In re Smith
In re Smith
Opinion of the Court
ORDER DENYING DEBTOR’S MOTION FOR RECONSIDERATION
This case came on for hearing on December 3, 2015, on the Debtor’s Motion for Reconsideration
In the Debtor’s Motion for Reconsideration, he argues this Court “ ‘erred both as to the controlling legal principles and as' to the material facts’ ”
The Court previously and again has considered carefully the parties’ positions.
Where Courts have granted relief under Rule 59(e), they act to: (1) account for an intervening change in controlling law, (2) consider newly available evidence, or (3) correct clear error or prevent manifest injustice.
Debtor instead argues that reconsideration is appropriate because I did not “fully understand” two key facts: (1) that GEI-CO’s dischargeability adversary proceeding contained only one count for non-dis-chargeability under 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(2) and should be tried first, and (2) that the Debtor is the only remaining defendant left in the District Court Litigation to be tried on the issue of liability.
On the argument that GEICO’s adversary proceeding is limited to one count for fraud, reconsideration is not appropriate. The District Court can fully resolve both GEICO’s claims against the Debtor and determine whether any resulting judgment is dischargeable. Debtors filing bankruptcy get no special guarantee that all dischargeability issues are resolved before the underlying liability issues are determined. This is particularly true when a debtor waits until the eve of a long scheduled trial to file a bankruptcy case. Here, the District Court had specially set a jury trial on GEICO’s claims against the Debt- or that was cancelled when the Debtor filed this bankruptcy case on February 27,
Nor is reconsideration appropriate because the Debtor is the sole remaining defendant for whom liability is undetermined. The District Court already. has determined by summary judgment that the two remaining non-debtor defendants in the District Court Litigation are liable in some unspecified amount to GEICO. A jury trial' is needed to determine these damages against the non-debtor defendants and to determine the Debtor’s culpability. Given the District Court’s history and experience with this case and its ability to more ably conduct the needed jury trial, the District Court, not the Bankruptcy Court, in these circumstances is the better forum. No error occurred. No reconsideration is justified. The stay is lifted for all purposes to allow the District Court Litigation to continue to conclusion. Accordingly, it is
ORDERED:
1. Debtor’s Motion for Reconsideration (Doc. No. 67) is DENIED.
. Doc. No. 67.
. Doc. No. 69.
. Doc. No. 65.
. GEICO v. Sadat Smith, et al., Case No. 12-cv-1138, Middle District of Florida, Orlando Division, filed on July 23, 2012.
. GEICO v. Sadat Smith, Case. No. 6:15-ap-00137, filed in this Court on October 1, 2015.
. Doc. No. 65.
. Doc. No. 67, ¶ 7.
. Rule 60 is made applicable to bankruptcy proceedings by Fed. R. Bankr.P. 9024.
. Doc. No. 67. ¶ 11. The Debtor lists the original defendants in the District Court Litigation. Id. ¶ 16. The Debtor also notes that the District Court granted summary judgment against two of the defendants on the issue of liability and that GEICO has settled with all of the other defendants. Id. ¶¶ 3, 5.
. Doc. No. 71.
. Federal Rule of Procedure 59(e) provides “[a] motion to alter or amend a judgment must be filed no later than 28 days after the entry of the judgment.” Rule 59 is made applicable to bankruptcy proceedings by Fed. R. Bankr. P. 9023. Bankruptcy Rule 9023, however, provides for a shorter, 14 day period to file a motion seeking reconsideration. Debt- or’s motion is timely under either standard.
. Mathis v. United States (In re Mathis), 312 B.R. 912, 914 (Bankr.S.D.Fla. 2004) (quoting Sussman v. Salem, Saxon & Nielsen, P.A., 153 F.R.D. 689, 694 (M.D.Fla. 1994)) (internal quotation marks omitted).
. In re Mathis, 312 B.R. at 914 (quoting In re Halko, 203 B.R. 668, 671-72 (Bankr. N.D.Ill. 1996)) (citations omitted).
. In re The Loewen Grp. Inc. Sec. Litig., No. Civ. A. 98-6740, 2006 WL 27286, *1 (E.D.Pa. Jan. 5, 2006) (citing Glendon Energy Co. v. Borough of Glendon, 836 F.Supp. 1109, 1122 (E.D.Pa. 1993)) (internal quotations omitted).
. In re Mathis, 312 B.R. at 914 (citing Am. Home Assurance Co. v. Glenn Estess & Assocs., 763 F.2d 1237, 1238-39 (11th Cir. 1985) (“The decision to alter or amend judgment is committed to the sound discretion of the [trial] judge and will not be overturned on appeal absent an abuse of discretion.”)).
. In re Mathis, 312 B.R. at 914 (citations omitted).
. Kellogg v. Schreiber (In Kellogg), 197 F.3d 1116, 1119 (11th Cir. 1999) (citing In re Inv’rs Fla. Aggressive Growth Fund Ltd., 168 B.R. 760, 768 (Bankr.N.D.Fla. 1994)).
Reference
- Full Case Name
- IN RE Sadat Malik Kwabena SMITH, Debtor
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- 1 case
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- Published