Gordon & Rees Partner Ronald G. Neiwirth, with assistance from Associate Christopher Noel, recently won affirmance in consolidated appeals from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, which reached the 11th Circuit. An alleged corporate Creditor of the Debtors, in order to avoid the expense of legal counsel, had assigned its purported claims to its principal owner and officer, who obstinately pursued every means possible to interfere with the Debtor’s bankruptcy case, and to assert a bogus mechanic’s lien against their homestead.
The Gordon & Rees attorneys moved to strike the Creditor’s pleadings in the main case, and filed a complaint in the Bankruptcy Court to determine that the alleged lien was invalid.
The Bankruptcy Court struck all of the alleged Creditor’s pleadings, both in the main case and the adversary proceeding, for lack of standing; holding that he could not avoid the requirement that corporate entities must be represented by counsel, by the expedient of assigning the corporate claim to himself.
The U.S. District Court affirmed the rulings. On further appeal, the 11th Circuit affirmed the final judgment invalidating Creditor’s alleged mechanic’s liens, as well. It remanded for further proceedings as to the Creditor’s pleadings in the main case. There, the Debtors had long since obtained their discharges and the assets had been fully administered, so that the Creditor pragmatically has nothing left to argue about.
The clients were very pleased.