In Re: 21st Century Oncology Holdings, Inc.
- Nelson Roman
- 7:21-cv-05894
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Re: 21st Century Oncology Holdings, Inc., Judge Roman denied Jessie Lee Bizzell’s motion to reopen his bankruptcy appeal but allowed limited future bankruptcy filings.
Jessie Lee Bizzell, who was representing himself, was denied the request to reopen his bankruptcy appeal but was allowed to seek relief in Bankruptcy Court or file a proper appeal in the District Court. Kurtzman Carson Consultants LLC was the opposing party in the underlying bankruptcy appeal.
What happened
In Re: 21st Century Oncology Holdings, Inc. concerns Jessie Lee Bizzell’s attempt to revive an appeal from a bankruptcy-court order dismissing a proceeding involving Kurtzman Carson Consultants LLC. Bizzell was representing himself.
The District Court had dismissed Bizzell’s appeal in June 2022 because he did not complete the required appeal steps within the 14-day deadline. In 2023, Bizzell moved to reopen the case, but his motion did not explain the missed deadline or state that he would complete the appeal.
Judge Nelson S. Roman denied the motion to reopen. He also said the Court could not appoint a lawyer for a separate Florida matter or release Bizzell from prison, instructed him to limit future filings to the bankruptcy issues, and allowed him to seek relief in Bankruptcy Court or file a proper appeal in the District Court.
The detailed version
- In Re: 21st Century Oncology Holdings, Inc. · No. 7:21-cv-05894
- Nelson Roman
- Mar. 22, 2024
Background
Jessie Lee Bizzell appealed a Bankruptcy Court order granting Kurtzman Carson Consultants LLC’s motion to dismiss in an adversary bankruptcy proceeding. Under the applicable Bankruptcy Rules, Bizzell had 14 days to complete the steps required to perfect the appeal. The District Court dismissed the appeal on June 7, 2022, because he did not comply with those requirements.
On July 17, 2023, Bizzell moved to reopen the case. The first motion could not be understood, so the Court directed him to submit a typed motion. He filed a typed motion on August 21, 2023. The motion did not explain why he had failed to perfect the appeal or state that he intended to do so.
Other Requests
The Court also addressed requests appearing in Bizzell’s filings that were outside the scope of the bankruptcy appeal. Bizzell appeared to request representation in a separate matter in the Northern District of Florida. The Court stated that it lacked authority to appoint representation for a matter outside its jurisdiction and noted that the Florida matter had been dismissed as frivolous and that the Eleventh Circuit later denied Bizzell’s appeal for failure to prosecute.
Bizzell also appeared to request release from prison and argued that his sentence was illegal. He alleged that 21st Century Oncology Holdings, Inc. was responsible for violations of his rights under the Fifth, Sixth, and Fourteenth Amendments. The District Court stated that those issues were not within its power to remedy and instructed Bizzell to limit future filings to matters concerning the bankruptcy proceeding, rather than criminal proceedings or related civil actions.
Ruling
Judge Nelson S. Roman denied Bizzell’s motion to reopen the bankruptcy proceeding. The Court explained that reopening a bankruptcy case is committed to the discretion of the Bankruptcy Court, not the District Court. The Court nevertheless granted Bizzell leave to seek relief before the Bankruptcy Court or file a proper appeal in the District Court consistent with the instructions in the opinion. The Clerk was directed to terminate the motion and mail Bizzell a copy of the order.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.