Deitz v. Ford ( In re Dietz)

Summarized by Thomas Phinney , Felderstein Fitzgerald Willoughby Pascuzzi & Rios LLP
11 years 7 months ago

Citation:

9th Cir. No. 12-60036 (July 28, 2014) (for publication)

Tag(s):

Ruling:

Adopting in full the BAP opinion, In re Deitz,469 B.R. 11 (B.A.P. 9th Cir. 2012), the 9th Cir. affirmed the judgment of the bankruptcy court excepting debt from discharge pursuant to Section 523 (a)(2), (4), and (6), and awarding money damages. The 9th Circuit agreed that, even after Stern v. Marshall, 131 S. Ct. 2594 (2011), the bankruptcy court had the constitutional authority to enter a final judgment determining both the amount of the claim and determining that the claim was excepted from discharge.

Procedural context:

The bankruptcy court entered judgment against the Debtor following trial in the amount of $386,092, and finding that the debt was nondishargeable pursuant to 11 U.S.C. Section 523(a)(2), (a)(4), and (a)(6). The Debtor appealed to the BAP, which affirmed the bankruptcy court judgment. The Debtor appealed to the 9th Circuit, which affirmed the BAP decision and adopted it in full.

Facts:

The Debtor, while his contractor's license was not in good standing, and based upon false representations, obtained funds from Creditor, a disabled veteran, to build a house that provided accommodations for the Creditor's disabilities. The bankruptcy court found that the Debtor did not provide an accounting of what he did with the borrowed funds and that he did not use the funds to build the house.

Judge(s):

Barry G. Silverman, William A. Fletcher, and Jay S. Bybee, Circuit Judges.

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