Opinion ID: 857465
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Related Bankruptcy Proceedings.

Text: El Camino finally argues that the district court erred in denying its motion for reconsideration based upon the bankruptcy court’s preliminary factual findings. In the avoidance proceeding, the bankruptcy court has issued two written opinions. In one of these opinions, it specifically found that Huntington did not act in good faith when it accepted payments from Teleservices. El Camino argues that the absence of good faith is evidence that Huntington had actual knowledge of Cyberco’s fraud and urges this court to find error in the district court’s refusal to reconsider its summary judgment ruling. The issue of good faith, however, is distinct from the issue of actual knowledge. Furthermore, El Camino offers no authority in support of its position that the district court was required to consider the bankruptcy court’s finding, even if it was related to the issue litigated in this case. The bankruptcy court’s preliminary findings do not speak directly to whether Huntington had actual knowledge of Cyberco’s wrongdoings, which is the heart of El Camino’s arguments on appeal. The bankruptcy findings speak only to whether Huntington acted in good faith in accepting payments from Teleservices. In fact, the 1 This statute was amended in 2005. This case is governed by its previous version from the year 2000. No. 12-1254 El Camino Res., et al. v. Huntington Nat’l Bank Page 11 district court, in denying El Camino’s request to reconsider its summary judgment ruling, specified that the proceedings before it and those before the bankruptcy court “arose in different legal contexts and, contrary to Plaintiffs’ contentions,” presented “no conflict in the opinions.” In addition, the district court would not be required to reconsider its summary judgment ruling because the bankruptcy court finding is preliminary and non-binding. The findings are subject to review by the district court which may ultimately decide to reopen factual disputes addressed in the avoidance proceeding. See In re Teleservices Grp., Inc., 456 B.R. 318, 340 n.67 (Bankr. W.D. Mich. 2011); 28 U.S.C. § 157(c)(1). Because the proposed finding addressed an issue different from the one disputed in this case, and because it is neither binding nor final, the district court did not err in refusing to reconsider its ruling. AFFIRMED.