Goldstein v. Diamond (In re Diamond)
- Citation:
- Goldstein v. Diamond (In re Diamond), Case No. 14-6001 (B.A.P. 8th Cir. Apr. 22, 2014)
- Tag(s):
-
- Ruling:
- A plaintiff filing a complaint objecting to discharge under 11 U.S.C. Sec. 523(a)(3)(B) is not required to move to reopen the underlying bankruptcy case. A bankruptcy court's jurisdiction arises from 28 U.S.C. Sec. 1334 and does not terminate simply because a bankruptcy case is closed.
- Procedural context:
- Adversary plaintiff appealed an order from the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Missouri refusing to docket a complaint objecting to discharge under section 523(a)(3)(B) of the Bankruptcy Code because the underlying bankruptcy case was not reopened. Legal conclusions were reviewed de novo by the bankruptcy appellate panel.
- Facts:
- Plaintiff moved to extend the time to object to the discharge of debt in bankruptcy court prior to the requisite deadline. The bankruptcy court interpreted the motion as a motion to stay proceedings in the bankruptcy case, and the motion was denied. Subsequently, the debtor received a chapter 7 discharge and the bankruptcy case was closed. Plaintiff then moved to extend time to appeal the bankruptcy court's order, which was denied. Plaintiff filed a dischargeability complaint in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, which was transferred to the Eastern District of Missouri and then to the bankruptcy court for the Eastern District of Missouri. The bankruptcy court refused to docket the complaint because the plaintiff did not move to reopen the underlying bankruptcy case. The appeal followed. Because a bankruptcy court has jurisdiction to determine if a debt is dischargeable, and because an adversary proceeding is a separately docketed matter, a court cannot refuse for ministerial reasons to docket a complaint to determine the dischargeability of a debt under section 523(a)(3)(B).
- Judge(s):
- Federman, Kressel, and Saladino
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