Michael Decker v. William Callahan, Jr.

• Court: Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
• Decided: February 22, 2023
• Docket: 21-2136
• Status: Unpublished

Opinion

USCA4 Appeal: 21-2136 Doc: 31 Filed: 02/22/2023 Pg: 1 of 3

UNPUBLISHED

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

No. 21-2136

MICHAEL W. DECKER,

Debtor - Appellant,

and

WINCHESTER ACCOUNTING, LLC,

Defendant - Appellant,

v.

WILLIAM E. CALLAHAN, JR.,

Trustee - Appellee.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia, at Harrisonburg. Elizabeth Kay Dillon, District Judge. (5:20-cv-00071-EKD)

Submitted: January 26, 2023 Decided: February 22, 2023

Before AGEE, RICHARDSON, and HEYTENS, Circuit Judges.

Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.

ON BRIEF: James P. Campbell, Matthew L. Clark, CAMPBELL FLANNERY, P.C., Leesburg, Virginia, for Appellants. Monica Taylor Monday, William E. Callahan, Jr., USCA4 Appeal: 21-2136 Doc: 31 Filed: 02/22/2023 Pg: 2 of 3

David R. Berry, GENTRY LOCKE, Roanoke, Virginia, for Appellee.

Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.

2 USCA4 Appeal: 21-2136 Doc: 31 Filed: 02/22/2023 Pg: 3 of 3

PER CURIAM:

Michael W. Decker and Winchester Accounting, LLC, appeal the district court’s

order affirming the bankruptcy court’s ruling in favor of the trustee on the parties’ cross

motions for summary judgment and avoiding transfers of property of the bankruptcy estate

to Decker. They contend that the bankruptcy court erred by failing to consider operating

expenses in determining that the postpetition transfers were from prepetition profits, that

the bankruptcy court erred in its application of the summary judgment standard, and that

the district court incorrectly applied the earnings exception of 11 U.S.C. § 541(a)(6).

“In reviewing the judgment of a district court sitting in review of a bankruptcy court,

we apply the same standard of review that was applied by the district court.” Copley v.

United States, 959 F.3d 118, 121 (4th Cir. 2020). Thus, “we review the bankruptcy court’s

legal conclusions de novo, its factual findings for clear error, and any discretionary

decisions for abuse of discretion.” Id. With these standards in mind, we have reviewed

the record submitted on appeal and the arguments of the parties and find no reversible error.

Accordingly, we affirm for the reasons stated by the district court. Decker v. Scott,

No. 5:20-cv-00071-EKD (W.D. Va. Sept. 14, 2021). * We dispense with oral argument

because the facts and legal contentions are adequately presented in the materials before this

court and argument would not aid the decisional process.

AFFIRMED

* While this appeal was pending, W. Stephen Scott, who served as the Chapter 7 Trustee in these proceedings, resigned. William E. Callahan, Jr., is the new Chapter 7 Trustee and has been substituted in this case as the Appellee.