Opinion
Case No. 03-10271.
December 23, 2010
ORDER DENYING MOTION TO REOPEN
The Debtors seek to reopen their Chapter 7 case to avoid a lien of Chase Manhattan Bank. For the reasons which follow, the motion is denied.
11 U.S.C. § 350(b) permits a case to be reopened "to administer assets, to accord relief to the debtor, or for other causes." The issue of whether a case is to be reopened "is one addressed to the sound discretion of the court, guided by the statute and equitable considerations." In re Garrett, 266 B.R. 910, 912 (Bankr. S. D. Ga. 2001). Motions to reopen generally involve a weighing of competing policy considerations: "the bankruptcy policy of providing a deserving debtor with a fresh start; and the bankruptcy policy of providing, in an expedient manner, `finality' to those disputes which arise between debtors and creditors." In re Kapsin, 265 B.R. 778, 780 (Bankr. N. D. Ohio 2001).
Motions to reopen which are not timely made should be denied. For example, in the case of Matter of Caicedo, 159 B.R. 104, 105-6 (Bankr. D. Conn. 1993), the court held that avoiding a lien is good cause to reopen, but that a motion to reopen after 8 years was untimely.
In this case, the Debtors filed their no-asset case in early 2003. Their statement of financial affairs states that Chase Manhattan Bank had sued the Debtors, obtained a judgment, and filed a lien in the Somerset County Registry of Deeds. The case was closed in May of 2003 without any action to address the Chase lien. They seek to reopen the case more than seven and one half years later. Their motion is untimely. I therefore exercise my discretion and DENY the Debtors' motion to reopen.
SO ORDERED.
Notice Recipients
Recipients of Notice of Electronic Filing: Recipients submitted to the BNC (Bankruptcy Noticing Center):
District/Off: 0100-1 User: mwithee Date Created: 12/23/2010 Case: 03-10271 Form ID: pdf900 Total: 7 tr P.J. Perrino, Jr. pjperrino@myfairpoint.net ust Office of U.S. Trustee ustpregion01.po.ecf@usdoj.gov aty Rebecca A. Cayford, Esq. cayfordlaw@myfairpoint.net TOTAL: 3 db James G. Rea 31 Main St. Skowhegan, ME 04976 db Audrey A. Rea 31 Main St. Skowhegan, ME 04976 aty Charles H. Veilleux, Esq. 20 Cross Street P.O. Box 568 Skowhegan, ME 04976 smg State of Maine Bureau of Revenue Services Bankruptcy Unit P.O. Box 9101 Augusta, ME 04333-9113 TOTAL: 4