Sears v. Stinson
Sears v. Stinson
Opinion of the Court
In January 1985, appellee filed suit in Georgia against appellants for damages, alleging wrongful foreclosure of realty and wrongful disposal of personalty. In March 1986, appellee voluntarily filed a Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition in Mississippi. The first trial in the Georgia suit was held in May 1986 and ended in a mistrial. Appellee was granted a discharge in bankruptcy in August 1986. In March 1987, the second Georgia trial was held. Appellant orally objected to appellee’s prosecuting the case in her individual capacity, claiming that she lacked standing to pursue it due to the bankruptcy. Based on its presumption that the bankruptcy trustee had at some point abandoned the course of action to appellee, the trial court denied the motion, which was later made again in writing, and appellee was eventually awarded an $8,000 judgment on her claims. Citing a number of cases from other jurisdictions, appellants argue here that the trial court erred in its denial of their motion. They take the position that appellee’s cause of action had passed to the bankruptcy trustee and the trustee never abandoned his interest in the claim because appellee had never informed him of the existence of the cause of action as an asset.
Since we find no Georgia case directly on point, we look to the
Judgment affirmed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.