Pittsburgh Corning Corp. v. Mingo (In re Pittsburgh Corning Corp.)

277 B.R. 74, 2002 Bankr. LEXIS 442, 39 Bankr. Ct. Dec. (CRR) 150
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, W.D. Pennsylvania
DecidedMay 6, 2002
DocketBankruptcy No. 00-22876-JKF; Motion No. RS-32
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 277 B.R. 74 (Pittsburgh Corning Corp. v. Mingo (In re Pittsburgh Corning Corp.)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, W.D. Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Pittsburgh Corning Corp. v. Mingo (In re Pittsburgh Corning Corp.), 277 B.R. 74, 2002 Bankr. LEXIS 442, 39 Bankr. Ct. Dec. (CRR) 150 (Pa. 2002).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION1

JUDITH K FITZGERALD, Chief Judge.

Before the court is Pittsburgh Corning Corporation’s (“Debtor”) Objection to Claim of Rebecca Mingo, a former employee. Debtor’s Objection asks this court to disallow Mingo’s claim on the basis that Mingo “failed to show sufficient facts to support her claims.” Objection to Claim of Rebecca Mingo, Docket. No. 834, at ¶ 7. Mingo states that the Bankruptcy Court lacks jurisdiction to decide the issues but offers no explanation for this conclusion. We find that we have jurisdiction but will request the District Court to withdraw the reference of this motion (Motion No. RS-32) and adjudicate the merits of the claim inasmuch as the matter was pending before the District Court and in a posture for prompt adjudication when this bankruptcy was filed.

Prior to the filing- of Debtor’s chapter 11 petition, Mingo filed an action at Civil Action No. 98-259E in the District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania alleging age discrimination under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (“ADEA”), 29 U.S.C. § 621, et seq., age discrimination claims under the Pennsylvania Human Re[76]*76lations Act, 43 P.S. § 951, et seq., violation of the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (“WARN”), 29 U.S.C. § 2101,2 et seq., and a wrongful discharge claim. Prepetition, the parties engaged in substantial discovery, Debtor filed a motion for summary judgment, and the matter had been briefed and was awaiting decision by the District Court.

Postpetition, Mingo filed a proof of claim incorporating the allegations of the Complaint. In response to Debtor’s objection to the claim, Mingo filed a response alleging that this court lacks jurisdiction to determine whether Mingo has stated sufficient facts to support her claim and that the issue must be determined by the District Court. See Debtor’s Memorandum of Law in Support of the Objection to the Claim of Rebecca J. Mingo, Docket No. 984, at 2; Respondent’s Answer to the Debtor’s Objections to Claim, Docket No. 891, at ¶ 7. In its Reply to Response, Docket No. 908, Debtor avers that because Mingo has asserted a claim for damages, there could be an impact on the Debtor’s estate, the matter is therefore subject to this court’s “related to” jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1334(b), and is a core proceeding under 28 U.S.C. § 157(b)(2)(B) concerning allowance and disallowance of claims against the estate.

We have reviewed Debtor’s objection to Mingo’s claim, brief in support thereof, Mingo’s answer to the objection, Debtor’s reply, and Debtor’s supplemental brief on the issue of this court’s jurisdiction. Although Mingo was provided an opportunity to file a brief, she did not do so.

We find that we have jurisdiction to determine the Debtor’s objection to Min-go’s claim. However, under the circumstances, and for the reasons which follow, it seems more appropriate for the District Court to withdraw the reference and complete the summary judgment proceedings and, in the process, to decide the objection to claim which raises the same issues.

Jurisdiction

The Bankruptcy Court has jurisdiction over core matters, 28 U.S.C. § 157(b), and over non-core matters “related to” the bankruptcy case. 28 U.S.C. § 157(c).

Core

Proceedings involving rights created by the Bankruptcy Code are core proceedings. In re Continental Airlines, (Air Line Pilots Ass’n v. Continental Airlines), 125 F.3d 120, 130 (3d Cir.1997), cert. denied 522 U.S. 1114, 118 S.Ct. 1049, 140 L.Ed.2d 113 (1998). Proceedings that would only arise in bankruptcy cases, such as those involving filing a proof of claim, are also core. Id. Thus, an objection to a claim filed in a bankruptcy case is core. Our analysis does not end there, however, for we must also assess the nature of the claim itself. Here there are no bankruptcy issues except whether Mingo has a claim, a fact which will be determined by the adjudication of the merits of her complaint. The underlying alleged causes of action are not created by the Bankruptcy Code nor do they arise only in bankruptcy cases.

Related to Jurisdiction

The standard for “related to” jurisdiction is expressed in Copelin v. Spirco, Inc., 182 F.3d 174, 179 (3d Cir.1999):

A proceeding is related to a case under title 11 if it “could conceivably have any effect on the estate being administered in bankruptcy” such that “‘it is possible that [the] proceeding may impact on the debtor’s rights, liabilities, [77]*77options, or freedom of action or the handling and administration of the bankrupt estate.’ ” Halper v. Halper, 164 F.3d 830, 837 (3d Cir.1999) (quoting In re Guild & Gallery Plus, Inc., 72 F.3d 1171, 1181 (3d Cir.1996) (other citations and quotations omitted)); see also United States Trustee v. Gryphon at the Stone Mansion, Inc., 166 F.3d 552, 556 (3d Cir.1999) (noting that test to determine if matter is “related to” a bankruptcy is whether the outcome of the proceeding could conceivably have any effect on the estate being administered in bankruptcy). As we reaffirmed in Halper, the key word “is ‘conceivable.’ Certainty, or even likelihood [of effect on the estate being administered in bankruptcy] is not a requirement.” 164 F.3d at 837 (quoting In re Guild, 72 F.3d at 1181) (other quotations omitted). Thus, jurisdiction is a threshold issue determined by speculating whether the ultimate outcome of the litigation could conceivably affect the bankrupt estate. Here, the Bankruptcy Court had jurisdiction to hear ... [the] motion to enforce the terms of the Bankruptcy Plan of Reorganization because resolution of that motion may arguably have had an impact on [the] bankruptcy. That the underlying issue is enforcement of a state court judgment is irrelevant to our analysis of the Bankruptcy Court’s jurisdiction.

Although § 157(b)(2)(B) of title 28 provides that matters involving the allowance and disallowance of claims are core proceedings, the particular claim at issue must fall within one of the specific categories of core proceedings listed in § 157(b)(2)(B).

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277 B.R. 74, 2002 Bankr. LEXIS 442, 39 Bankr. Ct. Dec. (CRR) 150, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/pittsburgh-corning-corp-v-mingo-in-re-pittsburgh-corning-corp-pawb-2002.