Genger v. Genger

Background

Orly Genger, identified as a beneficiary of The Orly Genger 1993 Trust, sought to remove Dalia Genger as trustee and obtain an accounting of the trust. The case also involved The Sagi Genger 1993 Trust. After Orly Genger’s bankruptcy, the parties submitted a February 7, 2020 stipulation—an agreement filed with the court—concerning transfer of the case to the Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.

The court noted that the stipulation appeared to include only some of the parties. It explained that a transfer could not be stipulated to without the consent of all parties. The court also referenced a pending motion to transfer the case to the Western District of Texas and a prior statement that the bankruptcy court had transferred the bankruptcy case’s venue to New York, potentially making the Texas-transfer motion moot.

Order

Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein ordered the parties to submit a joint letter by 5:00 p.m. on February 14, 2020. The letter had to state whether every party agreed to transfer the matter to the bankruptcy court. If all parties agreed, the letter had to include an updated stipulation. If any party opposed transfer, the letter had to explain the opposition, including why the transfer was not required by the Southern District of New York’s standing order referring bankruptcy-related matters to bankruptcy judges.

The joint letter also had to provide the parties’ views on whether the pending motion to transfer the case to the Western District of Texas was moot. The court stated that it could set a briefing schedule for formal motions if the parties disagreed. Separately, the court granted the February 5 request for a 45-day extension for the Bankruptcy Trustee to respond to the pending motions seeking remand. The order regulated further proceedings; it did not decide the requested transfers or the underlying trust dispute.