UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 11-2341
In Re: FRANCIS CLIFFORD TUCKER,
Debtor.
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FRANCIS CLIFFORD TUCKER, Debtor,
Debtor - Appellant,
v.
OHIO VALLEY AMUSEMENT COMPANY, Creditor; ALLAN HART,
Creditor; ALEXAS INTERTAINMENT, LLC, Creditor,
Creditors - Appellees.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern
District of West Virginia, at Wheeling. Frederick P. Stamp,
Jr., Senior District Judge. (5:11-cv-00038-FPS; 5:09-bk-00914)
Submitted: October 24, 2012 Decided: November 14, 2012
Before DAVIS and FLOYD, Circuit Judges, and Catherine C. EAGLES,
United States District Judge for the Middle District of North
Carolina, sitting by designation.
Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.
Paul J. Harris, Wheeling, West Virginia, for Appellant. Steven
L. Thomas, KAY CASTO & CHANEY PLLC, Charleston, West Virginia,
for Appellees.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
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PER CURIAM:
Petitioning creditors-appellees, Ohio Valley Amusement
Company, Alexas Intertainment, LLC, and Al Hart, filed an
involuntary bankruptcy action under Chapter 7 of the Bankruptcy
Code (“the Code”) pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 303 against debtor-
appellant Francis C. Tucker on April 27, 2009, in the United
States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of West
Virginia. After Tucker filed an answer and two unsuccessful
motions to dismiss, the bankruptcy court held a trial on the
contested petition. At the conclusion of the trial, the
bankruptcy court found that the petitioning creditors had
satisfied their burden under 11 U.S.C. § 303(b)(1), having
established that each of the three creditors held qualified
claims that were not contingent, not the subject of a bona fide
dispute, and entailed values that, in the aggregate, satisfied
the statutory threshold. The bankruptcy court further found
that the petitioning creditors satisfied their burden under 11
U.S.C. § 303(h)(1) to establish that Tucker was generally not
paying his debts as they became due. Accordingly, on November
22, 2010, the bankruptcy court entered an Order for Relief on
the petition.
Tucker filed a timely appeal of the bankruptcy court’s
order to the district court. On October 31, 2011, the district
court affirmed the bankruptcy court’s Order for Relief. Tucker
noted a timely appeal to this Court on November 29, 2011.
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After the case was calendared for oral argument, the
parties moved to submit the appeal on the briefs and we granted
the motion. Having carefully reviewed the briefs, record and
applicable law, we affirm for the reasons stated by the district
court in its thorough opinion. See In Re: Francis Clifford
Tucker, 2011 WL 5192801 (N.D. W. Va. Oct. 31, 2011).
AFFIRMED
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