Steffen v. Menchise (In re Steffen)

Summarized by Kathleen DiSanto , Bush Ross, PA
13 years 2 months ago

Citation:

Steffen v. Menchise (In re Steffen), Case No. 11-15757 (11th Cir. Dec. 11, 2012) (unpublished) (per curiam)

Tag(s):

Ruling:

AFFIRMING the district court and the bankruptcy court, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals held that the order dismissing the debtor's chapter 7 case conditioned upon the satisfaction of certain requirements was not a final order subject to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b) and was reviewable by the bankruptcy court at any time.

Procedural context:

Terri L. Steffen ("Steffen" or the "Debtor") appealed from the final order of the district court affirming the bankrutpcy court's order granting the chapter 7 trustee's (the "Trustee") second motion for reconsideration of the bankrutpcy court's prior order dismissing the case.

Facts:

Steffen sought relief under chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code in May 2001, and over six years later, the case was converted to one under chapter 7. In December 2008, Steffen moved to dismiss the chapter 7 case, or alternatively, to re-convert the case to one under chapter 11, which was denied by the bankruptcy court. Steffen subsequently renewed her motion to dismiss, which was ultimately granted by the bankruptcy court, but was subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions, including (i) prohibiting the Debtor from re-filing a bankruptcy case for a period of two years from the date of dismissal, (ii) distributing funds held by the chapter 7 trustee, and (iii) the dismissal of all appeals pending in the district court, the Eleventh Circuit, or any other appellate court. The Trustee sought reconsideration of the order dismissing Steffen's case (the "Dismissal Order"), which was denied by the bankruptcy court. The Trustee filed a second request for reconsideration of the Dismissal Order based on a state court action alleging concealment and fraud in Steffen's bankruptcy case and which was filed against Steffen by her former counsel. The bankrupcy court granted the Trustee's second motion for reconsideration, vacated the Dismissal Order, and denied Steffen's motion to dismiss. In finding that the Dismissal Order was not a final order, the Eleventh Circuit indicated that the fact that the Trustee had not yet proposed or made distributions evidenced the unfinished state of Steffen's bankruptcy case.

Judge(s):

Hull, Marcus, and Martin, Circuit Judges

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