In Re: Leonard
- Lewis Liman
- 1:20-cv-01558
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 26
In Laverne Leonard v. HSBC Bank, Judge Liman ordered Leonard to file her bankruptcy-appeal brief by June 12, 2020.
Laverne Leonard was required to file the appellant’s brief by June 12, 2020. HSBC Bank USA, National Association, was required to respond after Leonard’s brief was docketed.
What happened
In Laverne Leonard v. HSBC Bank USA, National Association, Leonard appealed a bankruptcy-court order. The record became available electronically on March 27, 2020, but she had not filed her required brief.
The court ordered Leonard to file a brief supporting her appeal by June 12, 2020. HSBC must file its response within 30 days after Leonard’s brief is docketed, and Leonard may file a reply within 14 days after HSBC’s brief is served.
Judge Lewis J. Liman issued the order on May 8, 2020. The order set briefing deadlines and did not decide the substance of Leonard’s appeal.
The detailed version
- In Re: Leonard · No. 1:20-cv-01558
- Lewis Liman
- May 8, 2020
Background
Laverne Leonard, the debtor-appellant, appealed an order from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. The district court docketed a notice on March 27, 2020, stating that the bankruptcy appeal record was complete and electronically available. Under Federal Rule of Bankruptcy Procedure 8018(1), Leonard’s brief was due within 30 days after that notice. The order states that Leonard had not filed a brief.
Order
Judge Liman ordered Leonard to file a brief supporting her appeal by June 12, 2020. HSBC Bank USA, National Association, as appellee, must serve and file its brief within 30 days after Leonard’s brief is docketed. Leonard may file a reply brief within 14 days after HSBC’s brief is served.
The court also directed that the order and its attachments—including the docket sheet, the designation of the bankruptcy record on appeal, and the record notice—be mailed to Leonard. The order noted that parties proceeding without lawyers were encouraged to submit filings by email during the COVID-19 crisis.
What the Order Decided
The order addressed appellate briefing deadlines only. It did not decide the merits of Leonard’s appeal, the bankruptcy court’s dismissal of her adversary proceeding, or her objections to HSBC’s claim. The court entered the order on May 8, 2020.
Read the full 26-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.