Miller v. Krause (In Re Krause)

114 B.R. 582, 1988 Bankr. LEXIS 2651, 1988 WL 188480
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, N.D. Indiana
DecidedSeptember 9, 1988
Docket19-40056
StatusPublished
Cited by29 cases

This text of 114 B.R. 582 (Miller v. Krause (In Re Krause)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, N.D. Indiana primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Miller v. Krause (In Re Krause), 114 B.R. 582, 1988 Bankr. LEXIS 2651, 1988 WL 188480 (Ind. 1988).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

KENT LINDQUIST, Chief Judge.

I

Statement of Proceedings

Darwin E. Miller, as the original and sole Plaintiff in this adversary proceeding, filed his initial complaint versus the Debtor, James Darrel Krause (hereinafter: “Defendant”) on March 24, 1986, alleging that a certain indebtedness by the Defendant to *587 the Plaintiff is nondischargeable pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(2)(A) and § 523(a)(6).

On June 24, 1986, the Defendant filed a Motion for Summary Judgment and Motion for Judgment on the pleadings. The Plaintiff filed his answer thereto on July 24, 1986, and the Defendant filed his reply on August 11, 1986.

On September 22,1986, the Plaintiff filed his affidavit in opposition to the Defendant’s motion.

On February 6,1987, the Court issued its Memorandum Opinion and Order in which it treated the Defendant’s motion for a judgment on the pleadings pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(c) as a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6), and sustained the Defendant’s motion, but gave the Plaintiff 20 days to plead over.

On February 26, 1987, the Plaintiff Miller individually and CLM Insurance Agency, Inc. (hereinafter: “CLM”) by Darwin Miller, an alleged shareholder of CLM as co-plaintiff, filed their first amended complaint praying that the alleged indebtedness of the Defendant to the Plaintiffs is nondischargeable pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 523. 1 Although, the amended complaint is in one legal paragraph, the various rhetorical paragraphs make allegations under § 523(a)(2)(A), (4), and (6).

The Plaintiffs allege in their amended complaint that CLM was illegally and improperly dissolved by the Defendant as president and chairman of the Board of CLM, which precluded CLM from bringing this action directly.

On March 12, 1987, the Defendant filed his motion to dismiss the Plaintiffs’ amended complaint pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(2) and 12(b)(6), a motion for a judgment on the pleadings and a motion to strike.

On April 17, 1987, the Plaintiffs filed their answer to the Defendant’s motion for judgment on the pleadings and to dismiss. A hearing was held on said motions on July 7,1987, wherein arguments were heard and the Court took said motions under advisement, on the motion to dismiss and the motion for judgment on the pleadings. The Plaintiffs stipulated that the Defendant’s motion to strike should be granted as to rhetorical paragraph 54 of the amended complaint and it is, SO ORDERED.

The Court takes judicial notice of the record in the Debtor’s main case, and finds that the Debtor received his general discharge in bankruptcy pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 727 on June 6, 1986, or prior to the filing of the amended complaint on February 26, 1987, in which CLM was purportedly added as a co-plaintiff.

II

Conclusions of Law and Discussion

A

Motion to Dismiss Plaintiff CLM for Improper Joinder

The Defendant asserts in his motion to dismiss filed March 12,1987, that the Plaintiff Miller has improperly joined the alleged co-plaintiff CLM without seeking court approval. The Defendant also asserts that CLM is not a creditor of the Defendant and therefore this Court lacks jurisdiction over CLM. Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(2).

In addition, the Defendant’s motion asserts that the Plaintiff Miller cannot bring this action on behalf of the Plaintiff CLM *588 since the Plaintiff Miller is not a stockholder, officer or director of said corporation.

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(2) provides that the defense of lack of jurisdiction over the person can be raised by motion. It should also be noted that pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(h)(3), that whenever it appears by suggestion of the parties or otherwise that the Court lacks jurisdiction of the subject matter, the Court may dismiss the action.

Although not referred to by the Defendant in his motion, Fed.R.Civ.P. 24 governing intervention also applies to the putative co-plaintiff CLM’s attempt to be added to this adversary proceeding as a co-plaintiff with the sole original Plaintiff Miller, by virtue of the amended complaint filed February 26, 1987. This “amended” complaint is not simply to amend the original complaint filed solely by the Plaintiff Miller in his individual capacity pursuant to Fed. R.Civ.P. 15. As to the alleged co-plaintiff CLM, the amended complaint is an attempted initiation of an original action by CLM as intervenor Plaintiff versus the Defendant on the date of the filing of the purported amended complaint, or February 26, 1987.

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 24(c), provides that a person desiring to intervene shall serve a motion to intervene upon the parties as provided by Rule 5 stating the grounds therefore, and shall be accompanied by a pleading setting forth the claims or defense for which intervention is sought. This was clearly not done here. Thus, the addition of the purported co-plaintiff CLM to the amended complaint prior to service of a motion to intervene accompanied by a proposed intervenor’s complaint was procedurally defective and technically incorrect. The courts have varied in their approach when Fed.R.Civ.P. 24(c) is not complied with proeedurally. Some courts strictly construe the requirements of Fed.R.Civ.P. 24(c) while other courts have not required strict compliance with the literal requirements thereof. See, Discussion, 26 Fed. Proc.Lawyer Ed. § 370, Parties.

In the interest of judicial economy and to avoid the duplication of time and expense by sustaining the Defendant’s motion, and in requiring CLM to properly proceed pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 24

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Bluebook (online)
114 B.R. 582, 1988 Bankr. LEXIS 2651, 1988 WL 188480, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/miller-v-krause-in-re-krause-innb-1988.