Case Name: In re Toni Marie GRIFFIN, Debtor. Peter H. Arkison, Chapter 7 Trustee, Appellant, v. Toni Marie Griffin; U.S. Bank National Association, Appellees
Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
Jurisdiction: United States
Decision Date: 2013-06-26
Citations: 719 F.3d 1126
Docket Number: No. 12-60046
Parties: In re Toni Marie GRIFFIN, Debtor. Peter H. Arkison, Chapter 7 Trustee, Appellant, v. Toni Marie Griffin; U.S. Bank National Association, Appellees.
Judges: Before: ARTHUR L. ALARCÓN, M. MARGARET McKEOWN, and SANDRA S. IKUTA, Circuit Judges.
Reporter: West's Bankruptcy Reporter
Volume: 494
Pages: 1126–1128

Head Matter:
In re Toni Marie GRIFFIN, Debtor. Peter H. Arkison, Chapter 7 Trustee, Appellant, v. Toni Marie Griffin; U.S. Bank National Association, Appellees.
No. 12-60046.
United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit.
Argued and Submitted June 5, 2013.
Filed June 26, 2013.
Tuella O. Sykes, The Law Office of Tuel-la O. Sykes, PLLC, Seattle, WA, for Appellant.
Fred B. Burnside, Davis Wright Tre-maine LLP, Seattle, WA, for Appellee.
Before: ARTHUR L. ALARCÓN, M. MARGARET McKEOWN, and SANDRA S. IKUTA, Circuit Judges.

Opinion:
OPINION
PER CURIAM:
U.S. Bank N.A. filed a motion for relief from the automatic stay in this bankruptcy case. To establish its standing to bring this motion, the bank submitted a copy of the promissory note with respect to which the bank sought relief from the stay. This copy was apparently a second-generation copy of the note, because it reproduced a certification affixed to the first-generation copy that stated: "We hereby certify that this is a true & correct copy of the original. CTX Mortgage Company, LLC." The bank also submitted a declaration certifying that the original note was in the bank's files. The trustee argued that a duplicate of a duplicate of the original note was insufficient to establish prudential standing. The bankruptcy court rejected this argument and the BAP affirmed.
We agree with the First Circuit that a duplicate of a duplicate is a duplicate for purposes of Federal Rule of Evidence 1003. See United States v. Carroll, 860 F.2d 500, 507 (1st Cir.1988). We therefore conclude that U.S. Bank N.A., by providing a copy of a copy of the note and a declaration establishing its possession of the original note, established prudential standing to file the motion for relief from the stay.
A proceeding to determine eligibility for relief from a stay only determines whether a creditor should be released from the stay in order to argue the merits in a separate proceeding. Johnson v. Righetti, 756 F.2d 738, 740-41 (9th Cir.1985). Given the limited nature of the relief obtained through this proceeding and because final adjudication of the parties' rights and liabilities is yet to occur, a party seeking stay relief need only establish that it has a colorable claim to the property at issue. In re Veal, 450 B.R. 897, 914-15 (9th Cir. BAP 2011). The bankruptcy court did not abuse its discretion in granting relief from the stay.
AFFIRMED.