Beneficial Trust Deeds v. Franklin

CYNTHIA HOLCOMB HALL, Circuit Judge:

This case presents the question of whether a bankruptcy court retains jurisdiction to construe its own orders when a declaratory judgment action is filed in the district court after the dismissal of the underlying bankruptcy proceeding.

I

The facts of this case provide a striking example of how, on occasion, debtors attempt to misuse the bankruptcy mechanism and to delay and stall creditors from exercising their state law rights. Appellants Herman J. Franklin and Mary L. Franklin (the Franklins) filed no less than five bankruptcy petitions in a period of…