Gambill v. Consumer Recovery Associates (In re Gambill)

477 B.R. 753
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, E.D. Arkansas
DecidedJune 18, 2012
DocketBankruptcy No. 3:09-bk-11238; Adversary No. 3:10-ap-01193
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 477 B.R. 753 (Gambill v. Consumer Recovery Associates (In re Gambill)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, E.D. Arkansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Gambill v. Consumer Recovery Associates (In re Gambill), 477 B.R. 753 (Ark. 2012).

Opinion

ORDER DENYING MOTION TO SET ASIDE DEFAULT JUDGMENT

AUDREY R. EVANS, Bankruptcy Judge.

Now before the Court is the Motion to Set Aside Default Judgment (“Motion to Set Aside”) filed by the Defendant, Barclays Bank of Delaware (“Barclays”), on February 27, 2012.1 The Plaintiffs, Gary [756]*756and Karen Gambill, filed a Response to Defendant Barclays Bank Delaware’s Motion to Set Aside Default Judgment and Combined Brief in Support (“Response”) on March 29, 2012, and Barclays filed a Reply on April 9, 2012. The Court held a hearing on this matter April 12, 2012. After reviewing the arguments and evidence submitted during the hearing, and for the reasons stated herein, the Court denies Barclays’s Motion to Set Aside.

This Court has jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 157(a) and 1334. This is a core proceeding pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 157(b)(2), and the Court has jurisdiction to enter a final judgment in this case.

FACTS

The Plaintiffs filed a Chapter 7 bankruptcy case on February 24, 2009. The Plaintiffs received a discharge in that bankruptcy case on June 24, 2009, and the case was closed a few days later. On August 12, 2010, the Plaintiffs’ Bankruptcy case was reopened to allow them to pursue an adversary proceeding.

The Plaintiffs filed this adversary proceeding on September 13, 2010, claiming that Barclays violated the discharge injunction, 11 U.S.C. § 524, the automatic stay, 11 U.S.C. § 362, and the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, 15 U.S.C. §§ 1692 et seq.2 According to a certificate of service filed on the docket, a Summons and copy of the Complaint were mailed to Bar-clays on November 18, 2010, at the following address:

Barclays Bank Delaware
c/o Lloyd M. Wirshba, CEO
Corporate Headquarters
100 South West Street
Wilmington, DE 19801

The Summons stated that Barclays had until December 17, 2010, to answer the Complaint.

On April 15, 2011, approximately four months after the deadline to answer the Complaint had expired, the Plaintiffs filed a Motion for Entry of Default. A certificate of service attached to the Motion for Entry of Default certifies that the Plaintiffs sent Barclays a copy of the motion. The Entry of Default was entered by the Court on April 19, 2011. An entry on the docket reflects that the Bankruptcy Noticing Center (“BNC”) sent Barclays a copy of the Entry of Default on April 21, 2011. The Plaintiffs filed a Motion for Default Judgment on April 29, 2011. A certificate of service attached to the Motion for Default Judgment states that the Plaintiffs mailed Barclays a copy of the motion. The Court originally set the hearing on the Motion for Default Judgment for July 14, 2011. An entry on the docket reflects that BNC sent Barclays notice of the hearing on the Motion for Default Judgment on May 19, 2011. The hearing on the Motion for Default Judgment was continued three times. Every time the hearing was continued, BNC sent Barclays a notice of the new hearing date for the Motion for Default Judgment.

Evidence from Hearing on Motion for Default Judgment

The Court held a hearing on the Motion for Default Judgment on October 6, 2011. The Plaintiffs appeared at the hearing and presented testimony. Barclays did not appear. At that hearing, Mr. Gambill testified that he had received calls from Bar-clays after the discharge of their bankruptcy case:

Q. After the bankruptcy was completed, how long did it take for you to [757]*757start receiving collection calls on this particular debt?
A. About three months. Not long.
Q. ... Was it Juniper or Barclays that was calling you, or was it collection agencies?
A. Both.
Q. It was actually Juniper Bank calling you?
A. Yes, sir. I would get a phone call with a number and a case number to call back.
Q. Ok.
A. And anytime I called that back, I got a hold of Juniper Bank until the last time they called in August — I think it was the 31st — they said it was Barclays Bank.

(October 6, 2011 Hrg. Tr. 18, 16). Mr. Gambill testified that he would try to explain to the callers that the debt had been discharged in the bankruptcy, but that the callers would respond that his attorney had not filed the bankruptcy correctly (October 6, 2011 Hrg. Tr. 16), or that God would want him to pay the debt (October 6, 2011 Hrg. Tr. 18), or that they were going to file a lawsuit against him (October 6, 2011 Hrg. Tr. 19).

The Plaintiffs also testified that they had suffered as a result of the physical harm and mental distress caused by the calls they were receiving on the debt. Mr. Gambill explained that prior to the bankruptcy he had been diagnosed with depression, and an anxiety disorder, and that he took medication for these problems. (October 6, 2011 Hrg. Tr. 14). He testified that after the bankruptcy, he had started to come off of his medications, but that as soon as he started receiving the collection calls, he had to start taking the medications more often. (October 6, 2011 Hrg. Tr. 15). He testified that any time he would receive a call about the debt, his blood pressure and anxiety would increase dramatically. (October 6, 2011 Hrg. Tr. 18) (“I never knew anything about anxiety until this.”).

Mrs. Gambill’s testimony at the October 6, 2011 hearing coincided with, and further affirmed, Mr. Gambill’s testimony. She similarly testified that they had received calls from Juniper Bank about the debt. (October 6, 2011 Hrg. Tr. 23). She similarly testified that the callers requested payment from them despite being informed of the bankruptcy case. (October 6, 2011 Hrg. Tr. 24) (“Q: [I]s that your interpretation of what they’ve said? A: Yeah. ‘You owe this debt. You need to pay it.’ ”). Furthermore, Mrs. Gambill explained the impact that the calls have had on her husband’s health and their marriage relationship:

Q. What effects has this had that you can see on your husband, on his medical condition and on his — well, that effects to [sic] him personally, his characteristics and his personality?
A. He’s very angry, very upset. You know, short tempered. His blood pressure, he’ll come home at night, and you can tell. He’s red faced, you know, and anxiety. He just can’t do the things that he used to be able to do, you know, because he’d be so upset. You know, he’ll go outside and sit and not talk with us. You know, it’s just made him a very unhappy person.
Q.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
477 B.R. 753, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/gambill-v-consumer-recovery-associates-in-re-gambill-areb-2012.