Lynd v. Ries (In re Genmar Holdings, Inc.)
Lynd v. Ries (In re Genmar Holdings, Inc.)
Opinion of the Court
David Scot Lynd, pro se, appeals from the Order of the Bankruptcy Court
FACTUAL BACKGROUND
On June 1, 2009, Genmar Holdings, Inc., and twenty-two of its subsidiaries, including Wood Manufacturing Company, Inc., filed voluntary Chapter 11 petitions in the District of Minnesota. The cases were being jointly administered. Mr. Lynd filed a claim on November 17, 2009, and an amended claim on June 7, 2010, against Debtor Wood Manufacturing Company, Inc. for “restitution” in the amount of $678,799.18.
On November 27, 2009, Debtor Genmar Holdings, Inc. filed a Motion for Orders authorizing the Debtors to, inter alia, sell
On August 10, 2010 and September 10, 2010, Mr. Lynd filed identical Motions for Payment of Monies Due for Restitution in which he demanded immediate payment of his claim. On September 17, 2010, the Debtors filed an objection to the motion because it was premature and because Mr. Lynd’s claim, if allowed, did not entitle him to immediate payment for “restitution.” On September 23, 2010, the Bankruptcy Court issued an Order denying Lynd’s Motion (the “2010 Order”). On October 5, 2010, Mr. Lynd filed a Notice of Appeal from the 2010 Order.
On November 22, 2010, while Mr. Lynd’s appeal was pending, Mr. Lynd filed with the Bankruptcy Court a “Motion Request for Clarification of Order” requesting clarification of the 2010 Order to determine which entity or individual would be responsible for paying his “restitution” claim “now and after the completion of the Bankruptcy case,” given that Genmar Corporation’s assets had been sold.
On November 23, 2010, the case was converted from Chapter 11 to Chapter 7, and on November 24, 2010, the Bankruptcy Court terminated the joint administration of the cases.
On December 14, 2010, the Bankruptcy Court denied Mr. Lynd’s “Motion Request for Clarification of Order” because, the Court concluded, it sought legal advice. The Court noted, however, “that the earlier motion for payment was denied because, although the movant’s claim might have been a nondischargeable debt in the Chapter 11 case, it was not entitled to administrative or priority payment from the estate of the jointly administered debtor who was liable. It will not be discharged in the Chapter 7 case either because Chapter 7 corporate debtors do not receive discharges.”
On March 8, 2011, the BAP dismissed Mr. Lynd’s appeal for failure to pay the filing fee. Mr. Lynd appealed to the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, which ultimately dismissed the appeal on December 19, 2011, for procedural reasons. The formal mandate was issued by the Eighth Circuit on February 2, 2012.
On January 25, 2013, Mr. Lynd filed a “Motion for Reconsideration of Claim” pursuant to Federal Rule of Bankruptcy Procedure 3008.
We review the Bankruptcy Court’s findings of fact for clear error and conclusions of law de novo.
DISCUSSION
As the Trustee asserts, it is not altogether clear what relief Mr. Lynd sought in his January 25, 2013 Motion for Reconsideration of Claim, or what relief he seeks in this appeal. If he is requesting reconsideration of the 2010 Order denying his request to pay his “restitution” claim immediately, this appeal is out of time and we lack jurisdiction to review it.
The gist of Mr. Lynd’s appeal is that he wants the Bankruptcy Court to enter an Order simply requiring that his “restitution” claim be paid from some source. Mr. Lynd asserts that the purported debt owed to him is not a “claim” to be “included” in this bankruptcy at all because it is for “restitution.”
As the Trustee correctly points out, “[t]he limited purpose of a corporate Chapter 7 bankruptcy case is the fair and or
ACCORDINGLY, because the Bankruptcy Court could not grant Mr. Lynd the relief he requested, the Bankruptcy Court’s Order denying Mr. Lynd’s Motion for Reconsideration of Claim is AFFIRMED.
. The Honorable Dennis D. O’Brien, United States Bankruptcy Judge for the District of Minnesota.
. Rule 3008 provides, in relevant part: "A party in interest may move for reconsideration of an order allowing or disallowing a claim against the estate.” Fed. R. Bankr.P. 3008.
. Lange v. Mutual of Omaha Bank (In re Negus-Sons, Inc.), 460 B.R. 754, 755 (8th Cir. BAP 2011).
. Fed. R. Bankr.P. 8002(a) ("The notice of appeal shall be filed with the clerk within 14 days of the date of the entry of the judgment, order, or decree appealed from."); Veltman v. Whetzal, 93 F.3d 517, 520-21 (8th Cir. 1996) ("In general, failure to file a timely notice of appeal from a bankruptcy court’s order deprives the [appellate] court of jurisdiction to review that order.”).
.Mr. Lynd does not specify any basis for his "restitution” claim, so his argument is particularly difficult to discern.
. Pennsylvania Dept. of Public Welfare v. Davenport, 495 U.S. 552, 558-60, 110 S.Ct. 2126, 109 L.Ed.2d 588 (1990) (holding that a restitution order is a "debt,” which is coextensive with "claim.”).
. See, e.g., 11 U.S.C. § 1328(a)(3). Corporations, in contrast, are not granted a Chapter 7 discharge under the Bankruptcy Code and since the Debtors here are corporations, they will not receive discharges upon completion of the Chapter 7 cases.
. See In re Lang, 398 B.R. 1, 4 (Bankr.N.D.Iowa 2008) (citation omitted).
Reference
- Full Case Name
- In re GENMAR HOLDINGS, INC., Debtor. David Scot Lynd, Claimant-Appellant v. Charles W. Ries, Trustee-Appellee
- Status
- Published