Opinion ID: 393753
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: treatment of the sba's motion as one for summary judgment

Text: 9 At the hearing on the SBA's motion to pay over, the Bankruptcy judge deemed the motion in effect, a motion for summary judgment. The trustee now argues that this was improper, and that the court did not comply with the procedural requirements of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56. 3 Specifically, the trustee contends that only 9 days notice was provided, instead of the 10 days required by Rule 56, and that he was never informed of the grounds for the motion. 10 The trustee, however, never objected to the procedure followed by the district court. 4 An appellate court will not review an issue not raised or objected to below unless necessary to prevent manifest injustice. Friedman and Jobusch, Architects and Engineers v. C.I.R., 627 F.2d 175, 177 (9th Cir. 1980). See Ahmed v. American Steamship Mutual Protection & Indemnity Association, 640 F.2d 993, 996 (9th Cir. 1981). This general rule applies in appeals from bankruptcy proceedings as well. See Matter of Colorado Corp., 531 F.2d 463, 467 (10th Cir. 1976). 11 Jonas has not shown manifest injustice, or even that the court erred in treating the motion as one for summary judgment. The whole issue raised in the proceedings below was whether the SBA was entitled to the lawsuit proceeds. Therefore, the motion to pay over brought the entire case before the bankruptcy court; in substance the SBA was requesting summary judgment. Moreover, there was no element of surprise to the trustee, unlike the situation in Winkleman v. New York Stock Exchange, 445 F.2d 786, 788-89 (3d Cir. 1971), and other cases the trustee cites, where the opposing party was not prepared to respond to the substantive aspects of the motion. Finally, Jonas has not shown how 9 days notice instead of 10 was harmful. The trustee has not shown any prejudice engendered by the bankruptcy court's treatment of the motion, and in any event his failure to object below forecloses any procedural objections. 12