In re Koshkalda
- Summarized by Lars Fuller , BakerHostetler
- 4 years 8 months ago
- Case Type:
- Business
- Case Status:
- Dismissed
- Citation:
- BAP No. NC-19-1234-BTaF (9th Circuit, Apr 14,2020) Not Published
- Tag(s):
-
- Ruling:
- BAP for 9th Circuit dismissed appeal of chapter 7 debtor who objected to trustee's settlement with creditors. Debtor lacked standing to appeal the order approving settlement. Bankruptcy court properly applied balancing test to determine that settlement was fair, equitable, and in best interest of estate. Debtor lacked standing because he failed to demonstrate that he was pecuniarily affected by the settlement. There was unlikely to be a surplus in estate and non-dischargeable claim against debtor did not affect analysis.
- Procedural context:
- Bankruptcy court (ND Cal.) approved chapter 7 trustee's motion to approve compromise over objection of debtor. Debtor appealed to BAP for 9th Circuit.
- Facts:
- In late 2016, creditor ("Arch") extended seven "fix and flip" loans to debtor (Koshkalda) totaling approximately $3,685,000, secured by deeds of trust on seven real properties. Koshkalda defaulted, and Arch commenced foreclosure proceedings. Koshkalda filed chapter 11 bankruptcy. In amended schedules, he scheduled claims against against Arch. Koshkalda's case converted to chapter 7. Debtor filed a motion seeking to compel the trustee to abandon the Arch claims. Trustee opposed, seeking to liquidate the claim. The trustee also objected to Arch's secured claim. The trustee filed a motion seeking to approve a settlement with Arch that included Arch's withdrawal of its proof of claim, the estate's retention of approximately $30k in cash collateral, and release of the estate's claim against Arch. The debtor opposed the settlement.
- Judge(s):
- Brand, Taylor, Faris
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