Opinion ID: 201641
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: relief from the injunction

Text: 53 One loose end remains. As a fallback position, the churches contend that even if we find L-BRMC eligible to receive the bequest-as we have—we nonetheless should reverse the lower courts' refusal to grant relief from the Plan's injunctive provisions, quoted supra note 2, so that the churches can initiate a proceeding in the Massachusetts probate court to conform the trusts to the will and reintroduce the bed for indigent patients limitation. BRMC argues that this is a non-issue because the earlier probate orders constitute a bar to further proceedings on res judicata grounds. 54 We need not reach the res judicata issue (and, consequently, do not attempt to resolve it). While the record does not reveal the bankruptcy court's reasons for denying relief from the injunction, the district court's opinion affords some guidance. In upholding the bankruptcy court's refusal to relax the injunction, that court cited the substantial delay in the liquidation of BRMC that this litigation already had caused and concluded that, in all events, any proceeding brought by the churches in the probate court likely would be a waste of time. BRMC III, 2004 WL 1778881, at - & n. 12. 55 Although the matter is far from clear, we assume, for argument's sake, that the probate court retains the authority, even at this late date, to modify its decree confirming Ms. Krauss's estate plan. Cf. O'Brien v. Dwight, 363 Mass. 256, 294 N.E.2d 363, 380-81 (1973) (holding that probate courts have the continuing power to revoke or modify their decrees, but suggesting that such action would only be appropriate in limited circumstances). Even so, the mere fact that relief which is not available to a litigant in the bankruptcy court conceivably might be available in another forum is not, in and of itself, sufficient to require the bankruptcy court to lift an injunction or a stay. See, e.g., In re Federated Dep't Stores, Inc., 328 F.3d 829, 836-37 (6th Cir.2003) (holding that the bankruptcy court acted within its discretion in refusing to relax an anti-suit injunction, even though the denial of relief might cause hardship to the movant's ability to litigate a state law claim). The bankruptcy court is entitled to consider not only the nature of the remedies that might be available in a parallel (non-bankruptcy) proceeding but also the substantiality of the asserted claim and the effect of granting the exception on the bankruptcy case as a whole. See In re Calore Express Co., 288 F.3d 22, 35-36 (1st Cir.2002). 56 We review a bankruptcy court's decision not to exempt a particular claim from the sweep of an injunction or stay prohibiting the maintenance of non-bankruptcy litigation for abuse of discretion. In re C & S Grain Co., 47 F.3d 233, 238 (7th Cir.1995). Having reviewed the record with care, we discern no abuse of discretion here. There are a series of obstacles standing in the churches' way. First, we question whether the probate court would entertain the churches' belated petition to modify the estate plan. Second, even if the probate court would entertain the petition, we view the chances of the churches winning reformation as small. Third, even if the churches were to prevail in reforming the indentures of trust, it is problematic whether that victory would change the ultimate analysis vis-à-vis BRMC's entitlement to the bequest. After all, at the time of Ms. Krauss's death, BRMC was functioning as a hospital and, thus, was still capable of applying the bequest to the care of indigent patients. And, finally, even if the churches succeeded in stripping away BRMC's entitlement to the bequest, it is not certain that they would benefit. Cf., e.g., Town of Brookline v. Barnes, 324 Mass. 632, 87 N.E.2d 843, 845-47 (1949) (holding that a charitable gift, which could not be distributed because of the legatee's unwillingness to carry out the testator's charitable intent, could inspire an application of the doctrine of cy pres so that the court could order the bequest paid to a different institution and, thus, effectuate the testator's charitable intent). 57 The bottom line, then, is that the churches' anticipated probate claim is tenuous at best. That fact, coupled with the district court's accurate observation that the battle for the bequest already has caused protracted delay in winding up the bankruptcy case, convinces us that the refusal to lift the injunction was comfortably within the encincture of the lower courts' discretion.