In Re Mandukich

87 B.R. 296, 1988 Bankr. LEXIS 956, 17 Bankr. Ct. Dec. (CRR) 1144, 1988 WL 64654
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, S.D. New York
DecidedJune 22, 1988
Docket17-23636
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 87 B.R. 296 (In Re Mandukich) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, S.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In Re Mandukich, 87 B.R. 296, 1988 Bankr. LEXIS 956, 17 Bankr. Ct. Dec. (CRR) 1144, 1988 WL 64654 (N.Y. 1988).

Opinion

DECISION AND ORDER

HOWARD C. BUSCHMAN, III, Bankruptcy Judge.

Cowanlite Trading Co., Ltd. (“Cowan-lite”), a foreign corporation and a creditor of the Debtor, seeks an order reopening the Bankruptcy Proceeding of Christiane Luet-zow in order to assert that its claims against the Debtor are non-dischargeable pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 523(a). Cowanlite asserts that: (i) it did not receive notice provided by Bankruptcy Rule 4007(c); (ii) the notice provided by Bankruptcy Rule 4007(c) should have been given pursuant to The Convention on the Service Abroad of Judicial and Extra-Judicial Documents in Civil or Commercial Matters (“the Hague Convention”), rather than pursuant to Bankruptcy Rules 2002(a) and 2002(f); (iii) that the Debtor’s automatic stay and discharge do not constitute any bar to sanctions imposed by the United States District Court.

I.

The following undisputed facts provide a brief history of this case. On June 25, 1985, Christiane F. Luetzow (“Debtor”) filed a voluntary petition under Chapter 7 of the Bankruptcy Code. In Schedule A-3 of the Petition, pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 521, the Debtor listed a claim in the amount of $88,134.30, owed to Cowanlite. Pursuant to Bankruptcy Rules 2002(a) and 2002(f), the Bankruptcy Court Clerk then mailed the “Order for Meeting of Creditors, combined with notice thereof and of Automatic Stay” (“Notice”) to Cowanlite and other creditors. In compliance with Bankruptcy Rule 4007(c), the Notice stated in bold face:

OCTOBER 15, 1985 IS FIXED AS THE LAST DAY FOR THE FILING OF OBJECTIONS TO THE DISCHARGE OF THE DEBTOR.

OCTOBER 15, 1985 IS FIXED AS THE LAST DAY FOR THE FILING OF A COMPLAINT TO DETERMINE THE DISCHARGEABILITY OF ANY DEBT PURSUANT TO 11 U.S.C. SECTION 523(C). IF NO COMPLAINT TO DETERMINE THE DISCHARGEABILITY OF A DEBT UNDER CLAUSE 2, 4, OR 6 OF 11 U.S.C. SECTION 523(A) IS FILED ON OR BEFORE OCTOBER 15, 1985, THE DEBT MAY BE DISCHARGED.

The Clerk mailed a second notice to Cow-anlite and other creditors on July 3, 1985, stating a new meeting date for the 11 U.S.C. § 341 meeting and that a new trustee had been named. Examination of the file reveals that neither mailing was returned to the Clerk on account of being insufficiently addressed or for any other reason. Neither does Cowanlite contend that the Notice was sent to an incorrect address.

No objection to debtor’s discharge and no complaint objecting to the dischargeability of a debt under 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(2), (4) or (6) was filed. Accordingly, on November 7, 1985, the Debtor was granted a discharge of scheduled claims pursuant to Section 727 of the Bankruptcy Code, 11 U.S.C. § 727. The discharge includes the fraud claims asserted against the Debtor by Cowanlite. Thereafter, on November 20, 1985, Luet-zow’s bankruptcy case was closed pursuant to Section 350(a) of the Bankruptcy Code. 11 U.S.C. § 350(a).

On April 26, 1984, prior to the filing of the Debtor’s bankruptcy petition, Cowan-lite commenced an action in the United States District Court, Southern District of New York, asserting claims against the Debtor, Ivan S. Mandukich and Manuela, Inc. Apparently, Manuela and Ivan S. Mandukich, the other defendants in the District Court action, filed bankruptcy petitions in 1985. Cowanlite continued to prosecute its claims against the Debtor until June 1985 when she filed her petition, Thereafter, the District Court action lay *298 dormant until revived by the District Court in May 1987. At a pre-motion conference on or around June 5, 1987, it appears that Cowanlite was informed that continuation of the District Court Action violated Luet-zow’s discharge pursuant to Section 524 of the Bankruptcy Code. The District Court directed Cowanlite to resolve the matter with an appropriate motion. Cowanlite did not comply with this direction until December 16, 1987, when it filed a motion in that Court seeking sanctions and judgment against Luetzow pursuant to Rules 37 and 43 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. The District Court denied the motion on January 25, 1988, finding that the continuation of the action was stayed and violated the Debtor’s discharge. The District Court further ordered that the Action should be dismissed for want of prosecution unless Cowanlite filed a motion in this Court on or before March 21, 1988, pursuant to 11 U.S. C. § 350 and Rule 5010 of the Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure, to reopen the bankruptcy case for cause.

On March 21, 1988, Plaintiff filed a mo.tion with this Court requesting that the Court reopen the Debtor’s bankruptcy case. In support of Cowanlite’s contention that it had never received the Notice and thus had never learned of the Leutzow bankruptcy case, Cowanlite submitted an unsworn telex, attached as an exhibit, to its attorney’s affidavit. The telex, dated August 7, 1986, stated:

RE MANUELA NOTIFICATION CONCERNING BANKRUPTCY: — WE NEVER RECEIVE LETTER OF ABOVE CONTENT. BUT C. LEUTZOW’S [sic] LETTER ADVISED AS THAT LESCO WERE NO LONGER EXSIST. [sic]. C. LEUTZOW’S [sic] LETTER ALREADY SENT SHOULD BE IN YOUR FILE.

The motions were heard on May 10,1988. At the hearing, Cowanlite did not demand an evidentiary hearing, presumably because the author of the telex was located in Hong Kong. It did, however, ask for leave to file a response to the Debtor’s assertion that Cowanlite’s contention of non-dis-chargeability of its claim is frivolous (Tr. p. 17). Permission to file additional papers was granted but limited to the issue of dischargeability (Tr. pp. 17-18). Nevertheless, Cowanlite submitted a second un-sworn telex in support of its position that it never received the Notice. That telex, dated May 16, 1988, parrotted a telex of its counsel stating that he believed that Cow-anlite had not received notice of Christiane Luetzow’s bankruptcy.

II.

It is well established that “when mail is properly addressed, stamped, and deposited, there is a rebuttable presumption that it was received by the party to whom it was sent.” In re Robintech, Inc., 69 B.R. 663, 665 (Bankr.N.D.Tex.1987); see also In re Figueroa., 33 B.R. 298, 302 (Bankr.S.D.N.Y.1983); In re American Props., Inc., 30 B.R. 247, 250 (Bankr.D.Kans.1983). 1 The two telexes submitted by the movant hardly rebut that presumption. The telex of August 7, 1986, upon which the motion is grounded, does not even refer to the instant bankruptcy proceeding. Secondly, the telexes and their substance are not sworn to or contained in affidavit form. Although the first telex is attached to an attorney’s affidavit, the attorney does not purport to have personal knowledge of his client’s receipt of mail.

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Bluebook (online)
87 B.R. 296, 1988 Bankr. LEXIS 956, 17 Bankr. Ct. Dec. (CRR) 1144, 1988 WL 64654, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-mandukich-nysb-1988.