Layng v. Rael

Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit·Decided December 7, 2018·No. 18-8026·Unpublished

Opinion

FILED

United States Court of Appeals UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS Tenth Circuit

FOR THE TENTH CIRCUIT December 7, 2018

Elisabeth A. Shumaker

Clerk of Court

In re: ROBERT RAEL; LISA RAEL,

Debtors.

------------------------------

PATRICK S. LAYNG, United States Trustee for Region 19,

Plaintiff - Appellee,

v. No. 18-8026 (D.C. No. 1:17-CV-00104-NDF)

ROBERT RAEL; LISA RAEL, (D. Wyo.)

Defendants - Appellants.

ORDER AND JUDGMENT*

Before LUCERO, KELLY, and PHILLIPS, Circuit Judges.

This appeal involves several orders entered in the bankruptcy proceedings stemming from the joint petition for bankruptcy relief filed by Robert and Lisa Rael (“the Raels”), and the adversary proceeding filed by the United States Trustee

*

After examining the briefs and appellate record, this panel has determined unanimously to honor the parties’ request for a decision on the briefs without oral argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(f); 10th Cir. R. 34.1(G). The case is therefore submitted without oral argument. This order and judgment is not binding precedent, except under the doctrines of law of the case, res judicata, and collateral estoppel. It may be cited, however, for its persuasive value consistent with Fed. R. App. P. 32.1 and 10th Cir. R. 32.1.

(“Trustee”) seeking denial of the Raels’ claim for discharge. The Raels appeal the district court’s orders (1) affirming the bankruptcy court order denying their motion to dismiss the adversary proceeding; (2) affirming the bankruptcy court’s denial of their C.R.C.P. 60(b) motions, which, like the motion to dismiss, challenged the court’s jurisdiction to enter an order permitting the sale of their real property; (3) reversing the bankruptcy court judgment granting their claim for discharge; and (4) reversing the bankruptcy court’s order requiring the Trustee to pay the Raels’ attorney fees as a discovery sanction. Exercising jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291, we affirm.

BACKGROUND

The bankruptcy court confirmed the Raels’ Amended Chapter 11 Plan of Reorganization (“the Plan”) and granted a final decree soon thereafter. As pertinent here, the Plan required them to satisfy a debt to Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. (“Wells Fargo”) by selling several parcels of real property in Wyoming and making monthly payments to Wells Fargo. The Raels voluntarily closed their Chapter 11 case after confirmation to avoid accruing Trustee’s fees during the administration of the Plan.

After the Raels defaulted on their monthly payments, Wells Fargo obtained state court judgments against them and filed liens against the Wyoming properties based on those judgments. In response, the Raels filed motions in the bankruptcy court to reopen the Chapter 11 case and to hold Wells Fargo in contempt for filing the state court proceedings.

In the reopened proceedings, the bankruptcy court issued an order at the Raels’

request approving the sale of the Wyoming properties that were the subject of the liens (“Sale Order”). Consistent with the terms of the Plan, the Sale Order required the Raels to pay the proceeds of any sales to Wells Fargo. The court denied the Raels’ motions to hold Wells Fargo in contempt for obtaining the state court judgment and filing the liens (“Contempt Orders”). After the court denied the Raels’ motion for reconsideration of the Contempt Orders, they appealed to the Tenth Circuit Bankruptcy Appellate Panel (“BAP”), which affirmed. Rael v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., (In re Rael), Nos. WY–14–035, 08–20251 & WY–14–048, 527 B.R. 799, 2015 WL 847432 (B.A.P. 10th Cir. Feb. 27, 2015) (“BAP Order”).

While the appeal of the Contempt Orders was pending, the Raels closed on the sale of one of the Wyoming properties that was the subject of the state court liens and the bankruptcy court’s Sale Order, but they did not give the proceeds to Wells Fargo as required by the Sale Order. Instead, almost a year after the closing, they used the proceeds to pay their non-dischargeable legal fees and IRS debt. Soon thereafter, they converted their Chapter 11 case to a Chapter 7 proceeding and filed a motion for discharge.

The Trustee then commenced an adversary proceeding to prevent discharge under 11 U.S.C. § 727(a)(6), on the ground that the Raels violated the Sale Order by not giving Wells Fargo the proceeds of the sale. The Raels moved to dismiss the adversary proceeding and to set aside the Sale Order, claiming that the bankruptcy court lacked jurisdiction to enter the Sale Order because, after the court closed the

Chapter 11 case, the Wyoming properties were no longer the property of the bankruptcy estate. The court denied both motions. After trial, the court granted discharge, finding that the Raels violated the Sale Order but that their non-compliance was not willful because they violated the order in reliance on the advice of their attorney. U.S. Trustee v. Rael (In re Rael), Case Nos. 08-20251 & 15-2013, 2017 WL 4083128, at *4 (Bankr. D. Wyo. Sept. 14, 2017).

On appeal, the U.S. District Court for the District of Wyoming affirmed the orders denying the Raels’ motion to dismiss the adversary proceeding and to set aside the Sale Order, but reversed the judgment granting discharge, concluding that the bankruptcy court’s determination that the Raels’ violation of the Sale Order was not willful was clearly erroneous. The district court also reversed the order awarding attorney fees against the Trustee as a discovery sanction.

DISCUSSION

I. Denial of Motion to Dismiss Adversary Proceeding The Raels claim the bankruptcy court erred by denying their motion to dismiss the adversary proceeding under Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6) on the ground that the court lacked jurisdiction to enter the Sale Order in the reopened Chapter 11 proceeding and therefore lacked jurisdiction to enforce that order in the adversary proceeding. We disagree.

When hearing an appeal from a district court’s review of a bankruptcy court order, we independently review the underlying bankruptcy court decision. Jubber v. SMC Elec. Prods., Inc. (In re C.W. Mining Co.), 798 F.3d 983, 986 (10th Cir. 2015).

We accept the bankruptcy court’s factual findings unless they are clearly erroneous. Alderete v. Educ. Credit Mgmt. Corp. (In re Alderete), 412 F.3d 1200, 1204 (10th Cir. 2005). But we review its legal conclusions, including on jurisdictional questions, de novo. Lee v. McCardle (In re Peeples), 880 F.3d 1207, 1212 (10th Cir. 2018).

Initially, we note that in affirming the bankruptcy court’s denial of the motion to dismiss, the district court interpreted the Raels’ argument as challenging the bankruptcy court’s jurisdiction over the adversary proceeding itself. Aplt. App. Vol. V, at 1039. To the extent the Raels make such an argument on appeal, we reject it. A challenge to the propriety of discharge under § 727 impacts the determination whether to grant discharge. It is thus part of a core proceeding that is plainly within the bankruptcy court’s jurisdiction. See 28 U.S.C. § 157(b)(2)(I) (providing that the bankruptcy court may hear proceedings related to core proceedings, including “determinations as to the dischargability of particular debts”).

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Layng v. Rael, (10th Cir. 2018).

Layng v. Rael (Layng v. Rael) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

Howat v. Kansas
258 U.S. 181 (Supreme Court, 1922)
Walker v. City of Birmingham
388 U.S. 307 (Supreme Court, 1967)
Maness v. Meyers
419 U.S. 449 (Supreme Court, 1975)
Pierce v. Underwood
487 U.S. 552 (Supreme Court, 1988)
Cooter & Gell v. Hartmarx Corp.
496 U.S. 384 (Supreme Court, 1990)
Coletti v. Cudd Pressure Control
165 F.3d 767 (Tenth Circuit, 1999)
Alderete v. Educational Credit Management Corp.
412 F.3d 1200 (Tenth Circuit, 2005)
Gillman v. Ford (In Re Ford)
492 F.3d 1148 (Tenth Circuit, 2007)
Paul v. Iglehart
534 F.3d 1303 (Tenth Circuit, 2008)
Standiferd v. United States Trustee
641 F.3d 1209 (Tenth Circuit, 2011)
Takecare Corporation v. Takecare of Oklahoma, Inc.
889 F.2d 955 (Tenth Circuit, 1989)
Jubber v. SMC Electrical Products, Inc.
798 F.3d 983 (Tenth Circuit, 2015)
Sun River Energy, Inc. v. Nelson
800 F.3d 1219 (Tenth Circuit, 2015)
Lebahn v. Owens
813 F.3d 1300 (Tenth Circuit, 2016)