In re Hunt
| Decision Date | 15 December 2008 |
| Docket Number | No. 07-3297.,07-3297. |
| Parties | In re Bobbi J. HUNT, a/k/a Bobbi J. Rupp; David A. Hunt, Jr., Debtors. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., doing business as Wells Fargo Auto Finance, Appellant, v. William H. Griffin; Bobbi J. Hunt, aka Bobbi J. Rupp; David A. Hunt, Jr., Appellees. American Financial Services Association; National Automobile Dealers Association; Kansas Bankers Association; Ford Motor Credit Company, LLC; Ingrid M. Hillinger; Michael Hillinger; Adam J. Sevitin; Michaela M. White; Jean Braucher, Amici Curiae. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Tenth Circuit |
David G. Epstein, Haynes & Boone, LLP, Dallas, TX, (Jill D. Olsen and Michael P. Gaughan, South & Associates, P.C., Overland Park, KS, with him on the briefs) for Appellant.
Kenneth M. Gay, Lenexa, KS, for Appellees.
Thomas J. Lasater and Lyndon W. Vix, Fleeson, Gooing, Coulson & Kitch, L.L.C., Wichita, KS, and James J. White, Ann Arbor, Michigan, filed an amici curiae brief for American Financial Services Association and National Automobile Dealers Association.
Patricia E. Hamilton, Henson, Clark, Hutton, Mudrick & Gragson, LLP, Topeka, KS, filed an amici curiae brief for Kansas Bankers Association.
William M. Burke, Costa Mesa, CA, and Charles R. Hay, Foulston Siefkin, LLP, Topeka, KS, filed an amici curiae brief for Ford Motor Credit Company, LLC.
Elaine M. Dowling, Oklahoma City, OK filed an amici curiae brief for Professors Ingrid M. Hillinger, Michael Hillinger, Adam J. Levitin, Michaela M. White, and Jean Braucher.
Before McCONNELL, SEYMOUR, and HOLMES, Circuit Judges.
On September 23, 2008, the Debtors-Appellees (the "Hunts") converted their underlying bankruptcy case from a proceeding under Chapter 13 to one under Chapter 7, in part because their 2005 Ford Freestar was totaled in an accident. The Hunts now have filed a motion to dismiss the appeal as moot. We conclude that the case is indeed moot due to the Hunts' conversion of their case to a different bankruptcy code chapter. See In re J.B. Lovell Corp., 876 F.2d 96, 99 (11th Cir. 1989) ( ); cf. In Re Roller, 999 F.2d 346, 347 (8th Cir.1993) ( ).
Wells Fargo argues that this appeal falls under an exception to the mootness doctrine, in that it presents a question that is capable of repetition, yet evading review. Under this exception, two conditions must be satisfied: (1) the challenged action must be in its duration too brief to be fully litigated before its cessation or expiration, and (2) there must be a reasonable expectation that the same complaining party will be subjected to the action again. Fischbach v. N.M. Activities Ass'n, 38 F.3d 1159, 1161 (10th Cir.1994).
Wells Fargo's arguments primarily focus on the first condition, stressing the allegedly large number of cases currently pending in the Kansas bankruptcy court involving the negative-equity issue of 11 U.S.C. § 1325(a) that is presented in this appeal.1 Wells Fargo's arguments, however, are unpersuasive. Specifically, Wells Fargo does not adequately identify characteristics of these cases...
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In re Sasso, BAP No. 08-080.
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