Jeffries v. Sullivan (In re Sullivan)

337 B.R. 210, 2005 Bankr. LEXIS 2498
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, W.D. Missouri
DecidedDecember 12, 2005
DocketBankruptcy No. 05-42957-DRD; Adversary No. 05-8524-DRD
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 337 B.R. 210 (Jeffries v. Sullivan (In re Sullivan)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, W.D. Missouri primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Jeffries v. Sullivan (In re Sullivan), 337 B.R. 210, 2005 Bankr. LEXIS 2498 (Mo. 2005).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION

DENNIS R. DOW, Bankruptcy Judge.

The subject of this adversary proceeding is a complaint filed by plaintiff Marlayna Jeffries (“Plaintiff’) seeking a determination that a debt owed to her by Donnie H. Sullivan and Stephanie S. Sullivan (“Debtors”) 1 is nondischargeable pursuant to' 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(6) on the grounds that Debtors willfully and maliciously caused damage to Plaintiffs property. The Court has jurisdiction over the claim asserted in the complaint pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1334(b), 157(a) and (b). This is a core proceeding which the Court may hear and determine pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 157(b)(2)(I). The following constitutes my Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law in accordance with Rule 52 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure made applicable to this proceeding by Rule 7052 of the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure. For the reasons set forth below, I find that the debt to Plaintiff, owed by Debtor Stephanie Sullivan, is non-dis-chargeable pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(6).

I. FACTUAL BACKGROUND

Debtors are husband and wife. Plaintiff has a child, whose father is rumored to be Mr. Sullivan and who was conceived while Debtors were either dating or married. Debtors are currently expecting a child together. On April 15, 2005, the parties convened at Debtors’ home with the intention of having dinner, cocktails and a “party”, described more specifically by Mrs. Sullivan as a three-way sexual encounter, something they had done, at the suggestion of her husband, on several occasions in the past. Plaintiff arrived at Debtors’ home around 8:15 p.m. and the parties proceeded to a local pizza eatery for dinner. After dinner, the parties went to a billiard hall and consumed several alcoholic beverages. After playing several games of pool, the parties retreated to Debtors’ home. Within a half an hour after the [212]*212parties arrived, an argument erupted between Debtors. The subject of the argument was whether the child of Mr. Sullivan and Plaintiff could live with Debtors for a limited time period. Mrs. Sullivan became angry and left. According to Plaintiffs testimony, Mrs. Sullivan got into her vehicle, and ran it into Plaintiffs vehicle more than once. Plaintiff testified that Mrs. Sullivan then got out of her vehicle, walked around to view the damage that she had caused to Plaintiffs vehicle, got back into her car and hit Plaintiffs vehicle at least one last time before driving away for the evening.

The police were called to the scene and a police report was made. Included in the police report are statements from witnesses who observed Mrs. Sullivan running her vehicle into another vehicle multiple times. Although Plaintiff did not wish to press charges against her at the time the police report was made, she subsequently changed her mind.2 A lawsuit was filed by the City of Independence, Missouri against Mrs. Sullivan, who plead not guilty to the charge of property damage to Plaintiffs vehicle.3 She was, however, found guilty and was sentenced to two years probation.4 Plaintiff sustained damage to her vehicle in the approximate amount of $3,700.

There is a history of violence between the parties. On one prior occasion, Mr. Sullivan left his wife after an argument and moved in with Plaintiff. During this time, in an apparent attempt to talk with Mr. Sullivan, Mrs. Sullivan drove to Plaintiffs home and went inside Plaintiffs garage where she proceeded to throw things around in a fit of rage. The police were called and Plaintiff testified that she pressed charges for trespassing.

II. DISCUSSION AND LEGAL ANALYSIS

Plaintiff contends that the debt owed to her by Mrs. Sullivan should be non-dischargeable pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(6) because she willfully and maliciously caused damage to Plaintiffs vehicle. Section 523(a)(6) reads in pertinent part “A discharge... does not discharge an individual debtor from any debt.. .for willful and malicious injury by the debtor to another entity or the property of another entity.” In the Eighth Circuit, the terms “willful” and “malicious” are two distinct elements, each of which must be shown to establish an exception to discharge. Fischer v. Scarborough (In re Scarborough), 171 F.3d 638, 640 (8th Cir.1999). The Supreme Court addressed the term “willful” for purposes of § 523(a)(6) and concluded that the word “willful” modifies the word “injury”. See Kawaauhau v. Geiger, 523 U.S. 57, 61, 118 S.Ct. 974, 140 L.Ed.2d 90 (1998); Adams v. Zentz, 157 B.R. 141, 144 (W.D.Mo.1993) (willful means deliberate or intentional). Thus, an exception to discharge requires a deliberate or intentional injury, not simply a deliberate or intentional act that leads - to injury. Geiger, 523 U.S. at 61,118 S.Ct. 974.

In the Eighth Circuit, an injury is malicious when the debtor intended to harm the creditor at least in the sense that the debtor’s tortious conduct was certain or almost certain to cause harm. Waugh v. Eldridge (In re Waugh), 95 F.3d 706, 711 (8th Cir.1996); see also e.g., Johnson v. Miera (In re Miera), 926 F.2d 741, 743 (8th Cir.1991); Barclays American/Bus. Credit Inc. v. Long (In re Long), 774 F.2d 875, 881 (8th Cir.1985); Adams, 157 B.R. [213]*213at 144; Mercury Marine Acceptance Corp. v. Wheeler (In re Wheeler), 96 B.R. 201, 205 (W.D.Mo.1988); Cassidy v. Minihan, 52 B.R. 947, 950 (W.D.Mo.1985). Intentional harm is difficult to establish, but the likelihood of harm in an objective sense may be considered in evaluating intent. Long, 774 F.2d at 881. The mere violation of legal rights is not enough to show malice absent some additional aggravated circumstances. Id. It is the intent to cause harm which must exist for an injury to be malicious. Waugh, 95 F.3d at 711. Therefore, in order for a debt to be non-dischargeable pursuant to § 523(a)(6), the debtor must have intended the injury to the creditor (willful) and intended the harm to the creditor (malicious). See Osborne v. Stage (In re Stage), 321 B.R. 486, 492-93 (8th Cir. BAP 2005); Allstate Insurance v. Dziuk (In re Dziuk), 218 B.R. 485, 487 (Bankr.D.Minn.1998).

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337 B.R. 210, 2005 Bankr. LEXIS 2498, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/jeffries-v-sullivan-in-re-sullivan-mowb-2005.