Hoover v. Miller et al

Filing 35

OPINION AND ORDER re: 34 Suggestion of Bankruptcy. The defendants' request to stay this case is DENIED. Signed by Judge Sheri Polster Chappell on 11/22/2024. (BGS)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA
FORT MYERS DIVISION
JAMES HOOVER,
Plaintiff,
v.

Case No.: 2:23-cv-1124-SPC-NPM

MILLER, CARDENAS DAKOTA,
TOWNSEND and ROOKS,
Defendants.

/
OPINION AND ORDER

Before the Court is the defendants’ Suggestion of Bankruptcy and Notice
of Stay (Doc. 34). Wellpath Holdings, Inc. and affiliated entities—one of which
is presumably the defendants’ employer—have declared Chapter 11
bankruptcy in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District
of Texas, Case No. 24-90533. The defendants ask the Court to apply the
automatic stay to this case.
A bankruptcy petition operates to stay litigation of all pre-petition claims
against the debtor. 11 U.S.C. § 362(a)(1). The protections of this automatic
stay generally extend to the debtor alone. In re Boginsky, 658 B.R. 209, 211
(Bankr. S.D. Fla. 2024); see also In re TXNB Internal Case, 483 F.3d 292, 301
(5th Cir. 2007) (“Section 362(a)…does not apply, however, to actions not
directed against the debtor or property of the debtor.”).

Although the

automatic stay generally does not protect non-debtors, bankruptcy courts have
the power to extend the stay to enjoin suits against non-debtors in certain
situations. Id.
The court in Wellpath’s bankruptcy case has extended the stay to
“lawsuits filed as of the Petition Date in which a Debtor is named as one of the
defendants therein.” Amended Interim Order Enforcing the Automatic Stay,
entered Nov. 12, 2024, In re Wellpath Holdings, Inc. et al., No. 24-90533, at *1
n.3 (Bankr. S.D. Tex.). Rider 1 to Wellpath’s bankruptcy petition lists the
Debtors. None of those Debtors are named as a defendant in this case. Because
the automatic stay does not protect the defendants and the bankruptcy court
has not enjoined litigation of claims against them, this case may proceed. If
the bankruptcy court extends the stay to the defendants, they shall promptly
notify the Court and the plaintiff.
Accordingly, the defendants’ request to stay this case is DENIED.
DONE and ORDERED in Fort Myers, Florida on November 22, 2024.

SA: FTMP-1
Copies: All Parties of Record

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