MEMORANDUM
Aрpellant, SB Properties, Inc., seeks to set aside the dismissal of its bankruptcy appeal and seeks to file its designation of the record and statement of the issues on appeal nunc pro tunc. Appellee, Mary Scatton, Executrix of the Estate of John P. Scatton, opposes the motion and asserts that Appellant's procedurally flawed appeal should be dismissed because the Bankruptcy Court found that Appellant’s Chapter 11 case was filed in bad fаith. This Court has jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C.A. § 158(a) (West Supp.1995). For the following reasons, I will deny Appellant’s motion.
I. Background and Procedural History
The record reveals the following material facts. In 1965, John P. Scatton and his siblings, Peter M. Scatton and Christina Scatton Masucci, formed Scatton Brothers Properties, a Pennsylvania general partnership (“Partnership”). Each sibling then held a one third interest in the Partnership. The Partnership subsequently purchased a manufacturing facility (“Property”), which was the Partnership’s sole asset, and thеn leased the Property to Scatton Brothers Manufacturing Company, a Pennsylvania corporation owned or controlled by Masucci.
In 1989, following a dispute between the siblings, John Scatton commenced a state court equity action to dissolve the Partnership. On October 2, 1989, however, John Scatton died, and his wife, Mary, was named executrix of his estate and was substituted as the plaintiff in the pending state court action. After the trial court concluded that the Partnership could be dissolved, and that the Pennsylvania Uniform Partnership Act would govern the Partnership’s liquidation, Peter Scatton and Masucci appealed. On November 21, 1991, the Superior Court of Pennsylvania affirmed.
See Scatton v. Scatton,
In October 1994, following the unsuccessful sale of the Property, the state court appoint ed an appraiser to determine the Property’s fair market value and fair rental value. On January 19, 1995, however, before the court-appointed appraisal was completed, Masucci formed a debtor corporation, SB Properties, and as the owner of a majority interest in the Partnership, merged the newly created shell corporation and the Partnership. On January 20, 1995, one day after its creation, Appellant SB Properties, through its President, Masucci, filed a Chapter 11 case and invoked the automatic stay provision tо stall the state court action.
Appellee subsequently sought relief from the automatic stay. On May 2, 1995, following a hearing on March 16, 1995, the Bankruptcy Court
sua
sponte
1
dismissed Appellant’s case “for cause” under 11 U.S.C.A.
II. Standard, of Review
The district court may not set aside a bankruptcy court’s factual findings unless they are clearly erroneous. See
Fellheimer, Eichen & Braverman v. Charter Technologies, Inc.,
III. Discussion
Appellant concedes that it failed to comply with Bankruptcy Rule 8006, which provides that:
Within 10 days after filing the notice of appeal as provided by Rule 8001(a) ... the appellant shall file with the clerk and serve on the appellee a designation of the items to be included in the record on appeal and a statement of the issues to be presented.
See Fed.Bаnkr.R. 8006 (West Supp.1995). Although Appellant’s failure to timely designate and state the issues on appeal is a non-jurisdictional, procedural defect, it may, nevertheless, constitute the basis for dismissal under Bankruptcy Rule 8001(a):
Failure of an appellant to take any step other than the timely filing of a notice of appeal does not affect the validity of the appeal, but is ground only for such action as the district court or bankruptcy appellate pаnel deems appropriate, which may include dismissal of the appeal.
See Fed.Bankr.R. 8001(a) (West Supp.1995).
Appellant correctly notes, however, that Bankruptcy Rule 8001(a) does not compel dismissal of a bankruptcy appeal as a sanction for non-compliance. Appellant asserts that dismissal of a bankruptcy appeal for failure to comply with a purely procedural rule is a harsh sanction to be imposed rarely.
2
I agree. “Not every failure to fol
Here, the record on appeal does not support a finding that Appellant acted in bad faith by failing to designate the record and state the issues on appeal. It is true that Appellant did not file the items required under Rule 8006 until roughly forty calendar days after filing its notice of appeal. However, delay, without more, is normally an insufficient reason to dismiss an appeal.
See id.
(although designation and statement filed four days later, no dismissal warranted absent evidence of bad faith or prejudice);
In re Haardt,
No. 90-7509,
The inquiry, however, is not ended. Ap-pellee asserts that Appellant’s procedurally flawed bankruptcy appeal should not be resuscitated here because the Bankruptcy Court found that the underlying Chapter 11 case was filed in bad faith as a litigation tactic in a two person family feud.
See In the Matter of Bulic,
Thus, I must determine (1) whether this jurisdiction recognizes a bankruptcy court’s legal authority to dismiss a Chapter 11 petition for cause under § 1112(b) because it was not filed in good faith; and (2) if so, whether the Bankruptcy Court here erred by finding as fact that Appellant’s Chapter 11
A bankruptcy court may dismiss a Chapter 11 case for “cause” under § 1112(b), which provides that:
(b) Except as provided in subsection (c) of this section, on request of a party in interest or the United States trustee or bankruptсy administrator, and after notice and a hearing, the court may convert a case under this chapter to a case under chapter 7 of this title or may dismiss a case under this chapter, whichever is in the best interest of creditors and the estate, for cause, including—
(1) continuing loss to or diminution of the estate and absence of a reasonable likelihood of rehabilitation;
(2) inability to effectuate a plan;
(3) unreasonable delay by the debtor that is prejudicial to creditors;
(4) failure to рropose a plan under section 1121 of this title within any time fixed by the court;
(5) denial of confirmation of every proposed plan and denial of a request made for additional time for filing another plan or a modification of a plan;
(6) revocation of an order of confirmation under section 1144 of this title, and denial of confirmation of another plan or a modified plan under section 1129 of this title;
(7) inability to effectuate substantial consummation of a confirmed plan;
(8) material default by the debtor with respect to a confirmed plan;
(9) termination of a plan by reason of the occurrence of a condition specified in the plan; or
(10) nonpayment of any fees or charges required under chapter 123 of title 28.
11 U.S.C.A. § 1112(b) (West 1993 & Supp. 1995).
The bankruptcy court may consider reasons, not enumerated in § 1112(b), that may justify dismissing a Chapter 11 case for “cause.”
See Monsour Medical Center, Inc. v. Stein (In re Monsour Medical Center, Inc.),
Moreover, the overwhelming majority of courts considering the issue agree that an implicit good faith filing requirement exists under § 1112(b), and that a Chapter 11 case may be dismissed for cause if it was filed in bad faith.
3
Although the Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit has not directly addressed the issue, it has strongly suggested in dicta that good faith is a prerequisite to filing Chapter 11 cases.
See First Jersey National Bank v. Brown (In re Brown),
Finally, significant policy considerations support a good faith requirement. The good faith filing requirement preserves the “jurisdictional integrity of the bankruptcy court by rendering their powerful equitable weapons (i.e., avoidance of liens, discharge of debts, marshalling and turnover of assets) available only to those debtors and creditors with ‘clean hands’” and prevents abuse of the bankruptcy proсess “by debtors whose overriding motive is to delay creditors without benefitting them in any way or to achieve reprehensible purposes.”
In re Little Creek Dev. Co.,
Based on (1) the broad language and legislative history of § 1112(b), which specifically allows, and arguably invites, bankruptcy courts to consider factors beyond those enumerated in the statute and to use its equitable powers to achieve just results; (2) the Third Circuit’s suggestion that there is a good faith filing requirement; (3) the overwhelming weight of authority from other jurisdiсtions finding a good faith filing requirement; and (4) the underlying policy considerations, I reject Appellant’s blanket assertion that the Bankruptcy Court can never dismiss for cause a bankruptcy case filed in bad faith or weed out a purely abusive filing. A bankruptcy court need not stand idle, and indeed may be obligated to act, when a petitioner invokes its jurisdiction and process for improper purposes.
Cf. Cinema Service Corp. v. Edbee Corp.,
Whether bad faith actually exists in a particular case is a question of fact. Because the existence of bad faith turns on the totality of the circumstances, no single standard emerges.
Compare Carolin Corp.,
Although in the context of a Chapter 10 case under the now defunct Bankruptcy Act, the Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit previously defined “good faith” in terms of a petitioner’s motives, intent, and ability to reorganize, which I find instructive here:
Good faith imports an honest intention on the part of the petitioner to effect a reorganization, together with a need for and possibility of effecting it, and, in determining whether a Chapter X proceeding was filed in good faith the Court is required only to ascertain whether it was reasonable to expect that a plan could be effectuated; that there was opportunity and need for reorganization; and that the petition was filed with honest intention of effecting it and not for the purpose of hindering and delaying creditоrs.
In re Business Finance Corp.,
Clearly then, the issue of good faith involves both subjective and objective dimensions.
4
See also Carolin Corp.,
886
(1) the debtor has few or no unsecured creditors;
(2) there has been a previous bankruptcy petition by the debtor or a related entity;
(3) the prepetition conduct of the debtor has been improper;
(4) the petition effectively allows the debt- or to evade court orders;
(5) there are few debts to non-moving creditors;
(6) the petition was filed on the eve of foreclosure;
(7) the foreclosed property is the sole or major asset of the debtor;
(8) the debtor has no ongoing business or employees;
(9) there is no possibility of reorganization;
(10) the debtor’s income is not sufficient to operate;
(11) there was no pressure from non-moving creditors;
(12) reorganization essentially involves the resolution of a two-party dispute;
(13) a corporate debtor was formed and received title to its major assets immediately before the petition; and
(14) the debtor filed solely to create the automatic stay. 5
Mellon Bank v. Selig (In re Selig),
Bankr. No. 5-92-01484,
Here, the totality of circumstances support the Bankruptcy Court’s factual findings that Appellant’s Chapter 11 case was not filed in good faith. Appellant, a shell corporation created solely for the purpose of filing a bankruptcy petition, is a single asset debtor. Aside from some rental income, Appellant has no employees to protect, no on-going business to preserve, and no significant creditors other than a mortgage. The record here clearly shows no viable business entity in need of bankruptcy protection. “[I]f there is not a potentially viable business in place worthy of protection and rehabilitation, the Chapter 11 effort has lost its raison
d’etre.” See In re Little Creek Dev. Co.,
Moreover, Appellant has provided no reason to set aside the Bankruptcy Court’s finding that the reorganization effort here involved no more than a thinly veiled litigation tactic in a two party family dispute. Appellant’s single asset, the Property, was targeted for sale by order of the state court. Nevertheless, before the court appointed appraisal could be completed, Appellant filed its Chapter 11 case effectively derailing six years of state court litigation. The timing of Appellant’s Chapter 11 filing fairly manifests an intent to delay or frustrate the state court’s attempts to liquidate the Property.
Appellant’s alleged motivatiоn to have its long-standing dispute decided by a more speedy bankruptcy forum is not a sufficient basis to prevent dismissal.
See In re Heritage Wood ’N Lakes Estates, Inc.,
Because I am satisfied with the Bankruptcy Court’s assessment of the underlying Chapter 11 case, both as a matter of law and fact, Appellant’s motion shall be denied.
An appropriate Order follows.
ORDER
AND NOW, this 8th day of August, 1995, it is hereby ORDERED that:
1. Appellant SB Properties, Inc.’s Motion For Reconsideration Of Order To Dismiss Appeal And For Leave To Comply With Bankruptcy Rule 8006 Nunc Pro Tunc (Doc. No. 3) is DENIED.
2. This Case shall be marked CLOSED.
Notes
. Although not expressly challenged by Appellant, I note that courts disagree whether a bankruptcy court has the authority to dismiss a Chapter 11 petition on its own motion.
Compare Pleasant Pointe Apartments v. Kentucky Housing Corp.,
. In
In the Matter of Bulic,
the danger of prejudice to the debtor, the length of the delay and its potential impact on judicial proceedings, the reason for the delay, including whether it was within the reasonable control of the movant, and whether the movant acted in good faith.
Id.
(quoting
Pioneer Investment
Services, - U.S. at -,
The
Bulic
court noted that there is nо consensus from the body of case law on the approach a district court should employ in cases involving missing or late filings.
See id.
at 302.
Compare Resolution Trust Co. v. SPR Corp. (In re SPR Corp.),
.
See generally Trident Associates Limited Partnership v. Metropolitan Life Ins. Co. (In re Trident Associates Limited Partnership), 52
F.3d 127, 130 (6th Cir.1995);
Marsch v. Marsch (In re Marsch),
. The objective futility inquiry focuses on whether “there is no going concern tо preserve ... and ... no hope of rehabilitation, except according to the debtor's ‘terminal euphoria.’"
Carolin Corp.,
. I realize that the "laundry-list” approach to determining the existence of bad faith has been criticized as too rigid and inflexible.
See In re Clinton Centrifuge,
