Gibbs v. Gibbs

United States Bankruptcy Court, N.D. Georgia·Decided May 5, 2020·No. 19-05272·Unknown

Opinion

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> S| uae Berge | IT IS ORDERED as set forth below: 8) m/s ny Date: May 5, 2020 CLinnay Alage WendyL.Hagenau U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge TT ONIFED SFA TES BANKRUPTEY €6CRTIA NORTHERN DISTRICT OF GEORGIA ATLANTA DIVISION IN RE: ) CASE NO. 19-54809 ) BARBARA ALBYTINE GIBBS, ) CHAPTER 13 ) Debtor. ) JUDGE WENDY L. HAGENAU ee) ) M. EUGENE GIBBS, ) ) Plaintiff, ) ) v. ) ADV. PROC. NO. 19-5272 ) BARBARA ALBYTINE GIBBS, ) NATIONSTAR MORTGAGE LLC ) d/b/a/ Mr. Cooper, ) BANK OF AMERICA, ) ) Defendants. ) ee) ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFF’S MOTION TO ALTER OR AMEND JUDGMENT THIS MATTER is before the Court on Plaintiff’s Motion to Alter or Amend Judgment (Doc. No. 82) (the “Motion’’). Plaintiff initiated this adversary proceeding by filing a complaint against his wife, the Debtor Barbara Albytine Gibbs, Nationstar Mortgage LLC d/b/a Mr. Cooper (“‘Nationstar’), and

Bank of America. Plaintiff filed subsequent pleadings and many other documents, which are detailed in the Court’s Order on Motions Regarding Nationstar and Bank of America, Setting Aside Entry Of Default As To Nationstar, Denying Motion For Entry Of Default And Default Judgment Against Bank Of America And Abstaining As To All Defendants (Doc. No. 79) (the

“April Order”). Plaintiff filed the Motion on April 16, 2020, asking the Court to reconsider the April Order. The Motion restates the same arguments previously presented to and rejected by this Court. Plaintiff contends Nationstar and Bank of America do not have standing, the default as to Nationstar should not be set aside, and he is entitled to judgment against both Nationstar and Bank of America. Plaintiff also contends the Court should not have abstained from this adversary proceeding. These arguments tread ground already covered. After filing the Motion, Plaintiff filed a “Clarification” (Doc. No. 87), in which he contends Bank of America was only permitted to file one motion to dismiss and Bank of America is somehow not a party because he did not serve Bank of America. Defendants Entitled to Respond

As a preliminary matter, Plaintiff seems to contend that Bank of America is not a party because it was not served, and he argues Bank of America and Nationstar were only permitted to file a single motion to dismiss. The Court finds these arguments unavailing. Plaintiff named Bank of America in the complaint and all subsequent pleadings and has repeatedly stated allegations against Bank of America. Plaintiff has sought relief against Bank of America, though he has not demonstrated Bank of America was properly served. Insufficient service of process does not mean the entity is not a “party” – rather, it means the court lacks personal jurisdiction over the defendant so the Court cannot render judgment over it. Kelly v. Florida, 233 Fed. Appx. 883, 884 (11th Cir. 2007). Despite Plaintiff’s protestations, he clearly believes Bank of America is a defendant because he asks for a default judgment against it. The fact he did not serve Bank of America with the Second Amended Complaint does not mean it is not a party entitled to file pleadings as the complaint applies to all defendants named. Further, Bank of America and Nationstar were entitled to file motions to dismiss or other

responses each time Plaintiff amended the complaint. When an amended complaint is filed, the plaintiff must serve the defendant with the new pleading, and the defendant must be given the opportunity to respond. See Estate of Faull v. McAfee, 727 F. App’x 548, 552 (11th Cir. 2018) (finding when the third amended complaint was filed, and became the operative complaint, the defendant “must be given an opportunity to respond to the third amended complaint”); see Fed. R. Civ, P. 5(a)(2) (“a pleading that asserts a new claim for relief against such a party must be served on that party under Rule 4.”) and Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(a)(1)(A)(i) (providing that a defendant must serve an answer within 21 days after being served with a complaint). As the Eleventh Circuit has explained, “[i]t simply would be unfair to allow the plaintiff to change the scope of the case without granting the defendant an opportunity to respond anew.” Krinsk v. SunTrust Banks, Inc., 654 F.3d

1194, 1202 (11th Cir. 2011) (citations omitted); see also Brown v. E.F. Hutton & Co., 610 F. Supp. 76, 78 (S.D. Fla. 1985) (explaining “it would be inequitable to entertain the Plaintiff’s Second Amended Complaint without permitting the defendant to completely plead anew. . . . the Defendant should also be permitted, notwithstanding passage of time, to respond as if the second amended complaint were the original complaint”). When Plaintiff filed the First Amended Complaint and then the Second Amended Complaint, the Defendants were allowed to plead anew as though it were the original complaint. It was therefore well within Bank of America’s and Nationstar’s rights to file a new or amended motion to dismiss in response to each of Plaintiff’s amended pleadings. Standard for Reconsideration Plaintiff seeks reconsideration of the April Order relying on Fed. R. Civ. P. 59(e), made applicable by Fed. R. Bankr. P. 9023, which permits bankruptcy courts to alter or amend an order or judgment. As explained by the Supreme Court, the rule “may not be used to re-litigate old

matters or to raise arguments or present evidence that could have been raised prior to the entry of judgment.” Exxon Shipping Co. v. Baker, 554 U.S. 471, 486 n.5 (2008) (citing 11 C. Wright & A. Miller, Fed. Prac. & Proc. § 2810.1, pp. 127-128 (2nd ed. 1995)); see also Devinsky v. Kingsford, No. 05 Civ.2064(PAC), 2008 WL2704338, at *2 (S.D.N.Y. July 10, 2008) (explaining “A motion for reconsideration is not an opportunity to renew arguments considered and rejected by the court, nor is it an opportunity for a party to re-argue a motion because it is dissatisfied with the original outcome.”). Accordingly, to prevail on a motion for reconsideration, the movant must present either newly discovered evidence or establish a manifest error of law or fact. In re Kellogg, 197 F.3d 1116, 1119 (11th Cir. 1999). “A ‘manifest error’ is not demonstrated by the disappointment of the losing party. It is the ‘wholesale disregard, misapplication, or failure to

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