Unnamed Citizens a Thru E v. White (In Re White)

410 B.R. 195, 2008 Bankr. LEXIS 4182, 2008 WL 6691593
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, W.D. Virginia
DecidedDecember 15, 2008
Docket08-71107
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 410 B.R. 195 (Unnamed Citizens a Thru E v. White (In Re White)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, W.D. Virginia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Unnamed Citizens a Thru E v. White (In Re White), 410 B.R. 195, 2008 Bankr. LEXIS 4182, 2008 WL 6691593 (Va. 2008).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM DECISION

WILLIAM F. STONE JR., Bankruptcy Judge.

BACKGROUND

On September 19, 2008, Unnamed Citizens A-D and certain Minor Children 1 (hereinafter, the “Unnamed Citizens”) filed a Motion for Relief from Automatic Stay against the Debtor, William Alexander White, who filed a voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition in this Court on June 13, 2008. On September 22, 2008, an Amended Motion for Relief from Automatic Stay was filed to include Unnamed Citizen E as a party. The Debtor filed a response to the Amended Motion on October 3, 2008. Also on September 19, the Unnamed Citizens filed a complaint which initiated an adversary proceeding which was given the case number 08-07062, seeking a determination of the dischargeability of any debts resulting from the causes of action which they intend to prosecute. These underlying causes of action stem from a letter allegedly sent by the Debtor to each of the Unnamed Citizens in order to threaten or intimidate them in response to the proceedings the Unnamed Citizens *198 had filed against their landlord in the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. 2 The letter was dated May 23, 2007, and it was allegedly received by the Unnamed Citizens on May 25, 2007, more than one year prior to the commencement of the Debtor’s current bankruptcy case. As a result of this letter, the Unnamed Citizens wish to initiate proceedings against the Debtor under various federal and state housing laws. In the Amended Motion for Relief presently before this Court, the Unnamed Citizens seek the authority from this Court to proceed notwithstanding the operation of the automatic stay which has been in place since the filing of the Debtor’s bankruptcy ease by virtue of 11 U.S.C. § 362(a). The Amended Motion does not make any allegation that the Debtor has insurance which would provide coverage for the claims they wish to pursue against him and counsel for the Unnamed Citizens has made no suggestion to such effect or that such coverage is believed to exist.

The Amended Motion for Relief, and the Debtor’s Response thereto, came before this Court at a hearing on November 10, 2008, during which counsel for both parties appeared and argued their positions. The Debtor, however, was unable to attend the hearing due to his present incarceration while awaiting federal charges in Chicago, Illinois, for which his trial has been set to begin on March 3, 2009. Additionally, the Debtor is being held without bond, pending resolution of the federal charges. After hearing the arguments, and being advised of the facts underlying the Motion and the circumstances surrounding the Debtor’s present situation, this Court took the matter under advisement.

CONTENTIONS OF THE PARTIES

In their Amended Motion for Relief, the Unnamed Citizens seek relief from the automatic stay “for cause” under 11 U.S.C. § 362(d)(1). The Unnamed Citizens initially observe that the Bankruptcy Code leaves “cause” undefined but cite to several cases which highlight several factors a court should acknowledge when determining whether “cause” has been established under the circumstances unique to the situations before it. Namely, the movants cite to In re Curtis, 40 B.R. 795 (Bankr.D.Utah 1984), and In re Bogdanovich, 292 F.3d 104 (2d Cir.2002), for a laundry list of factors which they argue should be considered by this Court:

(a) Whether relief would result in a partial or complete resolution of the issues;
(b) Lack of any connection with or interference with the bankruptcy case;
(c) Whether the other proceeding involves the debtor as a fiduciary;
(d) Whether a specialized tribunal with the necessary expertise has been established to hear the cause of action;
(e) Whether the debtor’s insurer has assumed full responsibility for defending it;
(f) Whether the action primarily involves third parties;
(g) Whether litigation in another forum would prejudice the interests of other creditors;
(h) Whether the judgment claim arising from the other action is subject to equitable subordination;
(i) Whether movant’s success in the other proceeding would result in a judicial lien avoidable by the debtor;
*199 (j) The interests of judicial economy and the expeditious and economical resolution of litigation;
(k) Whether the parties are ready for trial in the other proceeding; and
(l) Impact of the stay on the parties and balance of harms.

In re Curtis, 40 B.R. at 799-800; In re Bogdanovich, 292 F.3d at 110. The Unnamed Citizens assert that the Debtor has the burden of proof regarding the absence of cause by virtue of 11 U.S.C. § 362(g) 3 , and they argue that the factors listed above “overwhelmingly militate in favor of granting the motion.”

During the hearing of November 10, 2008, counsel for the Unnamed Citizens reasserted the arguments contained within the motion. Counsel for the Debtor responded by asserting the affirmative defenses pled to the related adversary proceeding as defenses to the Amended Motion for Relief. Those defenses were as follows: (1) the issues presented by the causes of action which the Unnamed Citizens seek to pursue outside of the bankruptcy case have already been adjudicated and are, therefore, barred by res judicata; (2) the statute of limitations has run for those causes of action; and (3) the causes of action are barred because the movants have produced no evidence that they first pursued relief from Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Additionally, the Debtor argued that the Unnamed Citizens had submitted their claims to the jurisdiction of this Court by filing their complaint in the non-dis-chargeability adversary proceeding, thereby foreclosing their ability to pursue the claims elsewhere. Counsel for the Debtor asserted these defenses as argument that there was an absence of cause for which to grant the Amended Motion for Relief from Stay.

A week later, on November 17, 2008, the Debtor filed an Additional Response to the Amended Motion for Relief, in which he abandoned the res judicata and statute of limitations defenses raised during the hearing. In his Additional Response, counsel for the Debtor then argued that the initial burden of proof was on the party seeking relief to show cause for relief, at which point the party opposing relief has the burden of proving that the cause shown does not warrant relief from the stay. Mazzeo v. Lenhart (In re Mazzeo), 167 F.3d 139, 142 (2d Cir.1999).

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Bluebook (online)
410 B.R. 195, 2008 Bankr. LEXIS 4182, 2008 WL 6691593, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/unnamed-citizens-a-thru-e-v-white-in-re-white-vawb-2008.