David Amster-Olszewski and Kirby Jones v. Avi Schwalb

CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, D. Colorado
DecidedJune 8, 2026
Docket26-01034
StatusUnknown

This text of David Amster-Olszewski and Kirby Jones v. Avi Schwalb (David Amster-Olszewski and Kirby Jones v. Avi Schwalb) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, D. Colorado primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
David Amster-Olszewski and Kirby Jones v. Avi Schwalb, (Colo. 2026).

Opinion

UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLORADO Bankruptcy Judge Joseph G. Rosania, Jr.

In re:

AVI SCHWALB, Case No. 25-12666-JGR SSN: xxx-xx-0747, Chapter 7

Debtor.

DAVID AMSTER-OLSZEWSKI, Adv. Pro. No. 26-01034-JGR KIRBY JONES,

Plaintiffs, v.

AVI SCHWALB,

Defendant.

ORDER DENYING MOTION TO DISMISS COMPLAINT

THIS MATTER is before the Court on Defendant Avi Schwalb’s Motion to Dismiss Complaint filed by Avi Schwalb (“Defendant”) on March 13, 2026 (Doc. 9). Plaintiffs did not file a response.

INTRODUCTION

When evaluating a motion to dismiss, a court may properly consider exhibits attached to the complaint, all materials referenced in the complaint, and materials subject to judicial notice. Pace v. Swerdlow, 519 F.3d 1067, 1072 (10th Cir. 2008). The court may also consider documents not attached to the complaint or incorporated by reference, but that are “integral to the complaint." Official Comm. of Unsecured Creditors v. Bay Harbour Master Ltd. (In re BH S&B Holdings LLC), 420 B.R. 112, 132 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. 2009). See also Tal v. Hogan, 453 F.3d 1244, 1264-65 n.24 (10th Cir. 2006) (“facts subject to judicial notice may be considered in a Rule 12(b)(6) motion without converting the motion to dismiss into a motion for summary judgment”); St. Louis Baptist Temple v. F.D.I.C., 605 F.2d 1169, 1172 (10th Cir. 1979) (“[F]ederal courts, in appropriate circumstances, may take notice of proceedings in other courts, both within and without the federal judicial system, if those proceedings have a direct relation to matters at issue.”). Defendant filed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy case in this District on May 2, 2025, Case No. 26-12666-JGR (the “Bankruptcy Case”). On the filing date, Defendant was embroiled in significant criminal and civil litigation. The Bankruptcy Case was filed on the eve of a state court civil jury trial.

On March 20, 2025, a Statewide Grand Jury Superseding Indictment was filed in the Denver District Court, Case No. 2025CR15038. Defendant was indicted on 47 counts of 51 counts including violations of the Colorado Organized Crime Control Act and theft for perpetrating a fraudulent home remodeling scheme in which the Defendant and others received customer deposits for home remodeling, failed to complete work, left homes uninhabitable, and misused the deposits for personal gain.

The Defendant was also faced with approximately twenty lawsuits and foreclosure actions from either homeowners who were pursuing tort and contract claims or lenders to the rental properties who claimed the Defendant collected rents from such properties and failed to pay the mortgages.

The Chapter 11 reorganization case was converted to a Chapter 7 liquidation case on October 30, 2025, over the Defendant’s objection.

The Defendant appealed the conversion order to the United States District Court for the District of Colorado (25-CV-3624). He sought a stay pending appeal from this Court, which was denied on December 2, 2025 (Bankruptcy Case Dkt. 326). The United States District Court for the District of Colorado also denied the Defendant’s motion for a stay pending appeal. The appeal is pending and has been fully briefed.

After a nearly three-week long trial, on or about February 20, 2026, Defendant was found guilty on all 47 counts asserted in the criminal indictment. Defendant was found guilty on two counts of theft of the Plaintiffs’ property in an amount between $100,000 and $1,000,000.

Plaintiffs initiated prepetition litigation against Defendant, Avi’s Remodeling, Schwalb Builders, and other parties in the District Court for Jefferson County, Colorado, Case No. 2024CV30963. In the prepetition litigation, Plaintiffs brought claims for: (a) breach of contract against Avi’s Remodeling; (b) negligence against the Defendant and other defendants; (c) civil theft based on violation of the Colorado Mechanic’s Lien Trust Fund Statute, Colo. Rev. Stat. § 38-22-127 and violation of Colorado’s civil theft statue, Colo. Rev. Stat. § 18-4-401; (d) fraudulent misrepresentation against the Defendant and other defendants; and (e) piercing the corporate veil/alter-ego liability against the Defendant and other defendants.

THE DISCHARGEABILITY ADVERSARY PROCEEDINGS

Eight separate adversary proceedings have been filed against the Defendant seeking determinations of non-dischargeability under various provisions of 11 U.S.C. § 523(a): Case No. 26-01024-JGR Kevin Collins and Noelle Collins v. Avi Schwalb Case No. 26-01030-JGR Jill Bubenik and Brandon Bubenik v. Avi Schwalb Case No. 26-01031-JGR Uzi Berger v. Avi Schwalb Case No. 26-01032-JGR Jeffrey Swanson v. Avi Schwalb Case No. 26-01033-JGR Fannie Mae v. Avi Schwalb Case No. 26-01034-JGR David Amster-Olszewski and Kirby Jones v. Avi Schwalb Case No. 26-01075-JGR Brianna Tanner and Douglas Tanner v. Avi Schwalb Case No. 26-01103-JGR Karen Davidson and Benjamin Davidson v. Avi Schwalb

With the exception of Case No. 26-01103-JGR, which was filed on April 17, 2026, and was not served until April 21, 2026, Defendant has moved to dismiss each of the adversaries under Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6) as incorporated by Fed.R.Bankr.P. 7012 for failure to state a claim.

LEGAL STANDARD

To survive a motion to dismiss under Fed R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6) (as incorporated by Fed.R.Bankr.P. 7012), “a complaint must contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to ‘state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.’” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009) (quoting Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570 (2007)). The Court must accept all well-pled factual allegations in the complaint as true and resolve all reasonable inferences in the plaintiff’s favor. Morse v. Regents of the Univ. of Colo., 154 F.3d 1124, 1126–27 (10th Cir. 1998). However, the Court need not accept legal conclusions as true. Khalik v. United Air Lines, 671 F.3d 1188, 1190 (10th Cir. 2012). “Accordingly, in examining a complaint under Rule 12(b)(6), [the court] will disregard conclusory statements and look only to whether the remaining, factual allegations plausibly suggest the defendant is liable.” Id. at 1191. The “plausibility” standard requires that relief must plausibly follow from the facts alleged, not that the facts themselves be plausible. Bryson v. Gonzales, 534 F.3d 1282, 1286 (10th Cir. 2008).

A claim is considered “plausible” when the complaint contains facts which allow the Court “to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged.” Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 663. “Plausible” does not mean “probable,” although the plaintiff must show that its entitlement to relief is more than speculative. Id.; Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Beard v. Nichols
120 U.S. 260 (Supreme Court, 1887)
Haines v. Kerner
404 U.S. 519 (Supreme Court, 1972)
Field v. Mans
516 U.S. 59 (Supreme Court, 1995)
Kawaauhau v. Geiger
523 U.S. 57 (Supreme Court, 1998)
Erickson v. Pardus
551 U.S. 89 (Supreme Court, 2007)
Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly
550 U.S. 544 (Supreme Court, 2007)
Ashcroft v. Iqbal
556 U.S. 662 (Supreme Court, 2009)
Schwartz v. Celestial Seasonings, Inc.
124 F.3d 1246 (Tenth Circuit, 1997)
Morse v. Regents of the University of Colorado
154 F.3d 1124 (Tenth Circuit, 1998)
Panalis v. Moore (In Re Moore)
357 F.3d 1125 (Tenth Circuit, 2004)
Tal v. Hogan
453 F.3d 1244 (Tenth Circuit, 2006)
Pace v. Swerdlow
519 F.3d 1067 (Tenth Circuit, 2008)
Bryson v. Gonzales
534 F.3d 1282 (Tenth Circuit, 2008)
Dias v. City and County of Denver
567 F.3d 1169 (Tenth Circuit, 2009)
Khalik v. United Air Lines
671 F.3d 1188 (Tenth Circuit, 2012)
United States v. Christopher A. Smith
156 F.3d 1046 (Tenth Circuit, 1998)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
David Amster-Olszewski and Kirby Jones v. Avi Schwalb, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/david-amster-olszewski-and-kirby-jones-v-avi-schwalb-cob-2026.