Kamjoo v. Wright (In re Wright)

Nicole Marie Wright (debtor) filed a chapter 7 bankruptcy petition on May 20, 2009. Wright scheduled Sep Kamjoo (creditor) as a general unsecured creditor. The clerk of the bankruptcy court sent creditors, including Kamjoo, a notice of Wright’s bankruptcy proceeding. The notice listed August 17, 2009, as the deadline for the creditors to file complaints to determine the dischargeability of their debts and object to Wright’s discharge of the debts. Ten minutes before the filing deadline, Kamjoo’s lawyer tried to file Kamjoo’s complaint electronically with the bankruptcy court, but the lawyer initially used the wrong electronic-filing system. As a result, Kamjoo’s complaint was filed nine minutes after the filing deadline expired. Wright moved to dismiss Kamjoo’s complaint as untimely under Bankruptcy Rule 4007(c). Kamjoo opposed the motion, arguing that a technical difficulty prevented the timely filing of his complaint. Kamjoo also alleged that because Wright had been dishonest and engaged in unscrupulous acts, she was not entitled to a discharge of her debts, and he asked the bankruptcy court to use its equitable powers under 11 U.S.C. § 105(a) to allow his complaint to proceed. The bankruptcy court ruled in Wright’s favor and dismissed Kamjoo’s complaint as untimely, finding that Kamjoo’s lawyer’s failure to use the right electronic-filing system was not a technical problem. The bankruptcy court further held that Wright’s alleged dishonesty and unscrupulous conduct were unproven and that, in any event, equitable principles could not be used to preserve the claims in Kamjoo’s complaint once the filing deadline had expired. Kamjoo appealed to the United States Bankruptcy Appellate Panel for the Ninth Circuit.