Opinion
CIVIL ACTION No. 19-10068 SECTION I
05-31-2019
IN RE: HOWELL
ORDER & REASONS
Before the Court is an appeal filed by John LaMartina Howell and Elise LaMartina (collectively, the "appellants") from a judgment issued by the United States Bankruptcy Court. The bankruptcy court dismissed the appellants' complaint and permanently enjoined them from litigating certain issues in any court except the bankruptcy court.
R. Doc. No. 1.
See R. Doc. No. 3-1, at 246. On June 13, 2018, after a hearing on the two motions to dismiss filed by the defendant-appellees, the bankruptcy court issued its judgment. On appeal, this Court remanded the matter to the bankruptcy court to allow the bankruptcy court to issue an amended order and reasons explaining its dismissal of the plaintiff-appellants' complaint. The bankruptcy court issued its amended judgment on April 11, 2019, and the appellants timely appealed. --------
This Court's jurisdiction to review the bankruptcy court's judgment derives from 28 U.S.C. § 158(a)(1). "[C]onclusions of law are reviewed de novo, findings of fact are reviewed for clear error, and mixed questions of fact and law are reviewed de novo." In re Nat'l Gypsum Co., 208 F.3d 498, 504 (5th Cir. 2000). Having reviewed the record in this matter, the bankruptcy court's amended judgment, the parties' briefing, and the applicable law, the Court concludes that the bankruptcy court's factual findings are "plausible in light of the record read as a whole," In re Ramba, Inc., 416 F.3d 394, 402 (5th Cir. 2005), and that its application of the law to the facts is correct: pursuant to both the Rooker-Feldman and Barton doctrines, the appellants' complaint was rightfully dismissed and the permanent injunction is warranted.
Accordingly,
IT IS ORDERED that the bankruptcy court's opinion is ADOPTED as this Court's own opinion, and its decision dismissing the complaint and issuing the permanent injunction is AFFIRMED.
New Orleans, Louisiana, May 31, 2019.
/s/ _________
LANCE M. AFRICK
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE