Mesi v. PennyMac Loan Services, LLC

Background

The Bankruptcy Appellate Panel referred the case to the district court for the limited purpose of deciding Eric Thomas Mesi’s request to proceed on appeal without paying filing fees.

Mesi filed a Chapter 7 bankruptcy case on July 6, 2020, and received a discharge under 11 U.S.C. § 727 on September 30, 2020. About a year later, he filed a motion to quash state-court claims from PennyMac Loan Services, LLC. The bankruptcy court denied that motion, and Mesi appealed to the Bankruptcy Appellate Panel.

The bankruptcy court certified that the appeal was not taken in good faith under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3). The reasons identified in the opinion included that Mesi’s filings did not support his contention that the bankruptcy discharge had been violated, that some of his arguments challenged a Nevada state-court order, and that the denial of the motion to quash was not an appealable order.

Court’s analysis

The district court found that the appeal was frivolous, meaning it had no arguable basis in fact or law. The court stated that nothing in the record suggested that the bankruptcy court was wrong about the alleged discharge violation. It also held that, to the extent Mesi sought to challenge the Nevada state court’s actions, the Rooker-Feldman doctrine barred those claims. That doctrine prevents a federal district court from reviewing and rejecting a state-court judgment in a case brought by someone who lost in state court.

Ruling

Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley denied Mesi’s motion to proceed without paying fees on appeal. The clerk was ordered to transmit the order to the Bankruptcy Appellate Panel and close the action.