In re Seville Partners

43 B.R. 537, 1984 Bankr. LEXIS 5052
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Wisconsin
DecidedSeptember 12, 1984
DocketBankruptcy No. LF11-84-00994
StatusPublished

This text of 43 B.R. 537 (In re Seville Partners) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. Wisconsin primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In re Seville Partners, 43 B.R. 537, 1984 Bankr. LEXIS 5052 (W.D. Wis. 1984).

Opinion

FINDINGS OF FACT, CONCLUSIONS OF LAW AND ORDERS (1) FOR A HEARING ON THE MERITS AND (2) CONTINUING STAY IN EFFECT

WILLIAM H. FRAWLEY, Bankruptcy Judge.

Michael A. Jeracek, by Bosshard & Associates, having filed a Request for Relief from Automatic Stay; and a hearing having been held; and Mr. Jiracek appearing by Attorney John H. Schwab, Jr.; and the Debtor making a special appearance by Attorney Donald J. Harman of Donald J. Har-man, Ltd.; the Court, being fully advised in the premises, FINDS THAT:

1. On July 19, 1984, Creditor Michael A. Jiracek filed:

(a) a “Request for Relief from Automatic Stay, or, in the alternative, for Adequate Protection”, see 11 U.S.C. sec. 362(d),
(b) a Notice of the Request and,
(c) an Affidavit of Service (by mail) of the Jiracek Request and Notice.

A copy of the Notice is attached to this Decision as Appendix A.

2. On August 20, 1984, the Debtor filed a written Request for a Hearing on Jira-cek’s Request.

3. On August 21, 1983, this Court noticed an August 29, 1984, preliminary hearing on the Jiracek Request.

4. The Debtor made a special appearance at the preliminary hearing on the ground that Jiracek’s Notice was inadequate.

Discussion

5. “A request for relief from an automatic stay provided by the Code ... shall be made in accordance with Rule 9014.” Fed.R.Bankr.P. 4001(a).

6. “[R]elief shall be requested by motion, and reasonable notice and opportunity for hearing shall be afforded the party against whom relief is sought.” Fed.R. Bankr.P. 9014. See 11 U.S.C. sec. 102(1)(A) (notice means “such notice as is appropriate”), 56 Am.Jur.2d Motions, Rules, and Orders para. 10 (1971) (“party interested in resisting the relief sought by a motion has a right to notice sufficient to give him an opportunity to be heard”).

7. Notice of Section 102(1)(B) Relief. Pursuant to 11 U.S.C. sec. 102(1)(B), this Court may grant a Section 362(d) request without a hearing if a hearing is not requested timely by a party in interest.

8. The second paragraph of Jiracek’s Notice advises the Debtor that it “should” contact the Court prior to August 18, 1984, to request a hearing.

9. The Debtor’s Monday, August 20, 1984, request for a hearing was in compliance with the Friday, August 17, 1984, deadline arguably set by Jiracek’s Notice. See Fed.R.Bankr.P. 9006(f) (three days added to prescribed period when service of notice is by mail).

10. Thus, the Debtor is entitled to its hearing and the Court need not decide whether Jiracek’s Notice was objectively adequate to inform the Debtor of the operation of Section 102(1)(B).

11. Notice of Section 362(e) Relief Pursuant to 11 U.S.C. sec. 362(e), the automatic stay is terminated thirty days after a section 362(d) request is filed unless the court, after notice and a hearing, orders the stay to remain in effect.

12. Does the Jiracek Notice give reasonable, appropriate and sufficient notice of the Debtor’s limited opportunity for a timely hearing?

13. At first blush, it does: The second paragraph of the Notice informs the Debt- or that a hearing must be held on or before August 18, 1984.1 And, less persuasively, [539]*539the third paragraph implies that timely Debtor action is required to obtain a Court order continuing the stay.

14. However, the Notice apparently informs the Debtor that it may obtain a timely hearing by contacting the Court on the last week day prior to the section 362(e) hearing deadline. Compare Paragraphs 8 & 9, supra, with Footnote 1, supra.

15. In extraordinary circumstances this Court will proceed to a hearing within one day of a request for a hearing. See 11 U.S.C. sec. 102(1)(A) (notice and hearing means notice and hearing appropriate in the particular circumstances). A routine request for a hearing on a motion for relief from stay is not an extraordinary circumstance.

16. Generally, in relief from stay matters, this Court requires 10 days after the filing of a request for a hearing to ensure that a timely preliminary hearing can be scheduled. (A model Notice incorporating a 10 to 15 day period is attached to this Decision as Appendix B.)

17. The Jiracek Notice does not give the Debtor reasonable, appropriate and sufficient notice of the need to request a hearing at least 10 days before the section 362(e) deadline.

18. The Debtor, apparently in reliance upon Jiraeek’s Notice, obtained a hearing after the section 362(e) deadline.

19. Jiracek may not profit from the Debtor’s reliance. See 28 Am.Jur.2d Es-toppel and Waiver sec. 68 (1966); cf 17 Am.Jur.2d Contracts sec. 89 (1964) (promissory estoppel).

CONCLUSIONS OF LAW

1. A hearing should be held to consider the merits of the Jiracek Request for Relief.

2. Jiracek has waived the operation of the section 362(e) preliminary hearing deadline. See In re Wilmette Partners, 34 B.R. 958, 961 (Bankr.N.D.Ill.1983) (section 362(e) may be waived).

ORDERS

IT IS ORDERED THAT a preliminary hearing on the merits of the Michael A. Jiracek “Request for Relief from Automatic Stay, or, in the alternative, for Adequate Protection” be noticed by the Court on the September 26, 1984, La Crosse calendar.

IT IS FURTHER ORDERED THAT the 11 U.S.C. sec. 362(a) automatic stay be, and the same hereby is, IN EFFECT until further order of the Court.

APPENDIX A

NOTICE OF REQUEST FOR RELIEF FROM STAY, OR, IN THE ALTERNATIVE, FOR ADEQUATE PROTECTION

TO: DONALD J. HARMAN

Attorney at Law

P.O. Box 455

La Crosse, WI 54601

REGINALD A. GASSEN

N3064 Miller Road

SEVILLE PARTNERS

Attn: Reginald A. Gassen

333 Buchner Place

PLEASE TAKE NOTICE, that Michael A. Jiracek, holder of a secured claim herein, and a party in interest, has made a Request for Relief from Stay, or, in the Alternative, for Adequate Protection, pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 362(d), a copy of which Request is attached hereto.

In the event you object to, or wish to contest said Request, you may do so by contacting the above-named Court and scheduling a hearing on the matter to be held on or before August 18, 1984. The [540]*540hearing must be held on or before that date, therefore, to allow the court to schedule the hearing, you should contact the court prior to August 18, 1984.

The relief requested by Michael A. Jira-cek shall be granted unless the Court, on or before August 18, 1984, orders the stay to remain in effect.

Dated this 18th day of July, 1984.

BOSSHARD & ASSOCIATES

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43 B.R. 537, 1984 Bankr. LEXIS 5052, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-seville-partners-wiwd-1984.