Williamson v. United Statesf Holland, LLC

600 B.R. 606
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Michigan
DecidedMarch 26, 2019
DocketCase No. 2:17-cv-13326-LJM-APP
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 600 B.R. 606 (Williamson v. United Statesf Holland, LLC) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Michigan primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Williamson v. United Statesf Holland, LLC, 600 B.R. 606 (E.D. Mich. 2019).

Opinion

LAURIE J. MICHELSON, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

Thomas Williamson tells this Court that USF Holland failed to accommodate his disabilities and then terminated his employment based on his disabilities and for seeking accommodations. But when Williamson filed for bankruptcy, he did not tell the bankruptcy court the same thing. In particular, he omitted his claim against USF Holland, deemed an asset, from his bankruptcy petition. And he only disclosed the claim to the bankruptcy court after his bankruptcy plan was confirmed. USF Holland thus argues that Williamson's failure to report his claim to the bankruptcy court judicially estops him from pursuing the claim here. Williamson has some evidence that the omission was not his fault but instead his bankruptcy attorney's. Yet the record reflects that Williamson, personally, should have done more to see that the bankruptcy court or bankruptcy trustee knew about his suit against USF Holland before the bankruptcy court confirmed his payment plan. As such, the Court will grant USF Holland's motion for summary judgment premised on judicial estoppel.

I.

As USF Holland has moved for summary judgment, the Court presents the record in the light most favorable to Williamson.

In February 2017, Williamson filed a charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Williamson accused his former employer, USF Holland, of denying him a reasonable accommodation for his disability. (ECF No. 20, PageID.293.) He further asserted that USF Holland had discharged him on account of his disability and in retaliation for seeking accommodations. (Id. ) Williamson charged USF Holland with violating the Americans with Disabilities Act. (Id. )

Two months later, in April 2017, Williamson, through a bankruptcy law firm, *608filed a Chapter 13 bankruptcy petition. The petition consists of a number of schedules. Schedule A/B is particularly relevant to this case. And, in particular, Question 34. Here is how Williamson answered Question 34 of Schedule A/B:

(Id. ) Williamson also submitted a declaration in connection with his Chapter 13 petition: "Under penalty of perjury, I declare that I have read the summary and schedules filed with this declaration and that they are true and correct." (ECF No. 17, PageID.139.) So, in short, Williamson did not disclose his claim against USF Holland in his bankruptcy petition and averred that his schedules were "true and correct."

But, Williamson explains, the omission was not his fault. Before he filed his Chapter 13 petition, Williamson spoke with his bankruptcy attorney about the EEOC charge. In Williamson's words: "During my meeting with the bankruptcy attorney I told him I had filed a Charge with the EEOC for wrongful termination and retaliation under the ADA. My bankruptcy attorney told me I did not have to include it in the petition for bankruptcy because no case had been filed with the Court." (ECF No. 20, PageID.296.)

In June 2017, Williamson amended his Chapter 13 plan. In a cover sheet for the amendments, Williamson indicated that he was amending Schedule D, E/F, I, and J. See Cover Sheet for Amendments, In re Williamson , No. 17-45616-pjs (Bankr. E.D. Mich. June 22, 2017). Williamson did not indicate that he was amending Schedule A/B (the one asking about "contingent and unliquidated claims of every nature"). See id. Williamson signed the cover sheet: "I declare under penalty of perjury that I have read this cover sheet and the attached schedules, lists, statements, etc., and that they are true and correct to the best of my knowledge, information and belief." Id. Shortly after filing the cover sheet and the amended schedules, Williamson filed an amended plan. Pre-Confirmation Modification #1, In re Williamson , No. 17-45616-pjs (Bankr. E.D. Mich. June 23, 2017). Williamson and his bankruptcy counsel also signed the amended plan (but not under penalty of perjury). Id.

By October 2017, the EEOC had issued Williamson a right to sue letter and on October 11, 2017 Williamson filed this lawsuit against USF Holland. (See ECF No. 1.) Like the EEOC charge, the complaint filed with this Court accused USF Holland of not accommodating Williamson's disability and of terminating him on account of his disability and for requesting accommodations. (ECF No. 1, PageID.3.)

Meanwhile, Williamson's case in the bankruptcy court was moving along. Creditors and the Chapter 13 trustee filed some objections to Williamson's proposed plan. An adversary proceeding about a construction lien was settled. And in December 2017, Williamson and his bankruptcy counsel again filed a coversheet for amendments with attached amended schedules. Cover Sheet for Amendments, In re Williamson , No. 17-45616-pjs (Bankr. E.D. Mich. Dec. 18, 2017). The cover sheet checked boxes indicating amendments to Schedule I and J but, as before, not the box associated with a Schedule A/B amendment. Id. And, as before, Williamson signed the coversheet and indicated that he had read the "cover sheet and the attached schedules, lists, statements, etc., and that they [were] true and correct to the best of [his] knowledge, information and belief." Id. Also as before, Williamson and his bankruptcy counsel prepared an *609amended bankruptcy plan. Williamson and his bankruptcy counsel signed the amended plan on December 19, 2017-but for some reason it was not filed until January 31, 2018. Pre-Confirmation Modification #2, In re Williamson , No. 17-45616-pjs (Bankr. E.D. Mich. Jan. 31, 2018).

Perhaps the filing delay had something to do with Williamson's visit to his bankruptcy attorney's office in January 2018. That month, Williamson asked his counsel in this case (ADA counsel) if USF Holland could be held liable for making him file bankruptcy. (ECF No. 20, PageID.296.) According to Williamson's ADA counsel, "Aware of the consequences of Judicial Estoppel I inquired as to whether [Williamson] had listed this case as an asset in the bankruptcy court." (ECF No. 20, PageID.379.) According to Williamson, "I told [my ADA counsel] that according to my bankruptcy attorney, I didn't need to list it because the case had not yet been filed." (ECF No. 20, PageID.296.) Williamson adds: "[my ADA counsel] told me I had to immediately go to my bankruptcy attorney's office and have him file an amendment with the bankruptcy court listing the ADA case." (Id. )

So Williamson went. And he conveyed to his bankruptcy counsel what his ADA counsel had told him. (Id. ) But Williamson's bankruptcy counsel was unconvinced. (Id. ) So Williamson's bankruptcy counsel called his ADA counsel while Williamson was still in the office. (Id. ) According to Williamson's ADA counsel, "[Williamson's bankruptcy counsel] disagreed with my analysis, but having dealt with this issue on numerous occasions, I was able to convince him of the necessity to file an amendment. I hung up with [bankruptcy counsel] with the belief he would be filing an amendment." (ECF No. 20, PageID.380.) Williamson was under a similar belief: "When I left my bankruptcy attorney's office in January of 2018 I was under the impression he would be filing an amendment to the petition." (ECF No. 20, PageID.297.)

Williamson and his ADA counsel have provided some emails supporting their account.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
600 B.R. 606, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/williamson-v-united-statesf-holland-llc-mied-2019.