Neurology & Neurophysiology Associates, P.A. v. Tarbox (In Re Neurology & Neurophysiology Associates, P.A.)

628 F. App'x 248
Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit·Decided October 15, 2015·No. 15-50105·Unpublished·Cited by 5 cases

Opinion

PER CURIAM: *

Debtor-Appellant Neurology and Neurophysiology Associates, P.A. (“NNPA”) appeals a district court judgment affirming the dismissal of its petition for relief under Chapter 7 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. NNPA also appeals the bankruptcy court’s denial of its motion to extend the automatic stay pending appeal. We affirm.

I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

On July 24, 2009, the Texas Secretary of State forfeited NNPA’s corporate charter. 1 Under Texas law, NNPA remained a legal entity for three years after its termination in order to carry out specific, limited purposes, such as defending against legal claims and liquidating assets. See Tex. Bus. Orgs. Code § 11.356(a). In December 2010, Creditor-Appellee Reter Tarbox, MD filed suit against NNPA in state court, alleging multiple causes of action, including shareholder oppression and breach of contract. 2 On June 19, 2014, nearly five years after the forfeiture of its charter, NNPA sought protection under the Bankruptcy Code by filing a Chapter 7 petition for relief. 3 In response, Tarbox filed a motion to dismiss the bankruptcy proceeding, arguing that NNPA, as a terminated entity, does not qualify as a “person” under 11 U.S.C. § 109(b) and § 101(41) and therefore has no standing to proceed with its petition. 4 The bankruptcy court granted the motion, concluding that NNPA “is not a ‘person’ under the Bankruptcy Code *250 and, as such, the [bankruptcy court] has no jurisdiction to grant relief.” 5

A. Motion to Dismiss

NNPA filed a notice of appeal to the district court on August 21, 2014, appealing the bankruptcy court’s dismissal of its petition for relief. 6 NNPA later filed its record on appeal, and on October 21, 2014, the district court clerk sent a “Notice of Docketing Record on Appeal” to the parties. 7

As the district court noted in its dismissal order, under Federal Rule of Bankruptcy Procedure 8009(a)(1), 8 NNPA’s brief was due on November 4, 2014. 9 Based on NNPA’s failure to file its brief, on December 4, 2014, Tarbox filed a motion to dismiss the appeal. 10 On December 8, 2014, over a month after NNPA’s brief was due, it simultaneously filed 1) a motion to extend the deadline to file its brief and 2) the brief itself. 11 In its motion, NNPA maintained that its counsel never received the Notice of Docketing Record and that the e-mail address on file for lead counsel was outdated and had not been used in two years. 12

The district court denied NNPA’s motion to extend time to file its brief and granted Tarbox’s motion to dismiss, “finding] that Appellant’s neglect was not excusable.” 13 NNPA now appeals the district court’s dismissal. 14

B. Motion to Extend the Automatic Stay Pending Appeal

After filing a notice of appeal to the district court, NNPA filed a motion to extend the automatic stay pending appeal. 15 The bankruptcy court denied the motion. 16 While NNPA challenged the bankruptcy court’s ruling in its untimely filed district court brief, 17 it failed to comply with the requirements of Federal Rule of Bankruptcy Procedure 8006 to properly challenge the ruling on appeal to the district court. 18 As the appeal was dismissed *251 for failure to timely file, the district court never addressed this issue. 19 In its brief to this Court, NNPA again challenges the bankruptcy court’s denial of the motion to extend the automatic stay, arguing that the bankruptcy court abused its discretion in denying the motion. 20

II. DISCUSSION

The bankruptcy court had jurisdiction over NNPA’s petition for relief under 28 U.S.C. § 1334 and § 157. The district court had jurisdiction to hear the appeal under 28 U.S.C. § 158(a). This Court has jurisdiction to review the district court’s dismissal as a final judgment under 28 U.S.C. § 1291.

We review district court decisions to extend filing deadlines for abuse of discretion. See, e.g., Salts v. Epps, 676 F.3d 468, 474 & n. 13 (5th Cir.2012). “[Djeference ... is the hallmark of abuse-of-discretion review.” Love v. Tyson Foods, Inc., 677 F.3d 258, 262 (5th Cir.2012) (quoting Gen. Elec. Co. v. Joiner, 522 U.S. 136, 137, 118 S.Ct. 512, 139 L.Ed.2d 508 (1997)). An abuse of discretion occurs if a district court “(1) relies on clearly erroneous factual findings; (2) relies on erroneous conclusions of law; or (3) misapplies the law to the facts.” Id. (quoting McClure v. Ashcroft, 335 F.3d 404, 408 (5th Cir.2003)).

Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 6(b), district courts have “broad discretion” to extend filing deadlines. Hetzel v. Bethlehem Steel Corp., 50 F.3d 360, 367 (5th Cir.1995). A district court may extend the time to file a motion for “good cause” “if the party failed to act because of excusable neglect.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 6(b)(1)(B).

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Neurology & Neurophysiology Associates, P.A. v. Tarbox (In Re Neurology & Neurophysiology Associates, P.A.), 628 F. App'x 248 (5th Cir. 2015).

628 F. App'x 248 (Neurology & Neurophysiology Associates, P.A. v. Tarbox (In Re Neurology & Neurophysiology Associates, P.A.)) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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