United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit 

## FILED April 16, 2003 Charles R. Fulbruge III Clerk UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS For the Fifth Circuit

No. 02-50930 Summary Calendar

In The Matter Of: RODNEY K DANSEREAU; HILTRUDE M DANSEREAU; Debtors

------------------------- CASH-N-ADVANCE Appellant
v. RODNEY K DANSEREAU; HILTRUDE M DANSEREAU Appellees

********************************** In The Matter Of:ROBERT MORGAN; TRACY LYNN KRINGS Debtors

- - - - - - - - - - - - CASH-N-ADVANCE Appellant
v. ROBERT MORGAN; TRACY LYNN KRINGS Appellees

************************************ In The Matter Of: MICHAEL ANDREW MADRID; LISELOTTE JENSEN MADRID2

Debtors

- - - - - - - - - - - - CASH-N-ADVANCE Appellant
v. MICHAEL ANDREW MADRID; LISELOTTE JENSEN MADRID Appellees

************************************* In The Matter Of: CHRISTOPHER HOFFMANN; ROCHELLE DENICE HOFFMANN Debtors

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ CASH-N-ADVANCE Appellant
v. CHRISTOPHER HOFFMANN; ROCHELLE DENICE HOFFMANN Appellees

*************************************** In The Matter Of: JOAN L ROSENBROCK Debtor

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ CASH-N-ADVANCE Appellant
v. JOAN L ROSENBROCK Appellee

***************************************3

In The Matter Of: WILLIE LEE HODGES; DYRENDA TUTAVENA HODGES Debtor

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ CASH-N-ADVANCE Appellant
v. WILLIE LEE HODGES; DYRENDA TUTAVENA HODGES Appellees

******************************************* In The Matter Of: DEMETRIUS DUDLEY DAVIS; MARY ANN DAVIS Debtor

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ CASH-N-ADVANCE Appellant
v. DEMETRIUS DUDLEY DAVIS; MARY ANN DAVIS Appellees

Appeal from the United States District Court For the Western District of Texas W-02-CV-81, W-02-CV-82, W-02-CV-83, W-02-CV-84 W-02-CV-85, W-02-CV-86, W-02-CV-87

March 17, 2003 Before DAVIS, WIENER and EMILIO GARZA, Circuit Judges* Pursuant to 5 TH C IR . R. 47.5, the Court has determined that this

opinion should not be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5 TH C IR . R. 47.5.4. 4 PER CURIAM: * Cash-N-Advance asks this court to reverse the ord er of the district court upholding the bankruptcy court’s imposition of sanctions against Cash-N-Advance for classifying unsecured claims
as “priority” claims in seven Chapter 13 Bankruptcy pro ceedings with no arguable legal or factual basis for doing so. We review the Bankruptcy Court’s imposition of sanctions for abuse of discretion. We are satisfied that the bankruptcy court did not abuse its discretion in imposing sanctions against Cash-N-Advance and affirm the district court’s judgment. Federal Rule of Bankruptcy Procedure 9011 (the counterpart of Fed. R. Civ. P. 11) authorizes the Bankruptcy Court to impose sanctions against attorneys, law firms or individuals who violate the rule. Section 9011(c) grants authority to the bankruptcy court to impose sanctions on its own initiative. “If after notice and a reasonable opportunity to respond,” the court finds a viol ation of the rule, the court may impose sanctions. Fed. R. Bankr. P. 9011. As applied to this case, 9011(b) required that an attorney for Cash-N-Advance sign each of the proofs of claim submitted to the court a nd certify, among other things, that “to the best of the person’s knowledge, information, and belief, formed after an5

inquiry reasonable under the circumstan ces” the claims were warranted by law and the factual contentions had evidentiary support. Fed. R. Bankr. P. 9011(a) and (b). The record amply supports the bankruptcy judge’s finding that Cash-N-Advance filed priority status claims without any factual or legal basis. Cash-NAdvance also received the required notice and had more than a reasonable opportunity to respond. Cash-N-Advance filed a Response to the Bankruptcy Court’s Show Cause Order and participated in a hearing on the motion for sanctions. For the reasons given above, we AFFIRM the judgment of the district court.