- Citation:
- Stevenson v. Haddad, Case No. 12-1840 (6th Cir. Jun. 26, 2013) (per curiam)
- Tag(s):
-
- Ruling:
- A chapter 7 debtor's concealment of assets does not estop the bankruptcy trustee from bringing claims on behalf of the bankruptcy estate.
- Procedural context:
- District court dismissed plaintiffs' claims with prejudice. The Sixth Circuit vacated and remanded the district court's decision.
- Facts:
- The debtor, his chapter 7 Trustee, and three other professional corporations ("plaintiffs") filed a lawsuit against a competitor for publishing false and misleading advertisements about their business. The district court dismissed all of the plaintiffs' claims with prejudice.
The district court held the plaintiffs' claims were barred under a judicial estoppel-of-all-claims-by-all-parties theory. The Sixth Circuit stated that the district court's ruling could not stand in light of Stephenson v. Malloy, 700 F.3d 265, 272 (6th Cir. 2012). The Sixth Circuit noted that a debtor's concealment of assets does not estop the bankruptcy trustee from bringing claims on behalf of the bankruptcy estate. The Sixth Circuit vacated the district court's decision and remanded the case to permit individualized consideration of the Trustee's claims.
- Judge(s):
- Martin and Cook, Circuit Judges; Graham, District Judge sitting by designation
ABI Membership is required to access the full summary. Please Sign In using your ABI Member credentials. Not a Member yet? Join ABI now - it is absolutely worth it!
