De Jounghe v. Mender (In Re De Jounghe)

334 B.R. 760, 2005 Bankr. LEXIS 2488, 2005 WL 3359698
CourtBankruptcy Appellate Panel of the First Circuit
DecidedDecember 12, 2005
DocketBAP No. PR 05-013. Bankruptcy No. 03-13858-ESL
StatusPublished
Cited by30 cases

This text of 334 B.R. 760 (De Jounghe v. Mender (In Re De Jounghe)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Bankruptcy Appellate Panel of the First Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
De Jounghe v. Mender (In Re De Jounghe), 334 B.R. 760, 2005 Bankr. LEXIS 2488, 2005 WL 3359698 (bap1 2005).

Opinion

DEASY, Bankruptcy Judge.

This matter is before the Panel on the Debtors’ appeal from an order of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Puerto Rico (1) denying their motion to convert their Chapter 11 case to a Chapter 13 case, and (2) dismissing their bankruptcy case. For the reasons set forth below, the decision is AFFIRMED.

BACKGROUND

On December 23, 2003, Ted Read De Jounghe and Marisa Varela Giacoy (“Debtors”) filed a voluntary petition for relief under Chapter 7 of the United States Bankruptcy Code. 1 Thereafter, the Debtors filed their schedules. In February, 2004, the Debtors filed a notice of conversion to Chapter 11, which the bankruptcy court granted on March 25, 2004. After the conversion, the bankruptcy court issued an order dated July 27, 2004, directing the Debtors to: (1) file lists, schedules and statements as required by Bankruptcy Rule 1007; (2) appear at the § 341 meeting of creditors; (3) file a plan of reorganization and disclosure statement within 180 days from the filing of the Chapter 11 petition (or by September 27, 2004); (4) file monthly operating reports; and (5) pay quarterly fees to the U.S. Trustee. The order also stated that “[fjailure to comply may constitute cause under 11 U.S.C. § 1112(b) for the dismissal or conversion to Chapter 7 of the Chapter 11 petition.”

On September 2, 2004, creditor Enilda Jiménez filed a motion to dismiss the case based on the Debtors’ alleged failure to submit monthly operating reports and “procedural conduct” causing “unreasonable delay that is prejudicial to creditors.” The Debtors opposed the motion, claiming that they had filed the requisite operating reports.

The Debtors did not file a disclosure statement or plan of reorganization by the September 27, 2004 deadline, nor did they request an extension of the deadline. Instead, on that date, the Debtors filed a motion to convert the case to Chapter 13. On October 5, 2004, in response to Creditor Jiménez’s motion to dismiss and the Debtors’ motion to convert to Chapter 13, the bankruptcy court issued an order directing the Debtors to show cause why the request for conversion to Chapter 13 should not be denied for lack of eligibility under § 109(e), and why the case should not be dismissed for unreasonable delay prejudicial to creditors (“Show Cause Order”). The Debtors were required to file their response within 30 days, or by November 4, 2004.

In the meantime, on October 27, 2004, creditor Raul Hernandez Gonzalez filed a motion opposing conversion to Chapter 13, arguing that the Debtors did not meet the eligibility requirements under § 109(e) and requesting dismissal of the case under § 1112(b) for failure to propose a plan. The Debtors objected. In addition, on November 1, 2004, the Debtors filed a response to the Show Cause Order, arguing that they met the eligibility requirements of § 109(e). Creditor Hernandez filed an opposition to the Debtors’ response to the Show Cause Order.

*765 The bankruptcy court scheduled a hearing for February 15, 2005 to consider: (1) the motion to convert to Chapter 13; (2) Creditor Hernandez’s motion objecting to conversion and to dismiss the case; (3) the Debtors’ response to the Show Cause Order; (4) Creditor Hernandez’s opposition to the Debtors’ response to the Show Cause Order; and (5) the Debtors’ objection to Hernandez’s motion to dismiss. A few days before the hearing, the Debtors filed an adversary proceeding against Creditor Hernandez, seeking to set aside as a preferential transfer his pre-petition attachment of stock that the Debtors hold in Lupi’s Enterprises, Inc. 2

At the February 15th hearing, after hearing from the parties, the bankruptcy court denied the Debtors’ motion to convert to Chapter 13, and dismissed the bankruptcy case. The Debtors filed a timely notice of appeal on February 25, 2005. On that same date, the Debtors filed a motion to convert to Chapter 7, and a motion for a stay pending appeal. From a review of the docket, it does not appear that the bankruptcy court took any action on either motion.

JURISDICTION

The bankruptcy appellate panel has jurisdiction to hear appeals from “final judgments, orders, and decrees” pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 158(a)(1) or, “with leave of the court, from interlocutory orders and decrees” pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 158(a)(3). Fleet Data Processing Corp. v. Branch (In re Bank of New England Corp.), 218 B.R. 643, 645 (1st Cir. BAP 1998). “A decision is final if it ‘ends the litigation on the merits and leaves nothing for the court to do but execute the judgment.’ ” Id. at 646. An interlocutory order “ ‘only decides some intervening matter pertaining to the cause, and which requires further steps to be taken in order to enable the court to adjudicate the cause on the merits.’ ” Id. (quoting In re American Colonial Broad. Corp., 758 F.2d 794, 801 (1st Cir.1985)).

STANDARD OF REVIEW

Appellate courts reviewing an appeal from the bankruptcy court generally apply the clearly erroneous standard to findings of fact and de novo review to conclusions of law. See T I Fed. Credit Union v. DelBonis, 72 F.3d 921, 928 (1st Cir.1995); Western Auto Supply Co. v. Savage Arms, Inc. (In re Savage Indus., Inc.), 43 F.3d 714, 719-20 n. 8 (1st Cir. 1994).

Whether a debt is “noncontingent” and “liquidated” for purposes of § 109(e) is an issue involving interpretation of the Bankruptcy Code and therefore a question of law subject to de novo review. See Slack v. Wilshire Ins. Co., 187 F.3d 1070, 1073 (9th Cir.1999) (citing Federal Deposit Ins. Corp. v. Wenberg (In re Wenberg), 94 B.R. 631, 633 (9th Cir. BAP 1988), aff'd, 902 F.2d 768 (9th Cir.1990)). However, the determination of the amount of any such debt is a question of fact and cannot be reversed unless clearly erroneous. Id.

A bankruptcy court’s decision to dismiss a case under § 1112 is reviewed for an abuse of discretion. See In re Abijoe Realty Corp., 943 F.2d 121, 128 (1st Cir.1991). A court abuses its discretion if it does not apply the correct law or if it rests its decision on a clearly erroneous finding of material fact. See Cabral v. Shamban (In re Cabral), 285 B.R. 563, 570 (1st Cir.2002) (citation omitted).

DISCUSSION

I.

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

Related

Untitled Case
D. Colorado, 2026
In Re Correia Contracting, LLC
D. Massachusetts, 2025
In Re. Jean Y Duplessis
D. Massachusetts, 2023
In re: Moore
D. Connecticut, 2022
Parking Management, Inc.
D. Maryland, 2020
Catholic Sch. Emps. Pension Trust v. Abreu
599 B.R. 634 (First Circuit, 2019)
Bermea v. Pascual
N.D. Illinois, 2018
Rivera Balaguer v. Perez
248 F. Supp. 3d 329 (D. Puerto Rico, 2017)
In re Petrovic
560 B.R. 312 (N.D. Illinois, 2016)
In re Costa Bonita Beach Resort, Inc.
513 B.R. 184 (D. Puerto Rico, 2014)
In re Piovanetti
496 B.R. 57 (D. Puerto Rico, 2013)
In re Cunningham
490 B.R. 152 (D. Massachusetts, 2013)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
334 B.R. 760, 2005 Bankr. LEXIS 2488, 2005 WL 3359698, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/de-jounghe-v-mender-in-re-de-jounghe-bap1-2005.