Opinion
21-2136
02-22-2023
MICHAEL W. DECKER, Debtor - Appellant, v. WILLIAM E. CALLAHAN, JR., Trustee - Appellee. and WINCHESTER ACCOUNTING, LLC, Defendant-Appellant,
James P. Campbell, Matthew L. Clark, CAMPBELL FLANNERY, P.C., Leesburg, Virginia, for Appellants. Monica Taylor Monday, William E. Callahan, Jr., David R. Berry, GENTRY LOCKE, Roanoke, Virginia, for Appellee.
UNPUBLISHED
Submitted: January 26, 2023
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia, at Harrisonburg. Elizabeth Kay Dillon, District Judge. (5:20-cv-00071-EKD)
ON BRIEF:
James P. Campbell, Matthew L. Clark, CAMPBELL FLANNERY, P.C., Leesburg, Virginia, for Appellants.
Monica Taylor Monday, William E. Callahan, Jr., David R. Berry, GENTRY LOCKE, Roanoke, Virginia, for Appellee.
Before AGEE, RICHARDSON, and HEYTENS, Circuit Judges.
Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
PER CURIAM
Michael W. Decker and Winchester Accounting, LLC, appeal the district court's order affirming the bankruptcy court's ruling in favor of the trustee on the parties' cross motions for summary judgment and avoiding transfers of property of the bankruptcy estate to Decker. They contend that the bankruptcy court erred by failing to consider operating expenses in determining that the postpetition transfers were from prepetition profits, that the bankruptcy court erred in its application of the summary judgment standard, and that the district court incorrectly applied the earnings exception of 11 U.S.C. § 541(a)(6).
"In reviewing the judgment of a district court sitting in review of a bankruptcy court, we apply the same standard of review that was applied by the district court." Copley v. United States, 959 F.3d 118, 121 (4th Cir. 2020). Thus, "we review the bankruptcy court's legal conclusions de novo, its factual findings for clear error, and any discretionary decisions for abuse of discretion." Id. With these standards in mind, we have reviewed the record submitted on appeal and the arguments of the parties and find no reversible error. Accordingly, we affirm for the reasons stated by the district court. Decker v. Scott, No. 5:20-cv-00071-EKD (W.D. Va. Sept. 14, 2021).[*] We dispense with oral argument because the facts and legal contentions are adequately presented in the materials before this court and argument would not aid the decisional process.
AFFIRMED
[*] While this appeal was pending, W. Stephen Scott, who served as the Chapter 7 Trustee in these proceedings, resigned. William E. Callahan, Jr., is the new Chapter 7 Trustee and has been substituted in this case as the Appellee.