UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY COURT

SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA

FORT LAUDERDALE DIVISION

www.flsb.uscourts.gov

IN RE: CASE NO.: 20-19106 SMG

 Chapter 11 

SEVEN STARS ON THE HUDSON

CORP

Debtor.

_________________________________/

WELLS FARGO BANK, N.A.’S MOTION FOR LIMITED RELIEF FROM THE 

AUTOMATIC STAY TO LIQUIDATE CLAIMS UNDER THE NOTE IN STATE COURT 

FORECLOSURE PROCEEDINGS 

WELLS FARGO BANK, N.A. (the “Movant”), by and through its undersigned 

counsel, hereby files this Second Supplemental Motion for Relief from the Automatic Stay 

pursuant to Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure 4001 and 9014 to lift the automatic 

stay imposed by 11 U.S.C. Section 362(a) for cause under 11 U.S.C. Section 362(d), or, in

the alternative to confirm that there is no stay in effect, and in support of its motion states:

1. Debtor filed for relief under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code on August 24, 

2020 (the “Bankruptcy Case”). 

2. The Court has jurisdiction of this matter pursuant to 28 U.S.C. Section 

157(b)(2)(A), (b)(2)(G) and 1334. 

3. The Movant is a creditor of the Debtor, SEVEN STARS ON THE HUDSON 

CORP (“Debtor”) by virtue of Promissory Note executed on August 29, 2016 relating in the 

original principal amount of $1,406,900.00 (the “Note”). A true and accurate copy of the 

Note is attached hereto as Exhibit “A.”

4. To secure this Note, the non-debtors, Jens Berding and Eddy Manzo-Berding

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executed Commercial Guaranty documents as well as a Mortgage dated August 29, 2016

on real property located at 2108 NE 63rd Street, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33308 and described

as

LOT 7, LESS THE WEST 5 FEET, BLOCK 39, IMPERIAL POINT 2ND SECTION, 

ACCORDING TO THE PLAT THEREOF, RECORDED IN PLAT BOOK 54, PAGE 

19, OF THE PUBLIC RECORDS OF BROWARD COUNTY, FLORIDA.

(hereinafter the “Real Property”).

A true and accurate copy of the Mortgage is attached hereto as Exhibit “B.” 

5. Prior to the filing of this case, Creditor filed a Verified Complaint for Mortgage 

Foreclosure, Enforcement of a Security Interest in and to Personal Property, Replevin and 

Damages in the Circuit Court of the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit in and for Broward County, 

Florida under case #CACE-19-003775 (the “Foreclosure Action”). The Foreclosure Action 

relates to property owned by the non-debtors, Jens Berding and Eddy Manzo-Berding who 

are also guarantors. 

6. While the Foreclosure Action does not relate to property of the estate, and

while the non-debtors have separate in personam liability pursuant to the Commercial 

Guaranty documents, the Movant seeks stay relief to liquidate its claim against Debtor in 

the Foreclosure Action because it has become apparent that the state court will cancel the 

Note in the Foreclosure Action as a condition of the entry of an In rem Final Judgment in 

Foreclosure with Assessment of Attorney’s Fees and Costs as to the property of the nondebtors. The cancelation of the Note, without liquidation of the amount due, would serve to 

compromise Movant’s Proof of Claim in the instant proceedings. 

7. “It is not uncommon for a bankruptcy court to grant a limited relief from stay 

so that the amount of a claim can be quantified in some other forum.” Zecco v. United 

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States (In re Zecco), 211 B.R. 109, 113 (D. Mass. Bankr.1997). “The terms of those orders 

permit the other proceed to continue to judgment but not beyond.” Id. See also In re 

Saunders, 103 B.R. 298 (N.D. Fla. Bankr. 1989)(“[e]ven where a dischargeability issue is 

squarely apparent, it is within the discretion of the Bankruptcy Court to permit a closely 

related claim to be reduced to judgment in a state or other court of competent jurisdiction.”) 

8. As one court has noted in a different context: 

...the stay may be lifted when there is an administrative need in the bankruptcy case 

to fix the amount of the claim and the claim dispute has been pending for 

considerable time in a non-bankruptcy forum. Issues of comity and economy may 

dictate that the non-bankruptcy forum conclude the resolution of that dispute...("[I]t 

will often be more appropriate to permit proceedings to continue in their place of 

origin, when no great prejudice to the bankruptcy estate would result, in order to 

leave the parties to their chosen forum and to relieve the bankruptcy court from 

many duties that may be handled elsewhere") (emphasis added and citations 

omitted). 

In re Quad Sys. Corp., 2001 Bankr. LEXIS 2284 (E.D. Pa. Bankr.)

9. The test for determining whether the automatic stay should be lifted to allow 

continuation of a pending lawsuit as to a debtor is whether (a) any great prejudice, either to 

the bankrupty estate or the debtor will result from the continuation of a civil suit; (b) the 

hardship to the [non-bankrupt] by maintenance of the stay considerably outweighs the 

hardship of the debtor, and (c) the creditor has a probability of prevailing on the merits. See 

In re Makerewicz, 121 B.R. 262 (S.D. Fla. Bankr. 1990), citing In re Pro Football Weekly, 60 

Bankr. 824, 826 (N.D. Ill. 1986).

10. In the matter sub judice, the relief from stay requested herein is limited to the 

ability to liquidate the amount the Movant’s claim pursuant to the Note, and nothing more. 

Such relief will not cause prejudice or hardship to the bankrupt estate. In contrast, if stay 

relief is not afforded to the Movant, it is left with the choice of delaying its prosecution of its 

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foreclosure claim against the non-debtors or, in the alternative, compromising its claim 

against the estate in the Bankruptcy Case through the cancellation of the Note. 

Accordingly, maintenance of the stay as to the limited matter at issue causes far more 

hardship to Movant than stay relief would cause to the Debtor. Finally, the claim at issue is 

premised upon a negotiable instrument and the Movant has a substantial likelihood of 

prevailing on the merits. 

RELIEF REQUESTED

11. By way of this Motion, Movant, WELLS FARGO BANK, N.A. seeks limited 

relief from the stay to liquidate its claim on the Note in the Foreclosure Action for the 

reasons stated herein at length. 

WHEREFORE, Movant, WELLS FARGO BANK, N.A. respectfully requests this 

Honorable Court enter an Order granting WELLS FARGO BANK, N.A. relief from the 

automatic stay to stay to liquidate its claim on the Note in the Foreclosure Action related to 

the non-debtor’s property for the reasons stated herein at length. 

I HEREBY CERTIFY that I am admitted to the Bar of the United States District Court 

for the Southern District of Florida and I am in compliance with the additional qualifications 

to practice in this court set forth in Local Rule 2090-1(A) and that a true and correct copy of 

the foregoing was furnished via U. S. Mail to the parties on the attached listing this 5th day 

of March, 2021. 

KELLEY, FULTON & KAPLAN, P.L. 

Attorney for Creditor Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.

1665 Palm Beach Lakes Blvd

The Forum - Suite 1000

West Palm Beach, FL 33401

Tel. No. (561) 491-1200

Fax No. (561) 684-3773

By:/s/ Craig I. Kelley

Craig I. Kelley

Florida Bar No.: 782203

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Mailing Information for Case 20-19106-SMG

Electronic Mail Notice List

The following is the list of parties who are currently on the list to receive email 

notice/service for this case.

• Scott Andron sandron@broward.org, swulfekuhle@broward.org

• Craig I Kelley craig@kelleylawoffice.com, 

tina@kelleylawoffice.com;cassandra@kelleylawoffice.com;kristina@kelleylawoffi

ce.com;debbie@kelleylawoffice.com;dana@kelleylawoffice.com

• Linda Marie Leali trustee@lealilaw.com, 

F005@ecfcbis.com;lkennedy@lealilaw.com

• Brian K. McMahon briankmcmahon@gmail.com, irizarryelise1@gmail.com

• Office of the US Trustee USTPRegion21.MM.ECF@usdoj.gov

• Jay Sakalo jsakalo@bilzin.com, eservice@bilzin.com;lflores@bilzin.com

• J. Steven Wilkes steven.wilkes@usdoj.gov

Manual Notice List

The following is the list of parties who are not on the list to receive email notice/service 

for this case (who therefore require manual noticing/service). You may wish to use your 

mouse to select and copy this list into your word processing program in order to create 

notices or labels for these recipients.

Kathleen A Daly

515 N Flagler Dr #P300

West Palm Beach, FL 33401

George R. Ponczek

7805 Beacon Square Blvd., #201 

Boca Raton, FL 33487

EDDY MANZO-BERDING

2108 NE 63 ST

FT. LAUDERDALE, FL 33308

JENS A. BERDING

1881 MIDDLE RIVER DRIVE

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APT 406

FT. LAUDERDALE, FL 33305

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EXHIBIT "A"

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EXHIBIT "B"

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