Lisa Mellem v. Carl Mellem ( 2021 )


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  •                                                                               FILED
    NOT FOR PUBLICATION
    NOV 26 2021
    UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS                      MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK
    U.S. COURT OF APPEALS
    FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
    In re: LISA GAY MELLEM,                          No.   21-60020
    Debtor,                           BAP No. 20-1174
    ------------------------------
    MEMORANDUM*
    LISA GAY MELLEM,
    Appellant,
    v.
    CARL J. MELLEM, Successor Trustee of
    the Dorothy B. Mellem Revocable Trust,
    Appellee
    Appeal from the Ninth Circuit
    Bankruptcy Appellate Panel
    Klein, Taylor, and Gan, Bankruptcy Judges, Presiding
    Argued and Submitted November 18, 2021
    San Francisco, California
    Before: SCHROEDER, W. FLETCHER, and MILLER, Circuit Judges.
    *
    This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent
    except as provided by Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3.
    The appellant, Lisa Mellem, appeals the judgment of the Bankruptcy
    Appellate Panel in appellant’s ongoing efforts to obtain $75,000 from the estate of
    her mother. The BAP ruled that, even if Lisa treated the funds as a loan that was
    discharged in appellant’s bankruptcy proceeding, her mother was nevertheless free
    to treat the $75,000 as an advance on the appellant’s inheritance. In re Mellem,
    
    625 B.R. 172
     (B.A.P. 9th Cir. 2021). The state probate court held that the mother
    intended such an advance. The bankruptcy court could not overrule that state court
    decision. Neither can we. The Bankruptcy Code prohibits an act to collect a debt
    that has been discharged as a personal liability of the debtor. See 
    11 U.S.C. § 524
    (a)(2). An advance on an inheritance does not constitute such a personal
    liability. The BAP, therefore, correctly recognized that an advance is not a loan
    that can be discharged in bankruptcy proceedings.
    The motion to proceed in forma pauperis is denied as moot because Lisa
    Mellem paid the filing fee.
    AFFIRMED.
    2
    

Document Info

Docket Number: 21-60020

Filed Date: 11/26/2021

Precedential Status: Non-Precedential

Modified Date: 11/26/2021