World Buddhism Ass'N Headquarters Vs. Las Vegas Monorail Co.

• Court: Nevada Supreme Court
• Decided: October 9, 2020
• Docket: 81305
• Status: Published

Opinion

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEVADA

WORLD BUDDHISM ASSOCIATION No. 81305 HEADQUARTERS, A CALIFORNIA NON-PROFIT RELIGIOUS CORPORATION, Appellant, VS . FILED LAS VEGAS MONORAIL COMPANY, A OCT 0 9 2020 NEVADA NON-PROFIT ELIZABETH A. BROWN CLERKQF SUPREME COURT CORPORATION, BY S.‘t Res • ondent. DEPUT1tLIHERK Via

ORDER DISMISSING APPEAL

Counsel for respondent has filed a Notice of Bankruptcy Filing, informing this court that Las Vegas Monorail Company has filed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy case in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Nevada, Case No. 20-14451-nmc. The filing of a bankruptcy petition operates to stay, automatically, the "continuation" of any "judicial . . . action . . . against the debtor." 11 U.S.C. § 362(a)(1). An appeal, for purposes of' the automatic stay, is considered a continuation of the action in the trial court. See Ingersoll-Rand Fin. Corp. v. Miller Mining Co., Inc., 817 F.2d 1424 (9th Cir. 1987). It appears that Las Vegas Monorail Company was a defendant below. Therefore, this appeal is stayed pursuant to the automatic stay provisions of federal bankruptcy law. Given the applicability of the automatic stay, this appeal may linger indefinitely on this court's docket pending final resolution of the bankruptcy proceedings. Accordingly, we conclude that judicial efficiency will be best served if this appeal is dismissed without prejudice. Because a dismissal without prejudice will not require this court to reach the merits of this appeal and is not inconsistent with the primary purposes of the SUPREME COURT OF NEVADA

(0) I 947A Aar, RO-3-11148 .-. bankruptcy stay—to provide protection for debtors and creditors—we further conclude that such dismissal will not violate the bankruptcy stay.' See Indep. Union of Flight Attendants v. Pan Am. World Airways, Inc., 966 F.2d 457, 459 (9th Cir. 1992) (holding that the automatic stay does not preclude dismissal of an appeal so long as dismissal is "consistent with the purpose of the statute [11 U.S.C. §362(a)"]; Dean v. Trans World Airlines, Inc., 72 F.3d 754, 755 (9th Cir. 1995) (holding that a post-bankruptcy petition dismissal will violate the automatic stay "where the decision to dismiss first requires the court to consider other issues presented by or related to the underlying case"). Accordingly, we dismiss this appeal. This dismissal is without prejudice to appellant's right to move for reinstatement of this appeal within 90 days of either the lifting of the bankruptcy stay or final resolution of the bankruptcy proceedings, if appellant deems such a motion appropriate at that time. It is so ORDERED.

Gibbons

A-1,;414_0 , J. d.;4tiA-) Stiglich Silver

1The automatic stay provides a debtor "with protection against hungry creditore and gives the debtor a "breathing spell from its creditors" by stopping all collection efforts. Dean v. Trans World Airlines, Inc., 72 F.3d 754, 755 (9th Cir. 1995). Further, it assures creditors "that the debtor's other creditors are not racing to various courthouses to pursue independent remedies to drain the debtor's assets." Id. at 755-56. SUPREME COURT OF NEVADA 2 (0) I 947A 001Daa cc: Hon. Elizabeth Goff Gonzalez, District Judge Dana Jonathon Nitz, Settlement Judge JT Law Group Schiffer & Buus APC Hawkins Melendrez, P.C. Armstrong Teasdale, LLP/Las Vegas Eighth District Court Clerk

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