In re: Clark, 670 B.R. 367

Gordon Alexander Clark, pro se, appealed from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court’s orders granting Santander Bank relief from the automatic stay, dismissing his Chapter 13 case, and denying requests for direct appeal certification and recusal.
The underlying dispute concerned foreclosure proceedings initiated by Santander on property formerly belonging to Mr. Clark’s late wife, for which Clark claimed inheritance rights.
After a Connecticut Superior Court judgment of foreclosure and subsequent failed state and federal appeals, Clark filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy days before the property’s foreclosure sale date.
Mr. Clark had no regular income and admitted the bankruptcy was filed to stop the foreclosure and continue challenging Santander’s right to foreclose.
Both the Chapter 13 Trustee and Santander objected to Clark’s bankruptcy plan, citing lack of feasibility, missing documentation, improper provisions, and insufficient income.
The Bankruptcy Court found Clark’s filing was in bad faith and dismissed the Chapter 13 case, imposing a two-year bar on refiling; Clark appealed those rulings to the District Court.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Relief from automatic stay	Santander was in default; relief was premature/jurisdictionally improper	Clark filed to stop foreclosure; filing was in bad faith, only to delay state proceedings	Relief was proper—filing was in bad faith, solely to delay foreclosure.
Dismissal of Chapter 13 case	Plan allowed lump sum to valid creditors; shouldn’t be dismissed	Clark admitted no income, bankruptcy solely to stop foreclosure, plan not feasible	Dismissal affirmed; no regular income, no good-faith reorganization effort.
Denial of certification for direct appeal	Satisfied statutory criteria for direct appeal	Did not meet requirements; no legal/factual basis justifying certification	Denial upheld; no basis for direct appeal.
Denial of recusal motion	Judge was biased due to adverse rulings	Recusal motion was retaliation for unfavorable rulings, not based on bias	Denial upheld; no evidence of bias or impropriety.

In re Charter Commc’ns, 691 F.3d 476 (2d Cir. 2012) (sets standard of review for bankruptcy appeals)
Marrama v. Citizens Bank of Massachusetts, 549 U.S. 365 (2007) (discusses good faith requirement for Chapter 13 filings)
Grogan v. Garner, 498 U.S. 279 (1991) (explains bankruptcy’s purpose to give honest debtors a fresh start)
In re C-TC 9th Ave. P'ship, 113 F.3d 1304 (2d Cir. 1997) (bad faith in bankruptcy filings supports dismissal)