In re Meile, Bankruptcy No. BK 82-30358.
| Decision Date | 20 January 1984 |
| Docket Number | Bankruptcy No. BK 82-30358. |
| Citation | 36 BR 719 |
| Court | U.S. Bankruptcy Court — Southern District of Illinois |
| Parties | In re Richard F. MEILE, Jr., Debtor. |
Donald Urban, Belleville, Ill., for debtor.
Mark R. Osland, Belleville, Ill., for St. Paul Fire & Marine Ins. Co.
ORDER ALLOWING DEBTOR'S PETITION TO REOPEN BANKRUPTCY ESTATE
At East St. Louis, in said district, this matter having come before the Court pursuant to a petition to reopen bankruptcy estate and to amend debtor's petition filed on behalf of the above-named debtor, by his attorney, Donald W. Urban, and a motion to dismiss and objection to debtor's petition to reopen bankruptcy estate, filed on behalf of St. Paul Fire & Marine Insurance Company (St. Paul), by its attorney, Mark R. Osland, the Court, after reviewing the briefs submitted by counsel and researching the law, states the facts as stipulated by the parties and makes the following ruling of law:
1. During 1980, the debtor, Richard F. Meile, Jr., operated a business known as Meile's Sports Store, Inc. As part of that business, Meile's Sports Store, Inc. offered hunting and fishing licenses for sale to the public.
2. Some time during the latter half of 1980, the assets and inventory of Meile's Sports Store, Inc. were seized by Banker's Trust Company of Belleville, Illinois, effectively halting all operations of the sports store. Along with the inventory seized were unused hunting and fishing licenses. At the time of the seizure, the debtor believes that only a few such licenses had been sold, leaving the rest unused.
3. On June 11, 1982, the debtor, Richard F. Meile, Jr. filed a voluntary petition in bankruptcy in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Illinois. The debtor received a discharge under the provisions of the Bankruptcy Code on September 7, 1982.
4. On November 22, 1982, St. Paul filed suit against debtor Richard F. Meile, Jr. in the Circuit Court of St. Clair County, Illinois, which is still pending. In that action, St. Paul seeks indemnification pursuant to a bond for $3,070.00 allegedly paid to the Illinois Department of Conservation due to failure of the principal, Meile's Sports Store, Inc., to pay the state all money becoming due by reason of the sale of hunting and fishing licenses. It is further alleged that the debtor is personally liable by reason of an indemnity agreement signed by the debtor in his individual capacity.
5. St. Paul was not listed in the debtor's bankruptcy schedules as a creditor and had no notice, actual or constructive, of the filing of the voluntary petition by the debtor.
6. During the pendency of the debtor's bankruptcy, the debtor believed that Banker's Trust Company, while administering the assets of the corporation, Meile's Sports Store, Inc., had turned over to the Illinois Department of Conservation all unused hunting and fishing licenses thereby reducing any claim against him to a nominal amount and avoiding the necessity of the state to make demand upon the surety, St. Paul.
Debtor seeks to have his bankruptcy case reopened in order to amend his Schedule A-3 to include St. Paul and have a corresponding debt of $3,070.00 discharged. The case was closed on November 24, 1982, upon the Court's order approving Trustee's combined...
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