HealthTrio, Inc. et al v. Merrick et al

Filing 10

ORDER granting in part and denying in part 1 Motion to Withdraw Reference. The motion is granted insofar as it seeks withdrawal of the reference. The motion is denied to the extent it requests that such withdrawal be postponed until the case is fully trial-ready. On 4/14/2015 at 10:00 AM the parties shall contact the court's judicial assistant to set this matter for trial preparation conference and jury trial. By Judge Robert E. Blackburn on 3/30/2015. (alowe)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLORADO
Judge Robert E. Blackburn
Civil Action No. 15-cv-00455-REB
(Bankruptcy Case No. 09-34404 HRT (Chapter 7),
Adversary Proceeding No. 14-01215 HRT)
In re:
HEALTHTRIO, INC.,
Debtor.

DAVID E. LEWIS, CHAPTER 7 TRUSTEE,
Plaintiff,
v.
GLEN W. MERRICK,
G.W. MERRICK & ASSOCIATES, LLC,
ASMA GULL HASAN,
Defendants.

ORDER
Blackburn, J.
This matter is before me on the Plaintiff Trustee’s Motion for Withdrawal of
Reference After the Completion of Discovery and Readiness for Trial [#1],1 filed
March 3, 2015. I grant the Trustee’s motion insofar as it seeks withdrawal of the
reference, but deny it to the extent it seeks to delay such action until a later date and,
instead, withdraw the reference contemporaneously.

1

“[#1]” is an example of the convention I use to identify the docket number assigned to a specific
paper by the court’s case management and electronic case filing system (CM/ECF). I use this convention
throughout this order.

All parties agree that the reference should be withdrawn. However, while the
Trustee asks that withdrawal occur only after the case is ready for trial, defendants Glen
W. Merrick and G.W. Merrick & Associates, Inc., assert that the reference should be
withdrawn promptly, rather than (as the Trustee proposes) at the completion of
discovery and all pretrial proceedings. Defendant Asma Gull Hasan also argues in
favor of immediate withdrawal, but suggests that pretrial proceedings be conducted
entirely in the district court, rather than on reference to the bankruptcy court.
Under 28 U.S.C. § 157(d), a district court may withdraw its reference of a case to
the bankruptcy court for cause shown. This case concerns claims asserted by the
Chapter 7 Trustee against defendants as to which both the Trustee and Ms. Hasan
have demanded trial to a jury. The bankruptcy court may conduct a jury trial only when
certain specific prerequisites have been satisfied. 28 U.S.C. § 157(e). All parties
concur that those prerequisites are not satisfied in this case.
However, in so doing, I am not precluded from referring pretrial matters to the
bankruptcy court. In re M & L Business Machine Co., 159 B.R. 932, 935 (D. Colo.
1993). Contrary to Ms. Hasan’s unsubstantiated arguments, I find and conclude that
the bankruptcy court is in the best position to efficiently manage discovery and pretrial
matters in this case.
THEREFORE IT IS ORDERED as follows:
1. That the Plaintiff Trustee’s Motion for Withdrawal of Reference After the
Completion of Discovery and Readiness for Trial [#1], filed March 3, 2015, is
granted in part and denied in part, as follows:

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a. That the motion is granted insofar as it seeks withdrawal of the
reference; and
b. That the motion is denied to the extent it requests that such withdrawal
be postponed until the case is fully trial-ready;
2. That as to this case, the automatic referral entered under D.C.COLO.LCivR
84.1(d) is withdrawn;
3. That under 28 U.S.C. § 157, this matter is referred again to the bankruptcy
court for consideration and resolution of all pretrial issues, including, inter alia,
scheduling, discovery, non-dispositive motions, dispositive motions, and entry of a final
pretrial order;
4. That on April 14, 2015, at 10:00 a.m. (MDT), the parties shall contact Ms. Nel
Steffens, the court’s judicial assistant, by telephone at 303-335-2350 to set this matter
for trial preparation conference and jury trial; provided, that counsel for the Trustee shall
arrange, initiate, and coordinate the conference call necessary to facilitate the setting
conference; and
5. That trial on the merits of the Trustee’s claims shall proceed in the United
States District Court for the District of Colorado under Civil Action No. 15-cv-00455REB.
Dated March 30, 2015, at Denver, Colorado.
BY THE COURT:

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