San Bernardino City Professional Firefighters Local 891 v. City of San Bernardino (In re City of San Bernardino)

Good Law
545 B.R. 14·2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3857
United States District Court, Central District of CaliforniaJanuary 12, 2016Case No. 5:15-cv-00014-ODW; U.S. Bankruptcy Court Case No. 6:12-bk-28006-MJCalifornia1,764 words

Opinion

lead Opinion

Wright, J.

I. INTRODUCTION

Appellant San Bernardino City Professional Firefighters Local 891 (“Firefighters”) appeals from the bankruptcy court’s order denying its motion for relief from stay (“Stay Motion”). The bankruptcy court held that the Firefighters could not pursue an action in state court against Debtor-Appellee City of San Bernardino (“City”) and its officers for violating state law by reducing the Firefighters’ salaries and benefits following the City’s unilateral rejection of their collective bargaining agreement. 1 This Court has jurisdiction over this appeal pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 158 (a)(1). For the reasons discussed below, the Court AFFIRMS the bankruptcy court’s order in full. 2

II. STANDARD OF REVIEW

The grant or denial of relief from stay is reviewed for abuse of discretion. In re Conejo Enters., Inc., 96 F.3d 346 , 351 (9th Cir.1996). “Decisions committed to the bankruptcy court’s discretion will be reversed only if ’based on an erroneous conclusion of law or when the record contains no evidence on which the bankruptcy court rationally could have based that decision.’” Id. (internal brackets omitted).

*16 III. DISCUSSION

A. Applicability of the Automatic…

Sign in to read the full opinion

Create a free account to read the complete opinion text, citation history, and good-law status for this case.