IN RE: MARGARET M. JAGER, a/k/a Margaret M. Verhagen, Debtor.
INFIRST BANK, Movant,
v.
MARGARET M. JAGER, a/k/a Margaret M. Verhagen, ROBERT W. JAGER, CO-DEBTOR, and RONDA J. WINNECOUR, CHAPTER 13 TRUSTEE. Respondents.
No. 21-70369-JAD
United States Bankruptcy Court, W.D. Pennsylvania
December 14, 2021
MEMORANDUM OPINION RELATED TO ECF NO. 35
THE HONORABLE JEFFERY A. DELLER UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY JUDGE
The matter before the Court is an Expedited Motion for Relief From Stay filed by InFirst Bank.[1] The Motion for Relief From Stay is a core proceeding over which this Court has the requisite subject-matter jurisdiction to enter final judgment. See 28 U.S.C. §§ 157(b)(1), 157(b)(2)(A), 157(b)(2)(G), 157(b)(2)(O), and
1334(b).
There is no genuine dispute as to the material facts concerning the Motion for Relief From Stay, and the Court takes judicial notice of both the Court's docket and the admissions made by the parties. Oneida Motor Freight, Inc. v. United Jersey Bank (In re Oneida Motor Freight, Inc.), 848 F.2d 414, 416 n. 3 (3rdCir.1988)(the historical record was sufficiently well developed to allow the bankruptcy court to draw the conclusions and inferences necessary to decide the contested matter); Nantucket Investors II v. Cal. Fed. Bank (In re Indian Palms Assoc. Ltd.), 61 F.3d 197, 205 (3rd Cir. 1995)(in a contested matter the bankruptcy court m ay take judicial notice of documents i n the court's file confirming f acts not in genuine dispute; or may take judicial notice to confirm that a specific document was filed, that a party took a certain position, that certain judicial findings were made or that a party made certain admissions).
The gist of the Motion for Relief From Stay is that InFirst Bank contends that it effectively foreclosed upon i ts collateral, consisting of real property located at 1181 Pleasant Valley Road, Woodland, PA (Tax Parcel Nos. 1060-M07-000-00074 and 1060-M07-000-00060)(collectively, the "Property").
The chronology of events is that the instant bankruptcy case was commenced by Margaret M. Jager filing a voluntary petition for relief under chapter 13 of the United States Bankruptcy Code on September 17, 2021. See ECF No. 1.
The bankruptcy filing sub judice is not the first bankruptcy case filed by Mrs. Jager or her husband Robert W. Jager (collectively," Mr. & Mrs. Jager"). The record reflects that Mr. & Mrs. Jager previously filed a bankruptcy case in this District at Case No.18-70541-JAD. This prior bankruptcy case was dismissed with prejudice because the debtors f ailed to remediate environmental issues with respect to the Property, failed to comply with orders of the Court, and failed to propose a feasible and confirmable plan of reorganization. See Jager v. InFirst Bank (In re Jager), 609 B.R. 156 (Bankr. W.D. Pa. 2019).
Parenthetically, the Court further observes that dismissal of the prior case occurred after the Court had granted InFirst Bank relief from the automatic stay so that it may foreclose its lien interest against the Property. See InFirst Bank v. Jager (In re Jager), 597 B.R. 796 (Bankr. W.D. Pa. 2019), appeal dismissed, Civil Action No. 3:19-cv-42, 2019 WL 6616304 (W.D. Pa. 2019).
InFirst Bank thus proceeded to execute on a judgment it had obtained at Case No. 2015-936-CD in the Court of Common Pleas of Clearfield County, Pennsylvania. See Response to the Expedited Motion for Relief From the Automatic Stay and Co-Debtor Stay filed by Debtor Margaret M. Jager, ECF Nos. 49 and 52, at para. 8. Thereafter, and before the filing of the instant bankruptcy case, a sheriff sale of the Property occurred on December 15, 2019, and a sheriff's deed was recorded with the Clearfield County Recorder of Deeds on February 20, 2020 at Instrument No. 202001934, effectively granting title to the Property to InFirst
Bank Id. at para. 9.
Mr. & Mrs. Jager then refused to vacate the Property and ejectment proceedings were filed by InFirst Bank against Mr. & Mrs. Jager in the Court of Common Pleas of Clearfield County, Pennsylvania.
On September 8, 2021, w hich w as nine (9) days before this bankruptcy case was commenced, the state court conducted a trial in the ejectment action. Unbeknownst to both InFirst Bank and the state court, Mrs. Jager filed her chapter 13 bankruptcy case on September 17, 2021, which was before the state court reduced its decision to writing.
Accordingly, without knowledge of the commencement of the bankruptcy case, on September 24, 2021 the state court entered a judgment in favor of InFirst Bank and against Mr. & Mrs. Jager thereby granting possession of the Property to InFirst Bank.
Subsequently, on October 13, 2021, Mrs. Jager's bankruptcy case was dismissed without prejudice for f ailure to file requisite documents as required by the Bankruptcy Code, Rules, and Local Rules of Court. See ECF No. 10.[2]
Following the dismissal, InFirst Bank requested that the state court reissue its judgment for possession, which the state court did on October 26, 2021.
Desiring to continue with this bankruptcy case, Mrs. Jager sought to have this bankruptcy case reinstated by way of letter motion filed on November 15, 2021. See ECF No. 32. Mrs. Jager's motion was provisionally granted on that same date, see ECF No. 33, because Mrs. Jager had partially completed her bankruptcy filing, albeit after the deadlines imposed by the rules and order of the Court. See ECF Nos. 1 and 3 (setting forth deadlines to file the requisite documents). The Court ultimately granted the motion to...
