In re Johnnie Marene Thomas

Summary

The United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Georgia denied Debtor Johnnie Marene Thomas’s pro se motion for a stay pending appeal of a contempt order. The court held that she failed to address the required stay factors and that her appeal was unlikely to succeed because the notice of appeal was filed outside the mandatory 14-day deadline.

Holdings

1. A stay pending appeal is an extraordinary remedy, and the movant must establish by a preponderance of the evidence all four factors: substantial likelihood of success on the merits, substantial risk of irreparable injury absent a stay, no substantial harm to other interested persons, and no harm to the public interest.
2. The debtor did not demonstrate a substantial likelihood of success because her notice of appeal was filed more than fourteen days after entry of the contempt order, making the appeal fatally untimely.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the debtor was entitled under Federal Rule of Bankruptcy Procedure 8007 to a stay of the contempt order pending appeal.
2. Whether the debtor demonstrated a substantial likelihood of success on appeal where her notice of appeal was filed outside Rule 8002's fourteen-day deadline.

Disposition

other