Whiteley v. Slobodian (In re Mechanicsburg Fitness, Inc.)

592 B.R. 798
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, M.D. Pennsylvania
DecidedNovember 2, 2018
DocketCase No. 1:16-bk-01897-HWV
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 592 B.R. 798 (Whiteley v. Slobodian (In re Mechanicsburg Fitness, Inc.)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, M.D. Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Whiteley v. Slobodian (In re Mechanicsburg Fitness, Inc.), 592 B.R. 798 (Pa. 2018).

Opinion

The Honorable Henry W. Van Eck, Judge

In this case the court considers the Motion of Joyce S. Whiteley ("Whiteley") Seeking Leave to Object to Proofs of Claim filed by Susan J. Hildebrand ("Hildebrand") and Kevin E. Keefer ("Keefer"). Whiteley has filed a proof of claim in this case and is asserting standing to file the objections pursuant to section 502(a) of Title 11, U.S.C.1 The Chapter 7 Trustee, Markian Slobodian (the "Trustee"), has objected to the Motion on several grounds, including lack of standing.

I. Jurisdiction

This court has subject matter jurisdiction over this case pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1334(a). This is a core proceeding pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 157(b)(2)(a) and (b)(1) and (b)(2)(O).

II. Background

Mechanicsburg Fitness, Inc. (the "Debtor") is a defunct fitness center that initiated this chapter 7 case on April 29, 2016. Prior to filing its petition, the Debtor was defending a civil suit ("Civil Suit") brought by Keefer and Hildebrand in the Cumberland County Court of Common Pleas (the "State Court"). In the Civil Suit, Keefer and Hildebrand sought damages for the alleged breach of two agreements they entered into with the Debtor to provide personal training services at the Debtor's Mechanicsburg location (the "Complaint"). The Debtor filed preliminary objections *802("Preliminary Objections") to the Complaint in the Civil Suit, which were overruled without opinion on April 29, 2015 (the "State Court Order"). Thereafter, the Debtor filed an answer with new matter in the Civil Suit, to which Keefer and Hildebrand responded. The Debtor filed bankruptcy on April 29, 2016 before the Civil Suit could proceed further. The Trustee was also appointed on April 29, 2016.

Following the conclusion of the section 341 meeting, the Trustee filed a Notice of Change from a No Asset Chapter 7 Case to an Asset Chapter 7 Case (the "Asset Notice"). The Asset Notice instructed creditors to file a proof of claim on or before October 6, 2017 if they wished to share in the distribution of funds.

Three timely claims were filed in response to the Asset Notice. The first was filed by Hildebrand asserting a general unsecured claim in the amount of $130,950.00 (the "Hildebrand Claim"). The basis of the Hildebrand Claim is breach of contract arising from the same facts and circumstances asserted in the Civil Suit. The second claim was filed by Keefer asserting a general unsecured claim in the amount of $283,240.00 on similar grounds to the Hildebrand Claim (the "Keefer Claim"). The third and final claim was filed by Whiteley asserting a general unsecured claim in the amount of $1,973,856.21 for money loaned (the "Whiteley Claim").

On January 19, 2018, Whiteley filed the instant Motion Seeking Leave to Object to the Claims of Hildebrand and Keefer (the "Motion"). The Trustee filed his Response to the Motion on February 5, 2018 (the "Response") and a hearing was conducted on February 6, 2018. During the hearing, and as set forth in his Response, the Trustee objected to the Motion on multiple grounds, many of which relate to Whiteley's standing.2 The Trustee also asserted that absent his refusal to pursue possible objections to certain claims, he has the exclusive right to object to proofs of claim and leave to object should generally not be granted to a third party. In addition to the foregoing, the Trustee argued that Whiteley's proposed objections to the Hildebrand and Keefer Claims are barred by the doctrines of issue preclusion, claim preclusion, and by the Rooker-Feldman Doctrine. Finally, the Trustee argued that Whiteley's proposed objections were premature and not ripe at that time because there were no assets in the case other than a potential fraudulent transfer claim against Whiteley (the "Asset"), which had not yet been brought by the Trustee.

In response to the Trustee's last argument, and to provide him with the opportunity to determine whether pursuit of the Asset was appropriate, the court continued the hearing to a future date. On April 25, 2018, the Trustee demonstrated his intent to pursue the Asset by filing an adversary complaint pursuant to sections 548 and 550 naming Whiteley as Defendant (the "Adversary Complaint"). The Adversary Complaint seeks to avoid certain pre-petition transfers and to recover the value of same from Whiteley for the benefit of the Debtor's estate.

A final hearing on the Motion was held on June 26, 2018 where additional arguments were heard. The matter is now ripe for a decision.

III. Discussion

The Bankruptcy Code establishes an orderly and centralized liquidation process *803where creditors of equal priority receive ratable and equitable distributions. These distributions are designed to serve "the prime bankruptcy policy of equality of distribution among creditors of the debtor." Union Bank v. Wolas , 502 U.S. 151, 161, 112 S.Ct. 527, 116 L.Ed.2d 514 (1991) (quoting H.R. Rep. No. 595, 95th Cong., 1st Sess. 177-78 (1977) ). In a chapter 7 liquidation, this translates to a pro-rata distribution of the debtor's nonexempt assets to creditors. 11 U.S.C. § 726(b). In furtherance of those objectives, the Code provides that a creditor's claim, "proof of which is filed under section 501 of this title, is deemed allowed, unless a party in interest ... objects." 11 U.S.C. § 502(a).3 Claims that are deemed "allowed" are eligible for distributions, while claims that are not "allowed" generally do not receive distributions. 11 U.S.C. § 726.

In this case, the court is asked to determine what rights a chapter 7 creditor has to object to claims pursuant to section 502(a). This determination necessarily includes an examination of a creditor's standing under section 502(a).

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
592 B.R. 798, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/whiteley-v-slobodian-in-re-mechanicsburg-fitness-inc-pamb-2018.