular, the Privilege Revocation provides:

Pursuant to the relief requested in Williams Count VI and Scott Count V, the privileges of LSC, Upright Law, LLC, Kevin W. Chern, and Jason Royce Allen to file or conduct cases, directly or indirectly, in the Western District of Virginia are revoked for a period of five *355(5) years. This revocation shall include any firm that Law Solutions Chicago, Upright Law, Jason Allen or Kevin Chern, directly or indirectly, have an ownership interest in or control over.

Order ¶ 5. Simultaneously, the bankruptcy court issued a Memorandum Opinion setting forth findings of fact and explaining the legal rationale behind its Order. Memorandum Opinion ("Bankr. Op."), In re Williams, No. 16-50158, 2018 WL 832894 (Bankr. W.D. Va. Feb. 12, 2018), ECF No. 231.

Petitioners asked the bankruptcy court to alter the Privilege Revocation and stay its effectiveness until sixty days after the Order became final and nonappealable. Defs.' Mot. Alter Am. J. at 2, In re Williams, No. 16-07024 (Bankr. W.D. Va. Feb. 26, 2018), ECF No. 244. The bankruptcy court altered the Privilege Revocation so that it came into effect on May 9, 2018, and, until that date, barred Petitioners from taking on new clients, filing new cases, or charging currents for services related to transitioning those clients' cases. Order Disposing Defs.' Mot. Alter Am. J. at 2, In re Williams, No. 16-07024 (Bankr. W.D. Va. Mar. 12, 2018), ECF No. 250.

On March 27, Petitioners filed an appeal with this court. Bankr. Notice Appeal, ECF No. 1. Almost one month later, on April 20, 2018, Petitioners filed a motion to stay the Privilege Revocation with the bankruptcy court. Defs.' Mot. Limited Stay Enforcement Bankr. Ct. Pending Appeal ("Motion to Stay Pending Appeal") at 1, In re Williams, No. 16-07024 (Bankr. W.D. Va. Apr. 20, 2018), ECF No. 264. On May 1, 2018, Petitioners filed an additional, emergency motion to stay with the bankruptcy court. Defs.' Emergency Mot. Stay J. Pending Decision Mot. Stay Pending Appeal at 1, In re Williams, No. 16-07024 (Bankr. W.D. Va. May 1, 2018), ECF No. 269. The bankruptcy court granted the emergency temporary stay. Order Granting in Part Defs.' Emergency Mot. Stay J. Pending Decision Mot. Stay Pending Appeal at 1, In re Williams, No. 16-07024 (Bankr. W.D. Va. May 3, 2018), ECF No. 271. Ultimately, however, the bankruptcy court denied the Motion to Stay Pending Appeal. Mem. Op. & Order Den. Defs.' Mot. Limited Stay Pending Appeal, In re Williams, No. 16-07024 (Bankr. W.D. Va. May 14, 2018) at 2, ECF No. 277.

The court held a motion hearing on May 18, 2018, during which Petitioners moved for another emergency stay of the Privilege Revocation pending appeal. Minute Entry, ECF No. 94. The court granted the emergency motion in part and stayed the Privilege Revocation until July 2, 2018. Order ("Emergency Stay Order"), ECF No. 95. Subsequently, on May 18, 2018, Petitioners filed the Motion presently before this court. On July 2, 2018, due to the volume of materials submitted during briefing on the Motion, the court entered an order further staying the Privilege Revocation until August 3, 2018, with the same terms as the Emergency Stay Order. Order, ECF No. 108.

II. Standard of Review

The court is mindful that "a stay is an 'intrusion into the ordinary processes of administration and judicial review.' " Nken v. Holder, 556 U.S. 418, 427, 129 S.Ct. 1749, 173 L.Ed.2d 550 (2009) (quoting Va. Petrol. Jobbers Ass'n v. FPC, 259 F.2d 921, 925 (D.C. Cir. 1958) (per curiam) ). "A stay is not a matter of right, even if irreparable injury might otherwise result." Id. at 433, 129 S.Ct. 1749 (quoting Va. Ry. Co. v. United States, 272 U.S. 658, 672, 47 S.Ct. 222, 71 L.Ed. 463 (1926) ). "Ordinarily, when a party seeking a stay makes application to an appellate judge following the denial of a similar motion by a trial judge, the burden of persuasion on the moving party is substantially greater *356than it was before the trial judge." Long v. Robinson, 432 F.2d 977, 979 (4th Cir. 1970).

The parties agree that the court must apply Hilton v. Braunskill, 481 U.S. 770, 107 S.Ct. 2113, 95 L.Ed.2d 724

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
590 B.R. 352, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/allen-v-fitzgerald-vawd-2018.