Wyman

Filing 34

ORDER regarding notice and denying 33 Request for disqualification. Signed by District Judge Denise Page Hood. (DPer)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN
SOUTHERN DIVISION
IN RE:
CHRISTOPHER D. WYMAN,
Debtor.
___________________________________/

Case No. 23-10171
Hon. Denise Page Hood

MICHAEL E. TINDALL,
(Bank. Ct. Case No.
12-32264)
Appellant,
v.
SAMUEL D. SWEET, TRUSTEE,
Appellee.
_____________________________________/
ORDER REGARDING NOTICE BY APPELLANT MICHAEL D. TINDALL
AND
DENYING REQUEST FOR DISQUALIFICATION (ECF No. 33)
This matter is before the Court on a Notice filed by Michael E. Tindall
seeking disqualification of the undersigned from this bankruptcy appeal
pursuant to 28 U.S.C. ' 144. (ECF No. 33) Tindall cites as a ground for
recusal the undersigned=s personal bias when the undersigned, as Chief
Judge of this District, entered the October 30, 2017 Order of Disbarment in
Case No. 17-51481. (ECF No. 33-1, PageID.1885-.1886) He asserts that

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Athe sole basis for entry/disbarment was the extrajudicial source(s) of a
NOTICE and ORDER issued by the Michigan Attorney Discipline Board,
Case No. 17-51481, DE 1-1 and 1-2.@ Id. at PageID.1185. Tindall claims
that the undersigned=s actions were Aintentional and designed to deprive
Affiant of his constitutionally guaranteed rights to notice, hearing and an
independent determination under prevailing applicable law.@

Id. at

PageID.1186.
The Order of Disbarment was delivered by Appellee Samuel D.
Sweet, Trustee, to the Bankruptcy Court before the scheduled show cause
hearing in the bankruptcy matter on October 31, 2017. Tindall was then
informed that the Bankruptcy Court had barred him from the courtroom and
attending the hearing. Id.
Section 144 applies by its terms to district judges and requires a party
to file an affidavit which states the facts and reasons for the belief that bias
or prejudice exists, accompanied by a certificate of counsel of record
stating that it is made in good faith. 28 U.S.C. ' 144. The alleged bias
asserted under ' 144 must Astem from an extrajudicial source and result in
an opinion on the merits on some basis other than what the judge learned
from his participation in the case.@ Youn v. Track, Inc., 324 F.3d 409, 423

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(6th Cir. 2003)(citing United States v. Grinnel Corp., 384 U.S. 563, 583
(1966)).

A>Personal= bias is prejudice that emanates from some source

other than participation in the proceedings or prior contact with related
cases.@ Youn, 324 F.3d at 423 (citations omitted).
E.D.

Mich.

Local

Rule

83.22

governs

attorney

disciplinary

proceedings against attorneys admitted to practice in this District which
provides in part,
On receipt of written notice that another jurisdiction imposed
discipline against an attorney admitted to practice in this court,
the chief judge will enter an order imposing the same
discipline, effective as of the date that the discipline was
effective in the other jurisdiction. If the discipline imposed in the
other jurisdiction has been stayed there, the Court may defer
discipline until the stay expires. If the order of discipline
includes a period of suspension or disbarment, an attorney may
be reinstated to this court only by application pursuant to LR
83.22(i)(1).
E.D. Mich. Local Rule 83.22(g)(1)(A)(emphasis added).

AAn attorney

admitted to the bar of this court or who practices in this court as permitted
by this rule is subject to the Rules of Professional Conduct adopted by the
Michigan Supreme Court, as amended from time to time, and consents to
the jurisdiction of this court and the Michigan Attorney Grievance
Commission and Michigan Attorney Discipline Board for purposes of
disciplinary proceedings.@ E.D. Mich. Local Rule 83.20(j).
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The Order of Disbarment, entered by the undersigned in her previous
capacity as Chief Judge of this District, states in part,
The Michigan Attorney Discipline Board has entered an
order which revoked the license of Michael E. Tindall to practice
law in the State of Michigan effective September 20, 2017.
Accordingly, Michael E. Tindall is (1) permanently
removed from the roster of attorneys who have been admitted
to practice before the United States District Court and the
United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of
Michigan, and (2) precluded from engaging in the practice of
law, directly or indirectly, before the United States District Court
and the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District
of Michigan pursuant to the Local Rules of this Court.
Case No. 17-mc-51481, ECF No. 1. Tindall appealed this Order to the
Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, which was dismissed for want of prosecution
on February 6, 2018. Id., ECF No. 4.
The Court denies Tindall=s request that the undersigned be
disqualified from proceeding in this bankruptcy appeal.

Tindall, when

admitted to practice in this District, was subject to any disciplinary actions
by the Michigan Attorney Disciplinary Board under E.D. Mich. Local Rule
83.20(j). As Chief Judge, the undersigned was authorized to enter an
order imposing the same discipline, effective as of the date that the
discipline was effective in another jurisdiction, in this case, the Michigan
Attorney Disciplinary Board, under E.D. Mich. Local Rule 83.22(g)(1)(A).
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It is clear from the applicable Local Rules cited above that the
undersigned=s action in entering the Order of Discipline was based on the
duties of and express authority as Chief Judge of this District. Tindall has
failed to show, as required under 28 U.S.C. ' 144, any bias or prejudice by
the undersigned when the Order of Discipline was entered while the
undersigned was acting as Chief Judge for this District. Tindall had the
appropriate notice, by way of the published Local Rules, that he was
subject to any disciplinary actions of the Michigan Attorney Disciplinary
Board, and that the chief judge must enter an order of discipline based on
any actions by that Board.

Tindall=s request that the undersigned be

disqualified from proceeding in this bankruptcy appeal is denied.
Accordingly,
IT IS ORDERED that the relief requested by Appellant Michael E.
Tindall set forth in the Notice, Brief and Certification of Disqualification of
Honorable Denise Page Hood (ECF No. 33) is DENIED.

s/Denise Page Hood
DENISE PAGE HOOD
United States District Judge
DATED: March 25, 2024

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