In re: Raed Yahia Alazzeh

• Court: United States Bankruptcy Appellate Panel for the Ninth Circuit
• Decided: April 11, 2014
• Docket: CC-13-1350-DKiTa
• Status: Published

Opinion

FILED APR 24 2014 1 SUSAN M. SPRAUL, CLERK U.S. BKCY. APP. PANEL 2 OF THE NINTH CIRCUIT

3 UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY APPELLATE PANEL 4 OF THE NINTH CIRCUIT 5 In re: ) BAP No. CC-13-1350-DKiTa ) 6 RAED YAHIA ALAZZEH, ) Bk. No. SA 11-24735-CB ) 7 Debtor. ) Adv. No. SA 12-01058-CB ______________________________) 8 ) MOSTAFFA SHAHRESTANI, ) 9 ) Appellant, ) 10 ) v. ) OPINION 11 ) RAED YAHIA ALAZZEH, ) 12 ) Appellee. ) 13 ______________________________) 14 Argued and Submitted on March 20, 2014 at Pasadena, California 15 Filed - April 11, 2014 16 Ordered Published - April 24, 2014 17 Appeal from the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California 18 Honorable Catherine E. Bauer, Bankruptcy Judge, Presiding 19 20 Appearances: David Brian Lally, Esq. argued for Appellant Mostaffa Shahrestani; and David Van Luu, Esq. 21 argued for Appellee Raed Yahia Alazzeh. 22 23 Before: DUNN, KIRSCHER, and TAYLOR, Bankruptcy Judges. 24 25 26 27 28 1 DUNN, Bankruptcy Judge: 2 3 The chapter 71 debtor agreed to extend the time for the 4 creditor to file an adversary proceeding seeking to deny debtor’s 5 discharge pursuant to § 727 of the Bankruptcy Code. The creditor 6 filed the adversary proceeding complaint (“Complaint”) within the 7 agreed extension. More than a year later, after engaging in an 8 unsuccessful mediation and substantial discovery, the debtor 9 filed a motion for summary judgment (“SJ Motion”) seeking 10 dismissal of the Complaint on the basis that it was untimely 11 filed. The bankruptcy court granted the SJ Motion and dismissed 12 the Complaint. We AFFIRM. 13 I. FACTUAL BACKGROUND 14 In November 2008, Raed Yahia Alazzeh assumed, as obligor, a 15 promissory note (“Note”) obligation payable to Mostaffa 16 Shahrestani in the amount of $140,800. The Note was due and 17 payable in full in August 2010. 18 After Mr. Alazzeh defaulted on his payment obligation under 19 the Note, Mr. Shahrestani obtained a default judgment against 20 Mr. Alazzeh in the Orange County (California) Superior Court. 21 The judgment was for the full amount due under the Note, plus 22 interest, costs, and attorneys’ fees. 23 Mr. Alazzeh filed a chapter 7 bankruptcy case on October 24, 24 25 1 Unless otherwise indicated, all chapter and section 26 references are to the Bankruptcy Code, 11 U.S.C. §§ 101-1532, and 27 all “Rule” references are to the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure, Rules 1001-9037. The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 28 are referred to as “Civil Rules.”

-2- 1 2011. Thereafter, Mr. Shahrestani filed the Complaint seeking 2 denial of Mr. Alazzeh’s discharge pursuant to §§ 727(a)(2), 3 (a)(3), (a)(4)(A), and (a)(5). 4 As provided in the “Notice of Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Case, 5 Meeting of Creditors, & Deadlines” issued by the bankruptcy court 6 on October 25, 2011, the § 341(a) Meeting of Creditors 7 (“Creditors’ Meeting”) was set for December 6, 2011, and the 8 deadline (“Deadline”) for filing the Complaint was February 6, 9 2012.2 The chapter 7 trustee held the Creditors’ Meeting as 10 scheduled on December 6, 2011, but thereafter continued it, first 11 to January 19, 2012, and finally to February 21, 2012. 12 On January 20, 2012, Mr. Shahrestani’s attorney, Susan K. 13 Ashabraner, began an email correspondence with Mr. Alazzeh’s 14 attorneys with the goal of obtaining an agreement to extend the 15 Deadline. On February 2, 2012, attorney Michael N. Nicastro 16 responded: 17 Mr. Alazzeh has agreed to extend the time to object to one week after the continued 341a meeting date. That 18 provides enough time for you to examine the documents and then examine Mr. Alazzeh at the continued 341a 19 meeting. 20 Mr. Nicastro’s email to Ms. Ashabraner concluded, “I await your 21 proposed stipulation to extend.” Seven minutes later 22 Ms. Ashabraner sent a follow up email which stated, 23 I will stipulate to extend the deadline for Mr. Shahrestani to object to Mr. Alazzeh’s discharge from 24 Monday, February 6, 2012, to Tuesday, February 28, 2012, which is 7 days after the February 21 creditors’ 25 meeting. 26 2 27 The sixtieth day following the date set for the Creditors’ Meeting was February 4, 2012, a Saturday. See 28 Rule 9006(a)(1)(C).

-3- 1 The Complaint was filed February 24, 2012, four days prior 2 to the date contemplated by the parties as the extended Deadline. 3 Mr. Alazzeh, acting in pro per, filed his answer (“Answer”) on 4 March 21, 2012. The Answer denied each of the allegations of the 5 Complaint and asserted generically a boilerplate laundry list of 6 sixteen affirmative defenses, including one alleging that 7 Mr. Shahrestani’s claims were barred “by the applicable Statute 8 of Limitations.” 9 Thereafter, Mr. Alazzeh engaged counsel to represent him in 10 defending the adversary proceeding. The adversary proceeding 11 docket reflects that the matter was submitted to mediation, where 12 it was reported settled by the mediator on July 24, 2012. On 13 September 13, 2012, Mr. Shahrestani filed a motion to approve the 14 compromise under Rule 9019, which ultimately was withdrawn. 15 Following the failed settlement effort, a status hearing was 16 set for November 28, 2012, and was continued to December 18, 17 2012, to January 8, 2013, to February 12, 2013, to April 2, 2013, 18 and to June 4, 2013; during this time the parties completed 19 discovery. In a Joint Status Report filed May 20, 2013, 20 Mr. Alazzeh advised that a motion for summary adjudication was to 21 be filed “fairly soon.” 22 Mr. Alazzeh’s motion for summary judgment (“SJ Motion”) was 23 filed on May 20, 2013, and asserted that the Complaint should be 24 dismissed because all of the claims it asserted were statutorily 25 barred by Rule 4004(a). Mr. Shahrestani opposed the SJ Motion on 26 the basis that the parties had agreed to an extension of the 27 Deadline. At the hearing on the SJ Motion held July 2, 2013, the 28 bankruptcy court granted the SJ Motion after noting that no

-4- 1 motion ever had been filed requesting that the bankruptcy court 2 extend the Deadline as required by Rule 4004(b).3 3 On July 15, 2013, the bankruptcy court entered an order 4 granting the SJ Motion and dismissing the Complaint. 5 Mr. Shahrestani timely appealed. 6 II. JURISDICTION 7 The bankruptcy court had jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. 8 §§ 1334 and 157(b)(2)(J). We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. 9 § 158. 10 III. ISSUE 11 Whether the bankruptcy court erred and/or abused its 12 discretion when it dismissed the Complaint as untimely in light 13 of the agreement of Mr. Alazzeh’s attorney to extend the 14 Deadline. 15 IV. STANDARDS OF REVIEW 16 We review the trial court’s order granting summary judgment 17 de novo. Aguilera v. Baca, 510 F.3d 1161, 1167 (9th Cir. 2007). 18 De novo review requires that we consider a matter afresh, as if 19 no decision had been rendered previously. United States v. 20 Silverman, 861 F.2d 571, 576 (9th Cir. 1988); B-Real, LLC v. 21 Chaussee (In re Chaussee), 399 B.R. 225, 229 (9th Cir. BAP 2008). 22 We review for an abuse of discretion the bankruptcy court’s 23 decision regarding the treatment of an affirmative defense. 24 3 25 The bankruptcy court focused on the “public policy” of ensuring that an extension of the Deadline appears on the docket, 26 because the court should not have to guess whether it was 27 appropriate to enter the discharge once the Deadline had run. However, it does not appear that a discharge ever has been 28 entered in Mr. Alazzeh’s case.

-5- 1 389 Orange St. Partners v. Arnold, 179 F.3d 656, 664 (9th Cir. 2 1999). However, whether an affirmative defense is waived, is a 3 question of law reviewed de novo. See Owens v. Kaiser Found. 4 Health Plan, Inc., 244 F.3d 708, 713 (9th Cir. 2001). 5 A bankruptcy court abuses its discretion if it applies an 6 incorrect legal standard or misapplies the correct legal 7 standard, or its factual findings are illogical, implausible or 8 without support from evidence in the record. TrafficSchool.com 9 v. Edriver Inc., 653 F.3d 820, 832 (9th Cir. 2011). Only if the 10 bankruptcy court did not apply the correct legal standard, or if 11 its fact findings were illogical, implausible, or without support 12 in inferences that can be drawn from facts in the record, is it 13 proper to conclude that the bankruptcy court abused its 14 discretion. United States v. Hinkson, 585 F.3d 1247, 1262 (9th 15 Cir. 2009) (en banc). 16 V. DISCUSSION 17 Rule 4004 is a claim processing rule that governs the grant 18 or denial of a debtor’s discharge. Rule 4004(a) provides, “In a 19 chapter 7 case, a complaint . . . objecting to the debtor’s 20 discharge shall be filed no later than 60 days after the first 21 date set for the meeting of creditors under § 341(a).” 22 Mr. Shahrestani asserts that notwithstanding Rule 4004(a), 23 the Complaint was timely, because Mr. Alazzeh “stipulated” to the 24 extension of the Deadline. However, agreements between the 25 parties that implicate court deadlines are not always effective. 26 Rule 9006(b) governs requests for extensions of time. 27 Rule 9006(b)(3) specifically states that the bankruptcy court can 28 extend the time for taking action under Rule 4004(a) “only to the

-6- 1 extent and under the conditions stated in that rule.” 2 Rule 4004(b) governs the procedure for requesting an extension of 3 the deadline set forth in Rule 4004(a): 4 (1) On motion of any party in interest, after notice and hearing, the court may for cause extend the time to 5 object to discharge. Except as provided in subdivision (b)(2),4 the motion shall be filed before the time has 6 expired. 7 Thus, Rule 4004(b) sets forth two guiding principles 8 governing the filing of the Complaint after the Deadline. First, 9 a motion for an extension must not only be filed, it must be 10 filed before the Deadline has passed. Second, an extension is 11 not automatically granted just because a motion has been filed. 12 The bankruptcy court, rather than the parties, has discretion to 13 determine if cause exists. 14 It is undisputed that Mr. Shahrestani did not file a motion 15 seeking an order from the bankruptcy court extending the Deadline 16 before the Deadline expired. The Ninth Circuit recently 17 reemphasized that the deadlines which implicate a debtor’s 18 discharge are strict, and “without qualification,” cannot be 19 extended by the bankruptcy court unless a motion is made before 20 the deadline expires. Wilms v. Sanderson, 723 F.3d 1094, 1100 21 (9th Cir. 2013). Thus, the Complaint was untimely as a matter of 22 law. The bankruptcy court did not err when it granted the SJ 23 Motion and dismissed the complaint. 24 Mr. Shahrestani next makes what we construe to be a waiver 25 argument. Specifically, Mr. Shahrestani contends that where 26 27 4 The exception in Rule 4004(b)(2) does not apply to this 28 appeal.

-7- 1 Mr. Alezzeh (1) agreed to the extension, and (2) did not seek to 2 enforce the Deadline until fifteen months after the Complaint had 3 been filed, and after extensive efforts had been expended to 4 mediate the dispute and to complete discovery, the bankruptcy 5 court abused its discretion when it granted the motion for 6 summary judgment and dismissed the Complaint. 7 The assertion of a time bar constitutes an affirmative 8 defense that, pursuant to Civil Rule 8(c), applicable in a 9 bankruptcy adversary proceeding pursuant to Rule 7008(a), 10 generally must be raised in an answer or be deemed waived. 11 Kontrick v. Ryan, 540 U.S. 443, 458 (2004). In Kontrick, the 12 Supreme Court answered the question: How long do the affirmative 13 defenses in Rules 4004(a) and (b) and 9006(b)(3) afforded to a 14 debtor/defendant “linger” in an adversary proceeding? Id. In 15 Kontrick, the debtor/defendant did not raise the issue that a new 16 claim in an amended complaint was untimely until after the 17 bankruptcy court had entered summary judgment against him on the 18 new claim. The Supreme Court ruled that the outermost point at 19 which a time bar may be raised is before a decision on the 20 merits. 21 In the matter before us, Mr. Alazzeh first asserted the time 22 bar in his Answer as his Twelfth Affirmative Defense: “Defendant 23 alleges that Plaintiff’s cause of action is barred by the 24 applicable Statute of Limitations.”5 Because the time bar was 25 26 5 Mr. Alazzeh incorrectly characterized the time bar 27 established by Rules 4004(a) and (b) and 9006(b)(3) as a statute of “limitations.” It actually is a statute of “repose.” See 28 (continued...)

-8- 1 raised in the Answer, it was not waived in the first instance. 2 Further, under Kontrick, because Mr. Alazzeh requested 3 adjudication of this affirmative defense well before a 4 determination on the merits, the bankruptcy court did not abuse 5 its discretion when it enforced the time bar by granting the 6 SJ Motion and dismissing the Complaint. 7 Mr. Shahrestani could not properly rely only on the 8 agreement of Mr. Alazzeh’s counsel to extend the Deadline. We 9 observe that the “agreement” can be read only to advise 10 Mr. Shahrestani that Mr. Alazzeh would stipulate to a motion 11 Mr. Shahrestani would present to the bankruptcy court to obtain 12 the requested extension of the Deadline. Thus his lawyer’s 13 concluding statement, “I await your proposed stipulation to 14 extend,” which left no doubt that something more was required 15 from Mr. Shahrestani to obtain the extension. That 16 Mr. Shahrestani’s counsel misinterpreted that sentence does not 17 translate into an abuse of discretion by the bankruptcy court in 18 refusing to deem a time bar affirmative defense waived. 19 VI. CONCLUSION 20 Mr. Shahrestani could not rely on Mr. Alazzeh’s agreement to 21 5 22 (...continued) DeNoce v. Neff (In re Neff), 505 B.R. 255, 264 (9th Cir. BAP 23 2014)(“Statutes of repose are not concerned with plaintiff’s diligence; they are concerned with the defendant’s peace.”). 24 That mischaracterization does not change either our analysis or 25 the result. We interpret pro se pleadings liberally, and a time bar defense was asserted in the Answer. We also note that in his 26 Second Affirmative Defense, Mr. Alazzeh asserted that 27 Mr. Shahrestani was estopped by his “own acts and omissions occurring at all times relevant to this action” from obtaining 28 the relief sought in the Complaint.

-9- 1 extend the § 727 complaint Deadline. Any such extension is 2 dependent upon the bankuptcy court granting a motion filed prior 3 to the Deadline, for cause shown. Where Mr. Alazzeh 4 affirmatively raised the time bar defense in his Answer, the 5 bankruptcy court did not abuse its discretion in allowing him to 6 assert it through the SJ Motion, notwithstanding that the 7 SJ Motion was not filed until fifteen months after the Complaint 8 had been filed. 9 We AFFIRM. 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28

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