While in bankruptcy, the Debtor filed a lawsuit in district court, but did not disclose the lawsuit in the bankruptcy proceeding. After the bankruptcy case closed, the defendant moved to dismiss the district court lawsuit on the grounds that the Debtor was judicially estopped from pursing to the suit for failure to disclose it in bankruptcy. The Debtor then moved to reopen the bankruptcy case to disclose the lawsuit. The Court abated the motion to reopen to allow the district court to decide the judicial estoppel issue because the issue was first raised in district court and the Court wanted to avoid duplication of efforts, infringing on the authority of the district court, and piecemeal resolution of the issues. The Court also found that there was not currently an asset to administer in the case so there was no cause to reopen the case until the district court lawsuit and any appeal from that decision were resolved.
WL Cite: In re Long, No. 08-12216, ECF No. 76 (Bankr. W.D. Tex. Sept. 26, 2014)