Opinion ID: 614095
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: State Court Lawsuit

Text: The agreed-upon tolling period for the enforcement of the Judgment ended on June 30, 2008. Thereafter, on October 23, 2009, Sandburg Financial filed suit in Texas state court against American Rice (the Post Confirmation Complaint), seeking to collect amounts allegedly due from American Rice, Rice Corporation of Haiti, Comet Rice of Puerto Rico, Inc., and Comet Ventures, Inc. under the Pre-Petition Contracts only, including amounts due under the Judgment. C. Reopening of Chapter 11 Case and District Court Procedures After Sandburg Financial filed the Post Confirmation Complaint, American Rice filed a motion on November 24, 2009 to reopen the Chapter 11 case and filed a Motion for Order that Sandburg Financial Corporation Appear and Show Cause as to Why Sandburg Financial Should Not be Found in Contempt and Sanctioned for Violations of the Discharge Injunction. The district court granted the motions on November 24, 2009. Appellee later moved for summary judgment on the motion (on January 27, 2010), arguing that the Post Confirmation Complaint violated the district court's discharge injunction and Confirmation Order. The district court heard the motion on March 8, 2010, and issued an opinion on April 27, 2010, finding that Sandburg Financial's Post Confirmation Complaint violated the discharge injunction and Confirmation Order. Specifically, the district court found: (a) Sandburg Financial's claim based on the pre-petition contracts and post-petition contracts was discharged by the Confirmation Order, (b) the post-petition contracts and post-confirmation contracts are unenforceable, and (c) the Post-Confirmation Complaint violates the court's discharge injunction. 4 Case: 11-40301 Document: 00511611034 Page: 5 Date Filed: 09/22/2011 No. 11-40301 The district court entered final judgment on August 10, 2010, finding that Sandburg Financial's claims were discharged during the bankruptcy, and that Sandburg Financial was permanently barred from pursuing the claims against American Rice. The claims were dismissed with prejudice.