Razzaghi v. Aghdasifar

Nevada Supreme Court

Razzaghi v. Aghdasifar

Opinion

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEVADA

BABAK RAZZAGHI AN INDIVIDUAL, No. 75588 Appellant, vs. ED SHIRZAD AGHDASIFAR, AN INDIVIDUAL, JUN 0 6 2018 Respondent. EUZAB E171A. BROWN CLEFUK51 ::‘,.1 . 1 :PREME COURT BY ORDER DISMISSING APPEAL DEPUTY CLERiC

Counsel for appellant has filed a notice indicating that appellant has filed a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Petition in the United States Bankruptcy Court, District of Nevada, Case No. 18-12771-mkn. 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. Consequently, an appeal is automatically stayed if the debtor was the defendant in the underlying trial court action. See Ingersoll-Rand Financial Corp. v. Miller Mining, Co. Inc., 817 F.2d 1424 (9th Cir. 1987). It appears that appellant was the 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 bankruptcy stay—to provide protection for debtors and creditors—we

SUPREME COURT OF NEVADA

(0) 1947A ceks„ ig -21q37 further conclude that such dismissal will not violate the bankruptcy stay.' See Independent Union of Flight Attendants v. Pan American World Airways, Inc., 966 F.2d 457, 459 (9th Cir. 1992) (holding that the automatic stay does not precludeS 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.

Ce-67 Cherry

,07

Parraguirre Stiglich

'The automatic stay provides a debtor "with protection against hungry creditors" and gives it 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 755-6. SUPREME COURT OF NEVADA 2 (0) (947A

Ift 711111 cc: Hon. Richard Scotti, District Judge Robert F. Saint-Aubin, Settlement Judge Reza Athari & Associates, PLLC. Andersen & Broyles, LIT Eighth District Court Clerk

SUPREME COURT OF NEVADA 3 (0) 1947 A e

Reference

Status
Unpublished