Lewis v. Casab (In re Casab)

523 B.R. 543
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, E.D. Michigan
DecidedJanuary 22, 2015
DocketBankruptcy No. 13-45609; Adversary No. 14-04205-PJS
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 523 B.R. 543 (Lewis v. Casab (In re Casab)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, E.D. Michigan primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Lewis v. Casab (In re Casab), 523 B.R. 543 (Mich. 2015).

Opinion

Opinion Granting Plaintiff’s Motion For Summary Judgment Denying Discharge

PHILLIP J. SHEFFERLY, Bankruptcy Judge.

Introduction

This matter is before the Court upon a complaint filed by the Chapter 7 Trustee (“Trustee”) against the Debtor, Romel E. Casab (“Debtor”), seeking to deny or revoke the Debtor’s discharge under § 727(a)(6)(A) and § 727(d)(3) of the Bankruptcy Code because of his refusal to obey an order of this Court. This is a core proceeding under 28 U.S.C. § 157(b)(2)(J), over which the Court has jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1334(a) and 157(a). The Trustee has moved for summary judgment. For the reasons set forth below, the Court grants the motion.

Facts

The following facts are not in dispute. They are all taken either from the Trustee’s and the Debtor’s pleadings relating to the Trustee’s motion for summary judgment, or by judicial notice of the extensive filings and hearings in the Debtor’s Chapter 7 case, which the Court is permitted to do pursuant to Fed.R.Evid. 201. See Harrington v. Vandalia-Butler Board of Education, 649 F.2d 434, 440 (6th Cir.1981) (citing in part Shuttlesworth v. Birmingham, 394 U.S. 147, 157 n. 6, 89 S.Ct. 935, 22 L.Ed.2d 162 (1969)).

The Debtor filed his voluntary’ Chapter 7 petition on March 21, 2013. On July 2, 2013, the Trustee filed a motion for an examination under Fed. R. Bankr.P.2004. Although the Debtor filed an objection to the motion, the parties agreed to the entry of an order granting the Trustee’s motion. On August 7, 2013, the Court entered a stipulated order (“Rule 2004 Order”) (ECF No. 81)1 resolving the Trustee’s motion, and specifying a list of documents that the Debtor was required to produce to the Trustee on or before September 13, 2013. The Debtor did not produce any of the documents by that deadline.

On October 7, 2013, the Trustee filed a motion for an order holding the Debtor in contempt. After the Debtor filed a response, the Court held a hearing on No[546]*546vember 25, 2013 (transcript at ECF No. 196), and granted the motion by order entered on December 5, 2013 (“Contempt Order”) (ECF No. 133). The Contempt Order found the Debtor in contempt for his failure to comply with the Rule 2004 Order, but also provided that the Debtor could purge himself of the contempt finding by producing each and every document identified in the Rule 2004 Order, unless production by him was impossible. To the extentthat the Debtor claimed impossibility, the Contempt Order required the Debt- or to file an affidavit identifying with specificity each document that he could not produce and explaining in detail why production was impossible. The Contempt Order also required the Debtor to pay the Trustee $500.00 of attorney fees. The Contempt Order imposed a deadline of December 9, 2013 for the Debtor to perform these obligations.

On December 10, 2013, the Trustee filed an affidavit of non-compliance (ECF No. 137). According to the affidavit, the Debt- or had paid the $500.00, but the Debtor had neither produced any documents nor filed an affidavit of impossibility. After the Trustee filed her affidavit, the Debtor filed his own affidavit (ECF No. 138) on December 10, 2013, stating that he had produced what was in his possession and that he did not have copies of any of the other documents listed in the Rule 2004 Order. On December 12, 2013, the Trustee filed a second affidavit of non-compliance (ECF No. 140), acknowledging the Debtor’s partial compliance with the Rule 2004 Order, but stating that of the documents produced, some were not responsive and, in any event, the vast majority of the documents that were required still had not been produced.

Based upon the competing affidavits, the Court scheduled a hearing for January 3, 2014. At the hearing, the Trustee went paragraph by paragraph both through the Rule 2004 Order and through the Debtor’s affidavit, identifying where the Debtor had complied with the Rule 2004 Order and, where he had not. The Debtor argued that he had produced all of the documents that he possessed, and that was all he was required to produce. The Court ruled that the Debtor’s affidavit was insufficient to purge the Debtor of contempt. However, the Court postponed considering whether to take any additional action until after the Trustee completed the deposition of the Debtor that she had scheduled pursuant to the Rule 2004 Order. The Court did so both to provide the Debtor with a full opportunity to explain why he had not produced the documents required by the Rule 2004 Order, and to ensure that the Court had the benefit of any explanation .given by the Debtor before deciding whether to take any further action.

On January 20, 2014, the Trustee conducted the deposition of the Debtor. On February 3, 2014, the Trústee filed a copy of the deposition transcript (“Deposition Transcript”) (ECF No. 165). On February 19, 2014, the Court held the adjourned hearing (transcript at ECF No.’ 197). The Trustee argued that the Deposition Transcript demonstrated that the Debtor could not explain why he did not retain even basic documents regarding his finances, that he made little or no effort to obtain them, and that he had produced only a couple of documents at the deposition that were not even close to being responsive to the requirements of the Rule 2004 Order. Further, the Trustee argued that even as of the date of the hearing, the Debtor had still failed to produce the vast majority of documents required by the Rule 2004 Order, although the Trustee conceded that the Debtor had produced some of the required documents. Through counsel, the Debtor did not contend either that he had produced all of the required documents, or [547]*547that he had taken any steps to obtain those documents that were not in his possession, although he did state that his wife was trying to obtain some of the missing documents.

The Court observed on the record at the hearing that it had thoroughly read the Deposition Transcript and that the Deposition Transcript left the Court with the firm impression that the Debtor did not take his responsibilities as a debtor seriously, and that he made no attempt to comply with the Rule 2004 Order. The Court then read extensively from the Deposition Transcript into the record, including the following exchanges.

First, the Court read from pages 14-17 of the Deposition Transcript the Trustee’s questions and the Debtor’s answers concerning his bank account records, statements, cancelled checks and check registers covered by the Rule 2004 Order:

Q. [D]id you produce any documents in response to this item?
A. I don’t have any documents for that item.
Q. You don’t have any bank statements?
A. None.
Q.

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523 B.R. 543, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/lewis-v-casab-in-re-casab-mieb-2015.