MINOR v. FASTENAL DISTRIBUTION COMPANY

Filing 8

ENTRY Directing Further Proceedings - The plaintiff shall have through July 11, 2011, in which to show cause why the action should not be dismissed for lack of jurisdiction. Signed by Judge William T. Lawrence on 6/30/2011.(TRG)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF INDIANA

JEFFREY E. MINOR,

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Plaintiff,
vs.
FASTENAL DISTRIBUTION COMPANY,
Defendant.

1:11-cv-00632-WTL-DML

Entry Directing Further Proceedings

I.
“[T]hose who seek to invoke the jurisdiction of the federal courts must satisfy the
threshold requirement imposed by Article III of the Constitution by alleging an actual case
or controversy.” City of Los Angeles v. Lyons, 461 U.S. 95, 101 (1983) (citations omitted).
As part of this requirement, a party must demonstrate standing to sue in federal court.
Rawoof v. Texor Petroleum Co., Inc., 521 F.3d 750, 756 (7th Cir. 2008).
The claim in this action is also a “claim” within the meaning of 11 U.S.C. §
101(5)(A) because it constitutes a “right to payment, whether or not such right is reduced
to judgment, liquidated, unliquidated, fixed, contingent, matured, unmatured, disputed,
undisputed, legal, equitable, secured, or unsecured; or unsecured.” “Debtors have an
absolute duty to report whatever interests they hold in property, even if they believe their
assets are worthless or are unavailable to the bankruptcy estate.” Matter of Yonikus, 974
F.2d 901, 904 (7th Cir. 1992). When a bankruptcy petition is filed, all of the debtor’s "legal
and equitable interests . . . in property" as of the filing of the bankruptcy case became the
property of the bankruptcy estate. 11 U. S. C. § 541( a)( 1); Mele v. First Colony Life Ins.
Co., 127 B. R. 82, 84 & n.9 (D.D.C. 1991).
As pertinent here, when Plaintiff Jeffrey Minor filed his Bankruptcy petition, all of
his "legal and equitable interests . . . in property" as of the filing of the bankruptcy case
became the property of the bankruptcy estate. 11 U. S. C. § 541(a)( 1); Mele v. First
Colony Life Ins. Co., 127 B. R. 82, 84 & n.9 (D.D.C. 1991).

II.
Inasmuch as the plaintiff’s report of March 26, 2011, recites that the claim in this
action was not listed as an asset in the bankruptcy filing to which the plaintiff has already
made reference, but inasmuch as it also appears that the claim in this action was a claim
as that term is defined in § 101(5), the plaintiff shall have through July 11, 2011, in which
to show cause why the action should not be dismissed for lack of jurisdiction because he
lacks standing to assert the claim.
IT IS SO ORDERED.

Date:

06/30/2011

_______________________________
Distribution:
Jeffrey E. Minor
4423 Mountbatten Court
Indianapolis, IN 46254

Hon. William T. Lawrence, Judge
United States District Court
Southern District of Indiana