Scranton Laminated Labels, Inc. v. Florimonte (In re Florimonte)
Scranton Laminated Labels, Inc. v. Florimonte (In re Florimonte)
Opinion of the Court
Scranton Laminated Labels, Inc., Scranton Label, and Edmund J. Carr (collectively, "Plaintiffs") filed a two-count Amended Adversary Complaint ("Amended Complaint") averring non-dischargeability of their claim pursuant to
I. Jurisdiction
This Court has jurisdiction over this matter pursuant to
II. Facts and Procedural History
On June 3, 2015, Defendant filed her Chapter 7 voluntary bankruptcy petition (5:15-bk-02377-RNO). On September 8, 2015, Plaintiffs initiated this Adversary Proceeding (5:15-ap-00144-RNO) by filing a five-count Adversary Complaint ("Complaint"). The Complaint sought non-dischargeability of Plaintiffs' claim pursuant to § 523(a)(6), objected to Defendant's discharge citing various subsections of § 727(a), and requested attorney's fees and costs incurred in bringing the Complaint. On September 25, 2015, Defendant filed a Motion to Dismiss ("First Motion to Dismiss") the Complaint pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6).
On October 13, 2016, after both Plaintiffs and Defendant filed briefs, a hearing was held on the First Motion to Dismiss. On October 21, 2016, I entered my Opinion and Judgment ("October 21 Opinion") which denied Defendant's First Motion to Dismiss as to Plaintiffs' Count I § 523(a)(6) claim. In re Florimonte ,
*501On November 11, 2016, Plaintiffs filed a two-count Amended Complaint which included their original Count I § 523(a)(6) claim as well as a more specific Count II claim under § 727(a)(4)(A). On December 8, 2016, Defendant filed another motion to dismiss which she superseded on December 20, 2016, by filing her Second Motion to Dismiss pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6). On January 4, 2017, this Adversary Proceeding and Defendant's main Chapter 7 bankruptcy case were reassigned to the Honorable John J. Thomas in the interests of judicial economy.
After both Plaintiffs and Defendant again filed briefs, Judge Thomas denied Defendant's Second Motion to Dismiss, holding that Plaintiffs' Count II claim was supported by sufficient allegations. Additionally, Judge Thomas directed Defendant to file, by March 9, 2017, an answer to Count II of the Amended Complaint. On February 28, 2017, Defendant filed her Amended Count II Answer.
On January 29, 2019, Defendant's counsel, Thomas J. Jones, Esquire, filed a Motion to Withdraw ("Motion to Withdraw") at the request of Defendant. Subsequently, a hearing on the Motion to Withdraw was scheduled for February 5, 2019. Before this hearing could be held, Defendant, now in her own pro se capacity, filed her Pro Se Motion to Dismiss on January 30, 2019. At the February 5, 2019 hearing, Judge Thomas denied the Motion to Withdraw and directed Plaintiffs to file a response to the Pro Se Motion to Dismiss within seven days. On February 12, 2019, Plaintiffs filed an Answer & Motion to Strike the Pro Se Motion to Dismiss.
On February 13, 2019, due to the untimely passing of Judge John J. Thomas, the case was reassigned to me. After reviewing the docket, I find that Defendant's Pro Se Motion to Dismiss is ripe for decision.
III. Discussion
A. Review of Pro Se Pleadings
The pleadings of pro se litigants are construed liberally. Alston v. Parker ,
B. Motion to Dismiss Pursuant to
Defendant's Pro Se Motion to Dismiss requests I dismiss Plaintiffs' Amended Complaint for alleged fraud pursuant to
A person who-
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(4) knowingly and fraudulently presents any false claim for proof against the estate of a debtor, or uses any such claim in any case under title 11, in a personal capacity or as or through an agent, proxy, or attorney;
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shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 5 years, or both.
*502To be criminally liable under
Since I am reviewing Defendant's Pro Se Motion to Dismiss under a more relaxed standard, I will re-characterize the remainder of it as a motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6) and subsequently a motion for judgment on the pleadings under Rule 12(c).
C. Motion to Dismiss for Failure to State a Claim Pursuant to Federal Rule of Bankruptcy Procedure 7012(b)(6) and Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings Pursuant to Federal Rule of Bankruptcy Procedure 7012(c)
Federal Rule of Bankruptcy Procedure 7012(b) makes Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)-(i) applicable to bankruptcy adversary proceedings. Rule 12(b)(6) requires dismissal of a complaint which fails to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. In re Trokie ,
Under Rule 12(b) generally, a party must make a Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss before they file an answer. Neff v. Cty. of Erie, New York ,
Here, Defendant filed her Pro Se Motion to Dismiss the Amended Complaint on January 30, 2019. Mot. to Dismiss, ECF No. 76. However, Defendant filed her Second Motion to Dismiss (ECF No. 42), which contained her Amended Answer to Count I of the Amended Complaint, on December 20, 2016, and filed her Amended Answer to Count II of the Amended Complaint (ECF No. 50) on February 28, 2017. Therefore, Defendant's Pro Se Motion to Dismiss was untimely because it was filed after she filed her answers to Counts I and II of the Amended Complaint. However, as stated above, when a post-answer Rule 12(b)(6) motion is filed, a court may treat such a motion as a Rule 12(c) motion. Trustees of Univ. of Pennsylvania v. Mayflower Transit, Inc. ,
*503see also Aldabe v. Aldabe ,
While a motion for judgment on the pleadings pursuant to Rule 12(c) has its own standard of review, I find that such an analysis is unnecessary pursuant to the law of the case doctrine.
D. Law of the Case Doctrine
The law of the case doctrine bars a court from reconsidering matters actually decided. St. Thomas-St. John Hotel & Tourism Ass'n. Inc. v. U.S.,
Chase Bank USA N.A. v. Hess is a case which involved, amongst other motions by other defendants, a motion to dismiss by defendant Laura Hess for lack of personal jurisdiction, res judicata , and improper venue.
Additionally, because I am re-characterizing Defendant's Pro Se Motion to Dismiss as a motion for judgment on the pleadings under Rule 12(c), I need to consider whether Judge Thomas's and my earlier Rule 12(b)(6) rulings may be applied as law of the case under Rule 12(c).
In Alexander v. City of Greensboro , the plaintiffs argued that the defendant's motion for judgment on the pleadings pursuant to Rule 12(c) should be summarily denied under Rule 12(g)(2) and Rule 12(h)(2) or (3) because the defenses behind the Rule 12(c) motion were available to be raised under defendant's previously brought Rule 12(b) motions.
In the case at hand, Count I in the Amended Complaint is substantively identical to Count I in the original Complaint. Compare Compl. 5-6, ECF No. 1 with Am. Compl. 6, ECF No. 39. Additionally, I find that Defendant's Pro Se Motion to Dismiss *504does not affect my prior findings as to the plausibility of Count I in the Amended Complaint. Therefore, my October 21 Opinion denying the First Motion to Dismiss as to Count I of the original Complaint is the law of the case, and I will deny Defendant's Pro Se Motion to Dismiss as to Count I of the Amended Complaint.
Count II in the Amended Complaint was originally Count III in the original Complaint. Compare Compl. 6-7, ECF No. 1 with Am. Compl. 6-10, ECF No. 39. Even though I granted Defendant's First Motion to Dismiss as to Count III of the original Complaint in my October 21 Opinion, Op. 9-10, ECF No. 37, Judge Thomas entered an order which denied Defendant's Second Motion to Dismiss as to Count II of the Amended Complaint because Count II of the Amended Complaint stated a claim which was supported by sufficient allegations, Order 2, ECF No. 48. I also conclude that, under the law of the case doctrine, the Pro Se Motion to Dismiss does not affect the sufficiency of the allegations in Count II of the Amended Complaint.
As mentioned above, courts do have the discretion to revisit prior decisions of its own or of a coordinate court. Christianson ,
After reviewing the Defendant's Pro Se Motion to Dismiss, I find that the only applicable exception to the law of the case doctrine here would be the first exception which relates to Judge Thomas's denial of the Second Motion to Dismiss as to Count II of the Amended Complaint. However, because I have discretion in revisiting prior decisions and because I have reviewed and agree with Judge Thomas's ruling, I consciously refrain from doing so.
IV. Conclusion
Defendant's Pro Se Motion to Dismiss as to Counts I and II of the Amended Complaint is denied, with prejudice. The denial is with prejudice because consideration of any further motion to dismiss would contravene the law of the case doctrine.
Drafted with the assistance of Timothy R. Powell, Esquire, Law Clerk.
Unless otherwise noted, all future statutory references are to the Bankruptcy Code,
Reference
- Full Case Name
- IN RE: Carolyn J. FLORIMONTE, Debtor(s) Scranton Laminated Labels, Inc., Scranton Label, and Edmund J. Carr, Plaintiff(s) v. Carolyn J. Florimonte, Defendant(s)
- Cited By
- 1 case
- Status
- Published