U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, 2026

Okorie v. Lentz

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit · Decided July 9, 2026

Opinion

Case: 26-60217 Document: 32-1 Page: 1 Date Filed: 07/09/2026

United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ____________ United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit No. 26-60217 Summary Calendar FILED July 9, 2026 ____________ Lyle W. Cayce In the Matter of Ikechukwu H. Okorie, Clerk Debtor, Ikechukwu H. Okorie, Appellant, versus Kimberly R. Lentz, Appellee. ______________________________ Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi USDC No. 2:25-CV-143 ______________________________ Before Higginbotham, Engelhardt, and Ramirez, Circuit Judges.

Per Curiam:*

Case: 26-60217 Document: 32-1 Page: 2 Date Filed: 07/09/2026

No. 26-60217

Ikechukwu Okorie, the debtor in a bankruptcy case, sought leave to file Barton motions1 and to file the bankruptcy trustee’s surety bond under seal. The bankruptcy court denied these requests. The district court affirmed, and Okorie appeals the district court’s judgment pro se.

Having carefully examined the briefs, the record, and the applicable law, we AFFIRM for the reasons stated by the district court. See 5th Cir. R. 47.6.

* This opinion is not designated for publication. See 5th Cir. R. 47.5. 1 See Barton v. Barbour, 104 U.S. 126, 128 (1881) (holding that “before suit is brought against a receiver leave of the court by which he was appointed must be obtained”); Villegas v. Schmidt, 788 F.3d 156, 158 (5th Cir. 2015) (applying this principle to bankruptcy trustees). Okorie’s Barton motions sought permission to file four state court lawsuits against the bankruptcy trustee and various third parties acting on her behalf.

Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.