Opinion
Case No. 3:14-BK-09568
02-05-2015
IN RE: S. THOMAS ANDERSON Debtor.
Chapter 11
MEMORANDUM OPINION
This is an involuntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy filed by an inmate, Andrew Lee Jamison (hereinafter "Petitioner") against S. Thomas Anderson (hereinafter "Judge Anderson"), the United States District Judge who presided over the Petitioner's criminal trial in 2014. The matter is before the Court on Judge Anderson's Motion to Dismiss the Petitioner's involuntary bankruptcy Petition, to which the Petitioner did not respond. The Court heard argument on the Motion to Dismiss on January 20, 2015, in open court.
Having reviewed the filings, the arguments of counsel for Judge Anderson, and the record, the Court enters the following findings of fact and conclusions of law in accordance with Fed. R. Bankr. P. 7052, made applicable by Fed. R. Bankr. P. 9014(c). For the reasons that follow, the Court grants the Motion to Dismiss, and the involuntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy Petition is DISMISSED with prejudice.
JURISDICTION
The bankruptcy court has jurisdiction over this case pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 157 and 1334. The determination of whether an order for relief should be granted in an involuntary case constitutes a core proceeding pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 157(b)(2)(A); see also 11 U.S.C. § 303(h) (directing the bankruptcy court to enter an order of relief if warranted).
FINDINGS OF FACT
The Involuntary Bankruptcy Petition is based on allegations that Judge Anderson was involved in and complicit in "sedition, treason, insurrection, RICO, conspiracy, enticement into fraud, enticement into slavery, [and] all the crimes that are listed in Title 18 U.S.C." The body of the Petition does not state the factual basis for such an allegation against Judge Anderson. The Petitioner's stated complaints against Judge Anderson relate to Judge Anderson's handling of the Petitioner's criminal case. Judge Anderson denies that the Petitioner has any legitimate monetary claim against him. Therefore, the Petitioner's claim to be a creditor is subject to a bona fide dispute as to liability and amount. Indeed, there is no legitimate basis for damages and/or a claim against Judge Anderson.
The Petition has not been joined and filed by three or more entities with liquidated financial claims against Judge Anderson, and the Petition was not filed by any claimholder holding at least $15,325 in undisputed, non-contingent claims.
The Petitioner's conviction or sentence has not been reversed or otherwise invalidated, and the Petitioner's appeal of his criminal conviction is pending in the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. See United States v. Jamison , No. 14-5465 (6th Cir. 2014) (undecided).
The Court finds that this involuntary bankruptcy Petition constitutes vexatious litigation against a federal judicial officer. It is in fact false, frivolous, and likely filed in retaliation for the Petitioner's criminal conviction. In addition, the Petitioner has not paid the required filing fee in the amount of $1717.
CONCLUSIONS OF LAW
There are several reasons why the Petitioner's involuntary bankruptcy should be dismissed.
Initially, the Petitioner did not pay the required filing fee, and a party's failure to pay the filing fee associated with a petition in this Court is grounds for dismissal of the action. See 11 U.S.C. § 1112(b)(4)(K); 28 U.S.C. § 1930(a) (providing for filing fees); In re Clark , No. 13-10762, 2013 WL 3849610, at *2 (E.D. Mich. July 24, 2013) (affirming bankruptcy court's dismissal of debtor's petition for failure to pay the filing fee). The docket shows that after the Clerk sent out the proper bill of costs for the $1717 filing fee, the Petitioner has not paid the fee. Accordingly, the involuntary bankruptcy petition should be dismissed for failure to pay the statutory filing fee.
Second, the involuntary bankruptcy Petition does not show that the Petitioner is entitled to relief. A petition for involuntary bankruptcy is a pleading. See In re Antell , 155 B.R. 921, 930 (Bankr. E.D. Pa. 1992). As a court pleading seeking relief, a petition for involuntary bankruptcy should contain a short and plain statement of the claim factually showing that the pleader is entitled to relief. See generally Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a). In the present case, the Petitioner's allegations, without more, do not constitute a short and plain statement of the claim factually showing that the pleader is entitled to relief. See In re Connecticut Brass & Mfg. Corp ., 257 F. 445, 449 (D. Conn. 1919) (dismissing involuntary petition based on petitioner's failure to plead a statement of facts that would entitle petitioner to an order of relief). Furthermore, inasmuch as Judge Anderson denies that the Petitioner has any legitimate monetary claim against him whatsoever, the Petitioner's claim to be a creditor, is subject to bona fide dispute as to liability and amount. Accordingly, the petition fails under 11 U.S.C. § 303(b)(1) and (2) as a matter of law.
Further, as a matter of law, an involuntary petition must be joined by three or more entities holding claims against the person. 11 U.S.C. § 303(b)(1). This involuntary bankruptcy Petition has not been joined and filed by three or more entities with liquidated financial claims against Judge Anderson. Since the Petition was not joined and filed by three or more entities, each of which holds an undisputed, non-contingent claim against Judge Anderson, the Petition fails as matter of law and must be dismissed. The Petition also fails under 11 U.S.C. § 303(b)(2). From the record, the Court concludes that Judge Anderson has less than twelve entities holding claims against him. Therefore, since the Petition is not filed by any claimholder holding at least $15,325 in undisputed, non-contingent claims, it should be dismissed pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 303(b)(2).
Finally, the Court recognizes that Judge Anderson enjoys absolute legal judicial immunity from Petitioner's complaints arising from his handling of the Petitioner's criminal case. This immunity protects judges in their judicial acts against frivolous lawsuits by criminal defendants, such as here. See generally Barnes v. Winchell , 105 F.3d 1111, 1115 (6th Cir. 1997) (discussing judicial immunity). Clearly, the Petitioner's filing of the involuntary bankruptcy Petition constitutes an attempted improper collateral attack on his criminal conviction and sentence, which have not been reversed or invalidated and which are currently on appeal. Cf. Heck v. Humphrey , 512 U.S. 477, 486-87 (1994). Accordingly, the Court finds that the involuntary bankruptcy Petition should be dismissed as an improper collateral attack on the Petitioner's criminal conviction.
Finally, this involuntary bankruptcy Petition should be dismissed because it constitutes vexatious litigation against a federal judicial officer. Compare In re Loe , No. 07-12045-BKC-RBR, 2007 WL 997581 (Bankr. S.D. Fla. March 29, 2007) (dismissing involuntary bankruptcy petition filed against prosecutor); Porter v. United States (In re United States) , No. 6:06-ap-00082-ABB, 2006 WL 2346467 (Bankr. M.D. Fla. June 1, 2006) (dismissing involuntary bankruptcy petition filed by federal inmates against the United States). In a similar case, In re Davis , 278 B.R. 429, 432 (Bankr. W.D. Mich. 2002), the court dismissed, sua sponte, an involuntary bankruptcy petition filed against a judge and the prosecuting attorney, stating that "the bankruptcy court has a duty to dismiss abusive or manipulative cases and it is proper for the court to act, when extreme circumstances exist, on its own initiative. To delay or do nothing would permit a bad faith filer, in this instance a convicted criminal who wants to harass government officials, to drag inculpable individuals, such as the alleged debtors in this case, through illegal mud."
CONCLUSION
For the foregoing reasons, the Court finds that Judge Anderson's Motion to Dismiss should be granted. An appropriate Order will be entered.
/s/
Marian F. Harrison
US Bankruptcy Judge
Dated: 2/5/2015
[This Memorandum Opinion was signed and entered electronically
as indicated at the top of the first page.]
This Order has been electronically signed. The Judge's signature and Court's seal appear at the top of the first page.
United States Bankruptcy Court.