Johnson v. Antoine (In re Johnson)
| Decision Date | 05 May 2017 |
| Docket Number | Case No. 09-00240-TOM7,A.P. No. 16-00039-DSC |
| Parties | In the Matter of: Alvin Johnson, and Carole D. Johnson, Debtors Alvin Johnson, and Carole D. Johnson, Plaintiffs, v. Lisa Antoine, Defendant. |
| Court | U.S. Bankruptcy Court — Northern District of Alabama |
This case came before the Court on March 16, 2017, for trial on the Plaintiffs Alvin Johnson and Carole D. Johnson's Complaint for Civil Contempt and Violations of the Discharge Injunction and the Defendant Lisa Antoine's Counterclaim. Appearing before the Court were Oscar W. Adams, III and Roderick Walls for the Johnsons and Lisa Antoine, Pro Se. This Court has jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1334(b), 151, and 157(a) and the District Court's General Order of Reference Dated July 16, 1984, as Amended July 17, 1984.1 This is a core proceeding arising under Title 11 of the United States Code as defined in 28 U.S.C. § 157(b)(2)(A),(B), (I), and (O).2 This Court has considered the pleadings, arguments of counsel, the testimony of witnesses, the exhibits, and the law, and finds and concludes as follows:3
This case began as a disagreement between neighbors who still reside across the street from each other in a residential subdivision of Birmingham, Alabama. The dispute concerns the Defendant's purchase of a real estate lot from the Plaintiffs' company in 2007, and it has evolved into a bitter contest that has visited all levels of the Alabama state-court system more than once. The case arrives at this Bankruptcy Court for a determination of the Plaintiffs' claims for violation of their Chapter 7 discharge injunction by the Defendant, and the Defendant's counterclaims of nondischargeability based on fraud by the Plaintiffs. For the reasons stated below, this Court finds that the Plaintiffs are not entitled to the relief requested in their complaint, except for Paragraph D. The Court further finds that the Defendant is not entitled to the relief requested in her counterclaim, and the debt claimed by the Defendant is discharged as of the date of this decision.
The following facts are based on the testimony and the exhibits presented by the parties at trial.
Lisa Antoine (hereinafter "Antoine") and her now-deceased husband, Ronald Glenn, Sr. (hereinafter "Glenn")5, signed a contract with Oxmoor Landing, LLC (hereinafter "Oxmoor Landing"), on October 25, 2007 for the purchase of Lot 35 in the Oxmoor Landing subdivision near the Ross Bridge development (Defendant's Ex. 2). Oxmoor Landing was wholly owned by Alvin Johnson and Carole D. Johnson (hereinafter "Johnsons"), the plaintiffs in this case. Antoine served as her own builder and contractor for the preparation of Lot 35 and the construction of her and her husband's home, which has a street address of 135 Jewell Circle, Birmingham, Alabama. The Johnsons also reside in the Oxmoor Landing subdivision at 140 Jewell Circle, which is across the street and a few lots down from Antoine's home.
This dispute began in February 2008, when Antoine observed water ponding in the rear of her lot and several adjoining lots (Defendant's Ex. 1). She brought this problem to the Johnsons' attention, and tensions quickly developed into open accusations and written communications about who was responsible for the standing water (Defendant's Ex. 9). Although the record was not clear, it appears that the written communications between the parties began during the same time as the grading of Lot 35, the construction of Antoine's home, and the completion of the landscaping around her home. Every year from 2008 to 2015, surface waters collected when it rained, andponded on Lots 35, 36, 38, and 39 between the months of March and November. Despite years of litigation in the Alabama state-court system in two separate cases, an extreme disagreement continues between Antoine and the Johnsons about the standing water and the annual ponding problem on Antoine's lot and several adjoining lots.
This matter first arrived at the bankruptcy court on January 14, 2009 when the Johnsons filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy case no. 09-00240-TOM7. Page 1 of the Johnsons' Chapter 7 petition stated that "[d]ebtor estimates that funds will be available for distribution to unsecured creditors" and it estimated the Johnsons' assets at $1 million to $10 million. The bankruptcy clerk identified the Johnsons' case as an "Asset" Chapter 7 case and issued a notice that included a deadline for all creditors, except governmental units, to file a proof of claim on or before May 20, 2009.6 Per the clerk's notice, the deadline to file a complaint objecting to discharge of the debtor, or to determine dischargeability of certain debts, was April 20, 2009.
The Johnsons' bankruptcy schedules disclosed interests in partnerships and joint ventures including Oxmoor Landing and The Johnson Realty Co, Inc. (hereinafter "Johnson Realty"). However, the Johnsons' bankruptcy schedules did not list Antoine or Glenn as creditors, or disclose any dispute or debt with them. The Johnsons received a Chapter 7 discharge from the bankruptcy court on May 20, 2009. Thereafter, the Chapter 7 Trustee collected $12,500 from assets of the Johnsons' bankruptcy estate and distributed the funds towards the administrative expenses of the case. The trustee was not able to collect enough funds to make a distribution to the creditors who filed proofs of claim. The bankruptcy court entered an order approving the trustee's finalreport and account on February 25, 2015, and the bankruptcy clerk closed the Johnsons' Chapter 7 case on May 28, 2015.
Antoine filed a lawsuit, case no. CV-09-01259, in the Circuit Court of Jefferson County, Alabama, Bessemer Division, on December 11, 2009 (hereinafter "Antoine I") against several parties including the Johnsons and one of their companies, Johnson Realty (Plaintiffs' Ex. 1).
Antoine's complaint alleged trespass to real property, injury to real property, and nuisance based on the rainwaters that were flooding the rear portion of her lot each year. The complaint further alleged the flooding had devalued her property and posed a health and safety threat. The complaint sought an award for actual and punitive damages.
Two defendants, other than the Johnsons, filed a counterclaim against Antoine for trespass and negligence based on allegations that Antoine or her subcontractors had filled her lot in a manner that elevated the rear portion of the lot for the construction of her home. According to the Defendants' counterclaim, this action created a dam or berm that obstructed the natural flow and drainage of surface waters and caused the water ponding on their Lots 36, 38, and 39, which adjoined Antoine's Lot 35.
In response to the complaint, the Johnsons' attorney, Oscar Adams, filed a Suggestion of Bankruptcy in Antoine I on January 8, 2010 to notify the circuit court and all of the parties that the Johnsons had filed a Chapter 7 bankruptcy case (Plaintiffs' Ex. 2). Shortly thereafter, Antoine filed a Motion for Relief from Automatic Stay with the bankruptcy court seeking permission to proceed with her complaint against the Johnsons in state court. The bankruptcy court heard Antoine's Motion for Relief and entered an order on April 6, 2010 that denied the motion without prejudice (Plaintiffs' Ex. 8). During the hearing on Antoine's Motion for Relief, there was a discussion onthe record of whether Antoine's debt was a prepetition debt, that the Johnsons had not disclosed the dispute with Antoine to their bankruptcy attorney, and that the Johnsons would amend their bankruptcy schedules to list this omitted debt (Plaintiffs' Ex. 3).
Six days after the bankruptcy court denied Antoine's Motion for Relief, Antoine removed the Johnsons as defendants from the Antoine I lawsuit in state court. One day later, on April 13, 2010, the Johnsons amended Schedule F of their bankruptcy petition to list Antoine and Glenn as disputed, unsecured creditors with a debt of $1.00 (Plaintiffs' Ex. 9). This amendment to schedules occurred nearly one year after the Johnsons received a discharge in their "Asset" Chapter 7 bankruptcy case.
Matters in the Antoine I state-court case continued, as Antoine vigorously asserted that the defendants, including the Johnsons, were responsible for the water ponding that had created a wetland or swamp on the rear portion of her lot. The defendants continued to respond that Antoine caused the ponding problem when her subcontractors graded her lot for the construction of her home. Over Antoine's objection, the circuit court entered an order that permitted one of the defendants to dig test holes on Antoine's lot behind her house. Based upon the evidence presented from the test-hole dig, the circuit court found that fill and topsoil had been placed over the natural drain way when Antoine's subcontractors graded her lot, that construction debris had been buried behind Antoine's house, and that these actions created a dam or berm that obstructed the natural drain way for surface waters and caused the water ponding on Lots 35, 36, 38, and 39.
The circuit court ruled in favor of the defendants on March 15, 2011 and denied all of the relief requested in Antoine's complaint (Doc. No. 1, Ex. E). The court also entered a judgment for $35,000 in compensatory damages in favor of two defendants, Oxmoor Preservation, LLC and Hager Company, Inc., on their counterclaims against Antoine. The order permanently enjoinedAntoine from obstructing the free flow of surface waters draining from Lots 36, 37, 38, and 39 over Antoine's Lot 35. The court further ordered Antoine to construct and maintain a drain way on her property, Lot 35, to drain all reasonable surface waters from the upper lots.
Antoine appealed to the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals, which affirmed the substantive rulings in Antoine I, and reversed...
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