In re Tomer

508 B.R. 641, 2014 Bankr. LEXIS 1004, 2014 WL 1017617
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, W.D. Virginia
DecidedMarch 14, 2014
DocketNo. 08-61265
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 508 B.R. 641 (In re Tomer) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, W.D. Virginia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In re Tomer, 508 B.R. 641, 2014 Bankr. LEXIS 1004, 2014 WL 1017617 (Va. 2014).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION

PAUL M. BLACK, Bankruptcy Judge.

This matter comes before the Court on the Motion for Documents Pursuant to § 521 (the “Motion”) filed by Romar Elevators, Inc. (“Romar”) against the Debtor, Robin G. Tomer (the “Debtor” or “Tom-er”). Romar specifically requests that the following documents be made available to it: (1) a copy of the Debtor’s Federal Tax Returns or transcripts of the same for tax years 2012 and 2013, and (2) an income and expenditure statement that complies with 11 U.S.C. § 521(f) and (g) (the “Documents”). For the reasons set forth below, the Motion is denied.

STATEMENT OF THE CASE

The parties involved in the Motion have a long history before this Court, although mainly before Judge William E. Anderson, who died in June 2013. Romar is a Virginia corporation that is engaged in the business of selling and servicing medical equipment. From February 2006 until March 2007, the Debtor was employed by Romar as a rehabilitation specialist whose duties included selling and retrofitting power wheelchairs. In March 2007, the Debtor was offered a position with Romar’s primary competitor, and before resigning from Romar, she transferred proprietary information from Romar to her personal email account on her computer. She then resigned from Romar, began working for the competitor, and attempted to solicit business from some of Romar’s customers.

In April 2007, Romar filed a civil suit against the Debtor in state court based on a variety of causes of action, including breach of fiduciary duty, breach of loyalty, conversion, the Virginia Computer Crimes Act, the Virginia Uniform Trade Secrets Act, and tortious interference with business expectancies. In February 2008, after a jury trial, judgment was entered in favor of Romar against Tomer for compensatory damages of $171,000.00. The Debtor was also indicted for criminal embezzlement arising from the same set of circumstances that gave rise to the civil case, but the criminal case was subsequently dismissed by the state court.

On May 30, 2008, the Debtor filed a bankruptcy petition initiating the above-styled case under Chapter 13 of the Bankruptcy Code, 11 U.S.C. § 1301 et seq., and she scheduled a general unsecured claim in favor of Romar in the amount of [643]*643$171,000.00. Romar then filed an adversary complaint against the Debtor requesting that the indebtedness reflected in the state court judgment be declared non-dis-chargeable, and by Memorandum and Order dated November 25, 2009, this Court determined that the debt to Romar was non-dischargeable pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(4).1 This Court further entered Judgment in favor of Romar to that effect.

On February 6, 2009, over Romar’s objection, the Debtor’s Chapter 13 Plan was confirmed. Romar appealed to the District Court, which reversed and remanded the case to the Bankruptcy Court. Judge Anderson subsequently made additional findings required by the District Court, and the Debtor’s Chapter 13 plan was again confirmed on August 4, 2009. The order of confirmation was upheld by the District Court on August 18, 2009. The Debtor proposed to pay into her confirmed Chapter 13 plan the total sum of $55,352.00 over 60 months, but the debt to Romar remained non-dischargeable. Other than litigation over Romar’s claim for interest and how payments were to be applied, the main bankruptcy case was relatively quiet after confirmation of the plan until the pending Motion was filed.

On February 27, 2014, Romar filed its Motion asking the Debtor to produce the tax returns and other documents described above, contending in its Motion that the “Debtor is required, pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 521(g)(2), to make the documents described above available to Romar for inspection and copying” and that “[a]s the Code requires Debtor’s compliance upon the request of a party in interest, there are no issues that would require oral argument or an evidentiary hearing on this matter.” Motion ¶¶ 5-6. Notwithstanding Romar’s contentions, a hearing was conducted on the Motion on March 12, 2014, and the Debtor appeared pro se, opposing the Motion on the ground of relevance.2 Further, the Chapter 13 Trustee in the Debtor’s case advised the Court that the Debtor has completed her payments under her Chapter 13 plan, and that his office is proceeding with steps to close the case. The Chapter 13 Trustee also voiced opposition to the relief requested by Romar as not being in furtherance of the administration of the Debtor’s case.

CONCLUSIONS OF LAW

This Court has jurisdiction of this matter by virtue of the provisions of 28 U.S.C. §§ 1334(a) and 157(a) and the delegation made to this Court by Order from the District Court on July 24, 1984 and Rule 3 of the Local Rules of the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia. The Court further concludes that consideration of a motion to produce documents under 11 U.S.C. § 521 is a “core” bankruptcy proceeding within the meaning of 28 U.S.C. § 157(b).

Section 521(f) of the Bankruptcy Code provides as follows:

(f) At the request of the court, the United States trustee, or any party in interest in a case under chapter 7,11, or 13, a debtor who is an individual shall file with the court—
(1) at the same time filed with the taxing authority, a copy of each Federal income tax return required under applicable law (or at the election of the debt- or, a transcript of such tax return) with respect to each tax year of the debtor [644]*644ending while the case is pending under such chapter;
(2) at the same time filed with the taxing authority, each Federal income tax return required under applicable law (or at the election of the debtor, a transcript of such tax return) that had not been filed with such authority as of the date of the commencement of the case and that was subsequently filed for any tax year of the debtor ending in the 3-year period ending on the date of the commencement of the case;
(3) a copy of each amendment to any Federal income tax return or transcript filed with the court under paragraph (1) or (2); and
(4) in a case under chapter 13—
(A) on the date that is either 90 days after the end of such tax year or 1 year after the date of the commencement of the case, whichever is later, if a plan is not confirmed before such later date; and
(B) annually after the plan is confirmed and until the case is closed, not later than the date that is 45 days before the anniversary of the confirmation of the plan;

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
508 B.R. 641, 2014 Bankr. LEXIS 1004, 2014 WL 1017617, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-tomer-vawb-2014.