Coletta v. The Bank of New York Mellon

Filing 14

ORDER AFFIRMING BANKRUPTCY COURT ORDER. Signed by Judge Robert N. Scola, Jr on 1/22/2018. (lrz1)

United States District Court
for the
Southern District of Florida
Carlos Coletta, Appellant,
v.
The Bank of New York Mellon,
Appellee.

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Bankruptcy Appeal
Case No. 17-23174-Civ-Scola
(BKC Docket No. 17-14566-LMI)

Order Affirming Bankruptcy Court Order
Carlos Coletta, proceeding pro se, appeals the United States Bankruptcy
Court for the Southern District of Florida’s August 15, 2017 order granting
secured creditor The Bank of New York Mellon relief from an automatic stay
imposed in Coletta’s bankruptcy case. (Appellant’s Initial Br., ECF No. 9, 6.)
After prodding from the Court, Appellee Mellon Bank responded. (Mellon
Bank’s Appellee Br., ECF No. 11.) Colletta did not reply and the time to do so
has passed. For the following reasons, the Court affirms the bankruptcy
court’s order.
Mellon Bank, as mortgagee, proceeded to judgment in a state-court
foreclosure action, in 2009, against Coletta regarding a property he owned in
Hialeah, Florida. In re Coletta, 17-14566-LMI, ECF No. 42, 1 (Bank. S.D. Fla.
July 20, 2017) (hereinafter “Bankr. R.”) Six years later, in 2014, Bank Mellon
eventually secured a certificate of title to the property. (Id. at 2.) The state court
thereafter granted Bank Mellon a writ of possession, on August 15, 2016. (Id.)
Coletta then filed a voluntary petition under Chapter 13 of the
Bankruptcy Code on April 12, 2017. In order to effectuate a writ of possession
on the property and to enforce its final judgment of foreclosure, Bank Mellon,
as a secured creditor, asked the bankruptcy court for relief from the automatic
stay under 11 U.S.C. § 362(d). The bankruptcy court granted that relief,
announcing: “The Automatic Stay imposed by 11 U.S.C. Section 362 is lifted as
to Movant, and it may proceed with the foreclosure of its lien on the [Hialeah]
property . . . .” (Bankr. R. ECF No. 48.)
Coletta, on appeal, complains that the bankruptcy court’s granting of
this relief was in error. He contends the bankruptcy court improperly left him
without protection from his unsecured creditors. He also argues that the
bankruptcy court erred by failing to limit its stay to only Bank Mellon. Coletta
is mistaken. The bankruptcy court’s order is, in fact, limited to only Bank
Mellon and Bank Mellon’s interest in the Hialeah property. Further, the
bankruptcy court’s order granting Bank Mellon relief from the stay does not

affect the protections Coletta may have from his secured creditors in his
bankruptcy case.
The bankruptcy court did not err in granting Bank Mellon relief from the
automatic stay. Having reviewed the parties’ briefing, the relevant legal
sources, and the record before it, the Court affirms the bankruptcy court’s
order. The Clerk is directed to close this case and deny any pending motions
as moot. Further, based on the Court’s order, the need for oral argument has
been obviated. The hearing previously set for January 26, 2018 is thus
canceled.
Done and ordered, at Miami, Florida, on January 22, 2018.
________________________________
Robert N. Scola, Jr.
United States District Judge
Copy to via U.S. mail to:
Carlos Coletta
6750 W 11th Court
Hialeah, FL 33012