Opinion
Case No. 13-22713-BKC-AJC Adv. No. 14-1574-BKC-AJC-A
04-28-2017
In re: IBES GOMEZ, Debtor. MARIA YIP, as Trustee for the estate of IBES GOMEZ, Plaintiff, v. CONNEDX CORPORATION and LISA M. MADALON, Defendants.
Submitted by: Paul Steven Singerman singerman@bergersingerman.com BERGER SINGERMAN LLP 1450 Brickell Avenue, Suite 1900 Miami, FL 33131 Telephone: (305) 755-9500 Facsimile: (305) 714-4340 (Attorney Singerman is directed to serve copies of this Order upon all interested parties and file a Certificate of Service with the Court).
Chapter 7 AGREED ORDER GRANTING IN PART PLAINTIFF'S MOTION FOR RELIEF FROM ORDER AND JUDGMENTS
THIS CAUSE came before the Court without a hearing on the motion of Plaintiff, Maria Yip, as Trustee for the estate of Ibes Gomez, for relief [ECF No. 101] pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b) from the (1) Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law [ECF No. 92] ("Findings of Fact") entered by this Court on November 11, 2016, and available at 560 B.R. 866 (Bankr. S.D.Fla. 2016); (2) Judgment in an Adversary Action as to the Second Count of the Amended Complaint Against Lisa M. Madalon [ECF No. 93] (the "Madalon Judgment"); and (3) Judgment in Adversary Action as to All Counts of the Amended Complaint against Connedx Corp. [ECF No. 94] (the "Connedx Judgment"), both entered by this Court on November 14, 2016. After review of the Motion, the parties' recent filings on the docket, and being otherwise fully advised, it is
ORDERED AND ADJUDGED that:
1. The Motion is DENIED as to the Madalon Judgment and the Connedx Judgment.The language on page 15 of the Findings of Fact [ECF No. 92], available at 560 B.R. at 875, which states that the Trustee's direct testimony "is inaccurate, misleading and full of misstatements" is STRICKEN. The Court reiterates its findings from its Order Directing Filing of Responses:
2. The Motion is GRANTED as to the Findings of Fact, and the Findings of Fact are AMENDED and MODIFIED as follows:
. . . [T]he Court did not intend for its order or judgments to impugn or otherwise question the integrity of the Trustee. Ms. Yip has been a panel trustee for over 5 years and has administered over 5,000 cases. The Court believes this Trustee is clearly a competent trustee, but prosecuting this case was a mistake in judgment. When the Court stated the Trustee's testimony was "misleading", it did not and does not believe the Trustee intended to mislead the Court; the testimony was misleading because it was rooted in the mistaken impression that the Debtor, including his Schedules and other documents, were at all reliable. They were not. . . .
[ECF No. 106].
3. The Court is impressed with the integrity and concern of Trustee Maria Yip in making the intense effort to correct a mistake in judgment and going far beyond her statutory duty to ameliorate the impact caused by a judgmental error.
4. All pending motions are DENIED as moot. [TAGGED] ORDERED in the Southern District of Florida on April 28, 2017.
/s/ _________
A. Jay Cristol, Judge
United States Bankruptcy Court
# # #
Submitted by: Paul Steven Singerman
singerman@bergersingerman.com
BERGER SINGERMAN LLP
1450 Brickell Avenue, Suite 1900
Miami, FL 33131
Telephone: (305) 755-9500
Facsimile: (305) 714-4340 (Attorney Singerman is directed to serve copies of this Order upon all interested parties and file a Certificate of Service with the Court).