In re Manthey

Memorandum of Decision

Debtor Robert J. Manthey is an entertainment agent. He filed his first Chapter 13 petition on July 14, 1997. His plan was duly confirmed, and he made payments to the trustee for several years. In early 2000, two problems arose in that case.

First, creditor Courtney Roberts appeared on the scene asserting a prepetition claim which Manthey had not scheduled because he did not know it existed when he filed his petition three years earlier. Roberts operated a bar in Eureka, California. In 1997, he had entered into a contract with Manthey whereby Manthey supplied entertainment for Roberts’ bar. The entertainers apparently performed lewd acts, resulting in license suspension proceedings against Roberts by the California Department of Alcoholic Beverages Control. Roberts brought suit against Man-they for his resulting damages.

The second to arise in the earlier Chapter 13 case was that the Internal Revenue Service filed an amended claim asserting additional priority tax debt. On May 26, 2000, the trustee filed a motion to dismiss the case on the grounds that it would take 103 months for Manthey to complete his plan, far in excess of the 60-month limit of §…