United States Court of Appeals
Fifth Circuit
F I L E D
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
For the Fifth Circuit October 1, 2004
Charles R. Fulbruge III
Clerk
No. 03-11060
In The Matter of: JOE P. LOPEZ
Debtor.
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JOE P. LOPEZ,
Appellant,
VERSUS
VEHICLE REMOVAL CORPORATION,
Appellee.
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Northern District of Texas
(02-CV-1610)
Before DeMOSS, STEWART, and PRADO Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:*
Appellant Joe Lopez, an attorney, operates a law practice that
focuses almost entirely on contingent fee cases arising out of
improperly towed vehicles, in addition to some cases in which he
files Chapter 13 bankruptcies for his debtor-clients. On November
*
Pursuant to 5th CIR. R. 47.5, the Court has determined that this
opinion should not be published and is not precedent except under
the limited circumstances set forth in 5th CIR. R. 47.5.4.
7, 2000, Lopez filed his own petition for Chapter 7 bankruptcy
after Appellee Vehicle Removal Corporation (“VRC”) obtained a pre-
bankruptcy judgment against him. When Lopez filed his bankruptcy
petition, he reported on his bankruptcy schedules that he had no
accounts receivable. In addition, Lopez listed a zero on his
bankruptcy schedules for the estimated amount of any contingent or
unliquidated claims or rights to which he was entitled. There was
evidence, however, indicating that Lopez subsequently collected
fees on both the contingent fee and Chapter 13 pre-petition cases.
At a creditors’ meeting in May 2001, Lopez was asked by VRC’s
counsel whether Lopez reported all of his assets and liabilities on
his bankruptcy schedules. Lopez responded that he had fully
disclosed all such information and added that he had no accounts
receivable. After the creditors’ meeting, VRC approached Lopez and
informed him that any contingent fee cases that he might have
outstanding were reportable on his bankruptcy schedules as assets.
Shortly thereafter, on June 11, 2001, Lopez amended his bankruptcy
petition, adding a partial list of the contingent fee cases that
had been started pre-petition. On June 29, 2001, Lopez submitted
to VRC another list of his pre-petition contingent fee cases that
included additional cases not reported in his June 11, 2001
amendment. Lopez did not, however, submit the June 29, 2001, list
to the bankruptcy trustee.
On August 2, 2001, VRC and the bankruptcy trustee filed a
discharge complaint against Lopez, objecting to his discharge.
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Specifically, VRC and the trustee alleged Lopez violated 11 U.S.C.
§ 727(a)(4)(D), which precludes discharge if the “debtor knowingly
and fraudulently . . . withheld from an officer of the estate
entitled to possession under this title, any recorded information,
including books, documents, records, and papers, relating to the
debtor’s property or financial affairs.” The bankruptcy court
found Lopez violated § 727(a)(4)(D) by failing to list settlements
and payments on contingency fee cases after he became aware that
the money received was part of the bankruptcy estate. Pursuant to
this finding, the bankruptcy court denied Lopez a discharge. Lopez
appealed the bankruptcy court’s order. The district court affirmed
the bankruptcy court, and Lopez timely filed the instant appeal.
Having carefully reviewed the entire record of this case, and
having fully considered the parties’ respective briefing and
arguments, we find no reversible error in the district court’s
memorandum opinion and order. We therefore AFFIRM the final
judgment of the district court for the reasons stated in its order.
AFFIRMED.
3