Aneta Lennartson v. Brian Cristofono ( 2022 )


Menu:
  •                   United States Court of Appeals
    For the Eighth Circuit
    ___________________________
    No. 21-1979
    ___________________________
    Aneta Lennartson; Top Law, PLLC
    Plaintiffs - Appellants
    v.
    Brian J. Cristofono
    Defendant - Appellee
    ____________
    Appeal from United States District Court
    for the District of Minnesota
    ____________
    Submitted: December 21, 2021
    Filed: January 27, 2022
    [Unpublished]
    ____________
    Before LOKEN, SHEPHERD, and STRAS, Circuit Judges.
    ____________
    PER CURIAM.
    Aneta Lennartson and Top Law, PLLC appeal the district court’s 1 dismissal
    of their bankruptcy appeal for failure to file an opening brief. On January 4, 2021,
    Appellants appealed an order from the bankruptcy court granting Brian Cristofono
    1
    The Honorable Patrick J. Schiltz, United States District Judge for the District
    of Minnesota.
    summary judgment. Rule 8018(a)(1) of the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure
    requires that the appellant in a bankruptcy appeal “serve and file a brief within 30
    days after the docketing of notice that the record . . . is available electronically.” On
    January 21, the clerk of the bankruptcy court docketed “notice that the record for
    this appeal is available electronically.” This notice was the fourth entry on the
    docket, and Appellants’ counsel, Jeremy Cobb, would have received an email
    notification at the time it was docketed. As a result, Appellants’ opening brief was
    due by February 22. Appellants never filed a brief, and accordingly, the district
    court issued an order to show cause why the appeal should not be dismissed. In
    response to the order to show cause, Cobb contended that he was unaware of the due
    date “despite diligent efforts to ascertain it.” Cobb blamed the district court’s staff
    and others for failing to tell him the due date. The district court compared Cobb’s
    response to his interactions with court staff and his behavior before the bankruptcy
    court. Cobb repeatedly insisted that court staff give him legal advice and, on more
    than one occasion, hung up on court staff when they declined to do so. The
    bankruptcy court ordered Cobb to issue a letter of apology to Appellee’s counsel and
    participate in three hours of continuing legal education on the topics of
    professionalism and civility. The district court also noted that Cobb received notice
    in the fifth entry on the docket that oral argument was set for April 26, and therefore,
    it should have been obvious to Cobb that his opening brief was due long before late
    March, as Rule 8018(a) contemplates a briefing schedule spanning over two months.
    Further, though Cobb tested positive for COVID-19 in late January, he did not argue
    that he became symptomatic or that his illness prevented him from timely filing a
    brief. In dismissing Appellants’ appeal from the bankruptcy court, the district court
    attributed Appellants’ failure to file a timely brief to Cobb’s failure to review the
    docket and apply the plain language of Rule 8018(a)(1) to the plain text of a docket
    entry, which did not constitute “excusable neglect.”
    Following a careful review, we conclude that the district court did not abuse
    its discretion in denying an extension and dismissing the appeal. See Smith v. Gold
    Dust Casino, 
    526 F.3d 402
    , 404-05 (8th Cir. 2008) (dismissal for failure to prosecute
    or failure to comply with court order is reviewed for abuse of discretion); In re
    -2-
    Harlow Fay, Inc., 
    993 F.2d 1351
    , 1352 (8th Cir. 1993) (district court’s denial of
    request for extension of filing deadline in a bankruptcy appeal is reviewed for abuse
    of discretion). Accordingly, we affirm. See 8th Cir. R. 47B.
    ______________________________
    -3-
    

Document Info

Docket Number: 21-1979

Filed Date: 1/27/2022

Precedential Status: Non-Precedential

Modified Date: 1/27/2022