Northbay Wellness Group v. Michael Beyries

MEMORANDUM

Northbay Wellness Group brought an adversary proceeding against Michael Beyries in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of California. After the bankruptcy court dismissed the adversary proceeding, Northbay appealed to the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. The district court affirmed the dismissal, and Northbay appeals the district court’s decision. We review the district court’s decision in an appeal from the bankruptcy court de novo. Mano-Y & M, Ltd. v. Field (In re The Mortgage Store, Inc.), 773 F.3d 990, 994 (9th Cir.2014). In doing so, we apply the same standard of review to the bankruptcy court’s decision as did the district court. Id. We review findings of fact for clear error and conclusions of law de novo. Id. We review the bankruptcy court’s evidentiary rulings for abuse of discretion. Johnson v. Neilson (In re Slatkin), 525 F.3d 805, 811 (9th Cir.2008).

The bankruptcy court did not abuse its discretion by excluding evidence through which Northbay intended to show that Beyries had “a pattern of ongoing practice of fraud upon the courts and attorney misconduct.” Such evidence of Beyries’s general…