Supreme Court Report

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Curtland H. Caffey, et al. v. Brenda K. Bowers, Chapter 7 Trustee

Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, No. 18-3301 · judgment February 22, 2019

Certiorari denied · October 7, 2019
Pre-decision estimate: 5% cert probability (95% interval 3%–8%)

Before the decision, modestly above the 4.1% base rate. The model weighted this up for a circuit split argued in the petition, a petition filed soon after the judgment below, and a Sixth Circuit decision below.

Questions presented

  1. Whether a state RICO action for injuries to a Chapter 7 debtor that arises five years after the filing of the Chapter 7 petition is property of the bankruptcy estate?

  2. Whether a reasonable good faith belief that a cause of action is not property of a bankruptcy estate is a defense for violation of the automatic stay 11 U.S.C. § 362(a).

Counsel of record

For petitioner
Robert Clagett Sanders
Law Office of Robert C. Sanders

For respondent
Daniel Edgar Shuey
Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease LLP

Case

Subject area
Economic Activity (estimated from the questions presented, in the Supreme Court Database’s categories)

Conference history
Distributed for 1 conference

Order
Order list, October 7, 2019 · Certiorari denied

Proceedings

  1. Oct 07 2019
    Petition DENIED.
  2. Jul 17 2019
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 10/1/2019.
  3. Jul 09 2019
    Reply of petitioners Curtland H. Caffey, et al. filed.
  4. Jun 28 2019
    Brief of respondent Brenda Bowers, Chapter 7 Trustee in opposition filed.
  5. May 23 2019
    Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due June 28, 2019)