Seattle-First Nat. Bank v. Manges
| Decision Date | 18 April 1990 |
| Docket Number | SEATTLE-FIRST,No. 89-5631,89-5631 |
| Citation | 900 F.2d 795 |
| Parties | 23 Collier Bankr.Cas.2d 437, 16 Fed.R.Serv.3d 675, Bankr. L. Rep. P 73,380 NATIONAL BANK, A National Banking Association, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Clinton MANGES, Helen Ruth Manges, Duval County Ranch Company and Man-Gas Transmission Company, Defendants-Appellants. Summary Calendar. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Fifth Circuit |
David D. Towler, Law Offices of Royal D. Adams, P.C., San Antonio, Tex., for defendants-appellants.
J. Patrick Deely, Kevin M. Warburton, McCamish, Martin, Brown & Loeffler, San Antonio, Tex., for plaintiff-appellee.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas.
Before CLARK, Chief Judge, WILLIAMS and DUHE, Circuit Judges.
Defendants Clinton Manges, Helen Ruth Manges and their corporations Duval County Ranch Company ("DCRC") and Man-Gas Transmission Company ("Man-Gas") (collectively the "Manges defendants") appeal three orders by the district court relating to the enforcement of its judgment against them and in favor of plaintiff Seattle-First National Bank (Seattle-First). We dismiss in part and, in part, affirm and remand for further proceedings.
On August 19, 1988, after protracted litigation, the parties submitted to the district court their Agreed Motion for Approval and Entry of Final Judgment. The judgment provided that Seattle-First would recover $55,361,545.72 from the Manges defendants, and approved as valid, reasonable and in force the parties' "Stipulation and Agreement Concerning Judgment, Stay of Execution, Foreclosure of Liens, and Satisfaction of Judgment and Other Obligations Owed to Seattle-First National Bank (the 'stipulation')." The stipulation provided among other things that the defendants would pay Seattle-First $30,000,000 on August 10, 1989. The stipulation also contained the following choice of venue provision:
The Manges Defendants agree that the jurisdiction and venue of any suit, hearing, or legal action of any nature, to which Seattle-First National Bank is a party, one effect of which could be to halt, enjoin, impair, or hinder the enforcement of this Agreement, or the enforcement or collection of the Final Judgment, shall be in the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas, San Antonio Division.
The Manges defendants defaulted on the $30,000,000 payment. Seattle-First then obtained an order from the district court directing the United States Marshal to seize and sell the defendants' property that secured the debt. On August 14, 1989 DCRC filed a voluntary bankruptcy petition in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas, Corpus Christi Division. At that time, counsel for the other Manges defendants stated that they also were ready and willing to file petitions in Corpus Christi. In response, Seattle-First filed a motion for a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction against the Manges defendants. Granting the TRO, the district court, among other things:
(1) restrained the Manges and Man-Gas from initiating any proceedings in any forum other than the Western District of Texas, San Antonio Division, the effect of which could be to halt, enjoin, impair, hinder, or stay the enforcement of the stipulation and related orders or of the final judgment;
(2) restrained the Manges and Man-Gas specifically from filing for relief under the Bankruptcy Code in any forum other than the Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Texas, San Antonio Division;
(3) ordered Seattle-First to post $10,000 bond;
(4) ordered the Manges and Man-Gas to appear before a magistrate to show cause why a preliminary injunction should not be granted enjoining them from filing any proceedings the effect of which could be to halt, enjoin, impair, hinder, or stay the enforcement of the stipulation or the judgment in any forum other than the Western District of Texas, San Antonio Division; and
(5) ordered DCRC to appear before a magistrate to show cause why the district court should not order it to obtain a transfer to San Antonio of its bankruptcy proceedings.
Magistrate Primomo held the preliminary injunction hearings and recommended that the district court grant a preliminary injunction.
The district court then issued a series of three orders. The first, dated September 21, 1989, adopted the magistrate's findings and recommendation and "ordered that [Seattle-First's] motion for preliminary injunction be granted and the Court's Temporary Restraining Order of August 17, 1989, remain in effect." The order did not contain the reasons for granting the injunction nor did it detail the prohibited conduct. The order did specifically restrain DCRC from filing in any forum other than in San Antonio should its bankruptcy petition be dismissed in Corpus Christi. The second order, dated September 29, 1989, ordered DCRC "to seek transfer of its pending bankruptcy action to the Western District of Texas within ten days." The final order, signed October 18, 1989, denied various motions by the Manges defendants to clarify or amend the previous two orders, stating that the previous orders "need not be altered or amended to comply with Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 65." The court stated that it was forced to issue the injunction to protect its judgment and to summarily enforce the settlement agreement and venue provision previously agreed to by the parties. The court refused to make further findings, asserting that the magistrate's findings were sufficiently clear for the defendants to act upon.
Involuntary petitions were filed on October 2, 1989 against Man-Gas and Clinton Manges in Corpus Christi. The involuntary petition against Clinton Manges was converted to a voluntary petition on March 14, 1990.
The Manges defendants contend in this court that the district court violated the automatic stay provision of 11 U.S.C. Sec. 362 by ordering DCRC to seek transfer of its bankruptcy proceedings to the Western District of Texas. They further contend that Seattle-First failed to establish any of the elements requisite to the granting of a preliminary injunction. Finally, the defendants argue that the orders of the district court fail to meet the specificity requirements of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 65(d).
We take judicial notice of the fact that on October 16, 1989 DCRC complied with the district court's order to seek transfer of its bankruptcy proceedings to the Western District of Texas by filing a motion to transfer in the bankruptcy court. The bankruptcy court denied the transfer on February 12, 1990 after holding two hearings on the matter. Because DCHC has complied with the district court's discrete, mandatory order, the defendants' appeal as to the order that DCRC must file for transfer is moot.
The appeal as to the other defendants is not moot. Clinton Manges has converted his petition to a voluntary one. This action may be in violation of the terms of the injunction, a matter we need not resolve on this appeal. It is enough that a genuine issue exists to keep the appeal from being moot. Man-Gas, although presently the debtor in proceedings brought by involuntary petition, could also seek to convert the proceeding to a voluntary one if it were not restrained. The injunction inhibits Helen Manges from filing a voluntary petition in another forum. Finally, DCRC is restrained from initiating proceedings other than its current voluntary bankruptcy petition. Therefore, the appeal is not moot as to DCRC on issues other than the order requiring it to file to transfer its bankruptcy proceedings to the Western District of Texas.
The preliminary injunction under review as to all of the Manges defendants is not presented in the typical posture. The defendants have been found liable for a certain amount of damages plus interest until paid, and that judgment is not appealed. The primary issue is whether the district court abused its discretion in granting a preliminary injunction to enforce the negotiated choice of venue provision contained in the stipulation it had expressly approved in the judgment. The district court determined on the basis of the magistrate's findings and recommendation and the record that Seattle-First had proved its case for a preliminary injunction.
To obtain a preliminary injunction, the plaintiff must show (1) a substantial likelihood of success on the merits; (2) a substantial threat of irreparable harm if the injunction is not granted; (3) that the threat of harm to the plaintiff if the injunction is denied outweighs the harm to the defendant if the injunction is granted; and (4) that the injunction will not disserve the public interest. Allied...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Macias v. N.M. Dep't of Labor
...prohibiting incorporation by reference. . . .. . . . The Seventh Circuit strictly construes Rule 65(d). See alsoSeattle-First Nat. Bank v. Manges, 900 F.2d 795, 799 (5th Cir. 1990)(strictly construing "no-reference" requirement of Rule 65(d)); Thomas v. Brock, 810 F.2d at 450 (same). Cf.Har......
-
Schermerhorn v. CenturyTel, Inc. (In re Skyport Global Commc'n, Inc.)
...draft an injunction so that parties be able "to interpret the injunction from the four corners of the order" Seattle-First Nat'l Bank v. Manges, 900 F.2d 795, 800 (5th Cir. 1990). The Court disagrees with the Schermerhorn Parties' argument for two reasons. First, the Court satisfied the "fo......
-
Landmark Legal Foundation v. E.P.A.
...appellate court in defining the bounds of the injunctive relief." Id. at 371 (citation omitted); see generally Seattle-First Nat'l Bank v. Manges, 900 F.2d 795, 800 (5th Cir.1990) (calling Rule 65(d) "an important procedural safeguard"). The Courts that have adopted a less literal approach ......
-
In re AP Industries, Inc.
...Corp., 308 U.S. 165, 167-68, 60 S.Ct. 153, 154-55, 84 L.Ed. 167 (1939), a venue objection can be. See, Seattle-First Nat'l Bank v. Manges, 900 F.2d 795 (5th Cir.1990). Consequently, a court can have subject matter jurisdiction to issue orders and judgments even if venue is improper. See, Zu......
-
CHAPTER 10 THE TAKE-OR-PAY WARS: A CAUTIONARY ANALYSIS FOR THE FUTURE
...§ 266 (discussing enforceability); Annot., 31 ALR 4th 404 (1984) (collecting cases). [62] See e.g., Seattle First National Bank v. Manges, 900 F.2d 795, 800 (5th Cir. 1990) (affirming injunction enforcing forum selection clause); Knight Medical, Inc. v. Nikon Kohden America, Inc., ___ F. Su......