In re: Andrew Michael Demos

CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, S.D. Florida.
DecidedApril 1, 2026
Docket23-15254
StatusUnknown

This text of In re: Andrew Michael Demos (In re: Andrew Michael Demos) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, S.D. Florida. primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In re: Andrew Michael Demos, (Fla. 2026).

Opinion

Sr Ma, ey * AO OW ae if * A iD 8 Ss 74 □□□ A swillikg & — <3 a8 ORDERED in the Southern District of Florida on April 1, 2026.

Mindy A. Mora, Judge United States Bankruptcy Court

UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA WEST PALM BEACH DIVISION www.fisb.uscourts.gov In re: Case No.: 23-15254-MAM Andrew Michael Demos, Chapter 11 Debtor. / OPINION AND ORDER GRANTING EMERGENCY MOTION FOR SANCTIONS This Court strives to provide access to justice to all who seek it. To advance that goal, the Court provided Debtor’s ex-wife, Elaine Demos, with hours of hearing time in this case. The Court waded through hundreds of pages of motions, notices, exhibits, and other filed documents, many of which lack typical indicia of formality

and seem AI-generated. The Court provided generous extensions of time (often over the objections of opposing counsel) when each of Ms. Demos’s four prior attorneys withdrew. The Court continued to thoughtfully consider Ms. Demos’s arguments

when she elected to represent herself pro se. The Court listened patiently even when Ms. Demos, an attorney licensed by the New York State Bar, failed to maintain basic courtroom decorum or demonstrate any form of appropriate deference to this Court as an institution of justice. The time has come for the Court to remind Ms. Demos that the United States justice system is larger than any one dispute, and that all who seek justice in

bankruptcy court must yield to the greater good that the institution and the statutes underpinning it serve. This Court is a court of limited jurisdiction because that is what the Constitution, Congress, and the United States Supreme Court have collectively set forth and reaffirmed again and again. It is not a forum for Ms. Demos to air all possible emotional grievances against her former spouse. It is a federal bankruptcy court whose fundamental purpose lies in determining and sometimes modifying debtor and creditor relationships. And, like any other court, once the

appellate period has run, its determinations are final. Approximately three months ago, this Court issued an order (ECF No. 564) (the “Claim Order”) determining the amount of Ms. Demos’s prepetition claim for domestic support obligations (“DSOs”).1 The Claim Order was the product of extensive analysis undertaken after a full two-day trial during which Ms. Demos,

1 The petition date of this bankruptcy case was July 3, 2023 (the “Petition Date”). then represented by counsel, had every opportunity to present her case. Acting as her own star witness, she testified for hours, recounting her version of facts dating back to the years of her marriage, divorce, temporary reconciliation, and second separation

from her husband, who is the Debtor in this proceeding. Despite its willingness to hear all pertinent facts, this Court’s job was not to determine whether Ms. Demos ought to be entitled to DSOs as a general matter, or if the marital settlement agreement she entered into with Debtor was fair, equitable, or just. Instead, this Court’s only duty was to determine the amount and validity of the proof of claim filed by Ms. Demos as proof of claim number 12 (“Claim 12”) for

prepetition DSOs owed to her as of the Petition Date.2 To do so, the Court reviewed extensive documentation regarding amounts Debtor paid to Ms. Demos leading up to the Petition Date and accepted testimony about any assets in which Debtor may have held an interest prior to or as of the date of trial. The Court also accepted expert testimony regarding the amount and validity of Claim 12. To facilitate its own review of the record and determination of the amount of outstanding prepetition DSOs, the Court compiled, at great effort, its own

spreadsheet reconciling the amount of DSOs paid by Debtor prior to the Petition Date and amounts still outstanding. The Court devoted extensive resources to consideration of allegations and testimony in the record regarding Debtor’s existing

2 By filing a proof of claim, a creditor subjects itself to the bankruptcy court’s equitable power. Langenkamp v. Culp, 498 U.S. 42, 44 (1990) (citing Granfinanciera v. Nordberg, 492 U.S. 33 58-59 (1989)). The Court accepted the amount asserted in Claim 12 as a DSO and the parties have not disputed its priority under applicable bankruptcy law. 11 U.S.C. § 507(a)(1) (describing DSOs as priority claims). assets. The Court also undertook legal research on DSOs in bankruptcy, payment of DSOs through chapter 11 plans, and all other necessary areas of law. The Court reviewed the MSA in detail. It recognized the MSA as a valid,

binding agreement, modified only as stated in later written agreements executed by both Ms. Demos and Debtor. The Court did not question the binding effect of prepetition state court orders, nor would it have attempted to do so. It accepted all prior state court determinations and orders as final. Haven undertaken the requisite legal and financial analysis, the Court then rendered a written opinion and order—the Claim Order—explaining in detail its

rationale and calculations. The Claim Order limited the amount of the prepetition DSOs asserted by Ms. Demos in Claim 12 to $193,025.79 and reaffirmed the Court’s prior determination that it would abstain from any determination of postpetition DSOs. That Order is now final. The appellate period for the Claim Order expired on January 6, 2026. Ms. Demos, a licensed attorney, elected not to appeal.3 No state court should act as a court

of appeal with respect to the Claim Order, nor could it. The appellate path for bankruptcy opinions and orders is unusual, requiring a stopover in the district court prior to advancing to the relevant Circuit Court of Appeal (or going through a BAP court, in some jurisdictions). Despite those unusual quirks, this is a federal trial

3 The record reflects that Ms. Demos knows how and when to file a notice of appeal. See ECF Nos. 256, 535, 536, 537, and 538 (Notices of Appeal) and ECF Nos. 358, 549, 552, 569, and 570 (orders dismissing each appeal). court, and it has the authority to enter final determinations on proofs of claim filed in a bankruptcy case. That is a core function of this Court. Ms. Demos’s recent decision to seek a different judicial determination from a

New York state court of the amount of prepetition DSOs owed by Debtor was unwise at best. As an attorney, she is tasked with a greater level of knowledge than a layperson. In law school, she undoubtedly learned that it is improper to ask any court other than an appellate court to review the decision of a trial court. In other words, Ms. Demos knew or should have known that seeking to enhance her prepetition DSO claim against Debtor, in an amount greater than the

amount allowed in the Claim Order, in a state court proceeding while Debtor’s active bankruptcy case is pending, was improper. Seeking alternate judicial relief on a claim upon which this Court had previously entered not just an order, but a full written opinion, is breathtaking. It was, undoubtedly, a violation of the automatic stay.4 Now all the Court must do is explain exactly why the automatic stay was violated, citing to the applicable portions of the Bankruptcy Code, and determine the amount of damages Ms. Demos must pay to Debtor.

So we begin the sanctions analysis. Again.5

4 The Court presumes that Ms. Demos failed to share a copy of the Claim Order with her New York counsel, and that counsel is unaware of this Court’s prior rulings. The Court reserves jurisdiction to impose sanctions upon counsel if necessary. 5 This Court sanctioned Ms.

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Related

Glatter v. Mroz
65 F.3d 1567 (Eleventh Circuit, 1995)
Jove Engineering, Inc. v. Internal Revenue Service
92 F.3d 1539 (Eleventh Circuit, 1996)
Granfinanciera, S.A. v. Nordberg
492 U.S. 33 (Supreme Court, 1989)
Langenkamp v. Culp
498 U.S. 42 (Supreme Court, 1991)
In re Daya Medicals, Inc.
560 B.R. 855 (S.D. Florida, 2016)

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