Filed: Jul. 07, 2003
Latest Update: Feb. 21, 2020
Summary: United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit F I L E D IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS July 7, 2003 FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT Charles R. Fulbruge III Clerk _ No. 02-21183 Summary Calendar _ In the Matter Of: ROBERT CHARLES GRAVES; BARBARA JAY GRAVES Debtors _ JAMES P ENTREKIN Appellant v. ROBERT CHARLES GRAVES; BARBARA JAY GRAVES Appellees _ Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas No. H-02-CV-1017 _ Before KING, Chief Judge, and JOLLY and SMITH, Circuit
Summary: United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit F I L E D IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS July 7, 2003 FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT Charles R. Fulbruge III Clerk _ No. 02-21183 Summary Calendar _ In the Matter Of: ROBERT CHARLES GRAVES; BARBARA JAY GRAVES Debtors _ JAMES P ENTREKIN Appellant v. ROBERT CHARLES GRAVES; BARBARA JAY GRAVES Appellees _ Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas No. H-02-CV-1017 _ Before KING, Chief Judge, and JOLLY and SMITH, Circuit J..
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United States Court of Appeals
Fifth Circuit
F I L E D
IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
July 7, 2003
FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT Charles R. Fulbruge III
Clerk
____________________
No. 02-21183
Summary Calendar
____________________
In the Matter Of: ROBERT CHARLES GRAVES; BARBARA JAY GRAVES
Debtors
________________________
JAMES P ENTREKIN
Appellant
v.
ROBERT CHARLES GRAVES; BARBARA JAY GRAVES
Appellees
_________________________________________________________________
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Southern District of Texas
No. H-02-CV-1017
_________________________________________________________________
Before KING, Chief Judge, and JOLLY and SMITH, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:*
This appeal concerns two contract-based claims arising out
of a Chapter 13 bankruptcy proceeding. Debtors-Appellees Robert
*
Pursuant to 5TH CIR. R. 47.5, the court has determined
that this opinion should not be published and is not precedent
except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5TH CIR. R.
47.5.4.
and Barbara Graves (“the Graves”) filed an adversary action
against Appellant James P. Entrekin in bankruptcy court, seeking:
(1) specific performance of a contract for deed involving land
located at 7808 Carolyn Lane in Santa Fe, Texas (“Carolyn Lane
property”); and (2) breach-of-contract damages stemming from a
contract for deed involving land located at 3705 Cark Street in
Santa Fe (“Cark Street property”). The bankruptcy court granted
judgment for the Graves on both claims. The district court
subsequently affirmed this final judgment.
Entrekin now appeals, contending that the bankruptcy court
erred in: (1) admitting a duplicate of the original contract for
deed to the Carolyn Lane property into evidence; and (2) finding
that the Graves were not in default on the Cark Street property
and that, even if the Graves were in default, Entrekin did not
give proper notice of default.
Without citing to legal authority, Entrekin argues that the
applicable standard of review in this case is de novo. This is
incorrect. This court has stated that a bankruptcy court’s
evidentiary rulings are reviewed for abuse of discretion, e.g.,
Hitt v. Connell,
301 F.3d 240, 249 (5th Cir. 2002), and its
specific factual findings are reviewed for clear error, e.g., In
re Barron,
325 F.3d 690, 692 (5th Cir. 2003).
Under the appropriate standards of review, there is no
reversible error in this case. As to the first issue, Entrekin
essentially makes the same argument on appeal that he made before
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the district court, contending that he raised a genuine issue as
to the authenticity of the original contract for deed to the
Carolyn Lane property. In its November 29, 2002 order, the
district court granted Entrekin’s motion to supplement the
record, thereby permitting the court to consider the transcript
of the proceedings before the bankruptcy court.1 However, even
after supplementing the record with this transcript, the district
court found that Entrekin failed to present or identify record
evidence to support his contention. We agree with this
assessment and conclude that it was not error for the bankruptcy
court to admit a duplicate of the original contract for deed.
Regarding the second claim, the designated record supports
the bankruptcy court’s factual findings that the Graves were not
in default on the Cark Street property and that Entrekin failed
to notify the Graves of default. The record suggests that the
Graves had fully complied with Entrekin’s demands. Yet, even
assuming arguendo, that the Graves had failed to pay property
taxes on the Cark Street property in a timely manner, Entrekin
has not demonstrated that, under Texas law, this failure
constituted a breach of contract (as opposed to mere default).
1
On August 19, 2002, the district court affirmed the
final judgment entered by the bankruptcy court, basing its
analysis on the designated record filed by the parties, which did
not include a transcript of the evidentiary hearing held in the
bankruptcy court. Entrekin then moved to supplement the record.
While the district court eventually granted Entrekin’s motion to
supplement, the district court reaffirmed its earlier judgment
and dismissed the appeal.
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See TEX. PROP. CODE ANN. § 5.061 (Vernon 2002). Moreover, there is
ample evidence in the record indicating that Entrekin did not
properly fulfill his statutory obligation to provide the Graves
with notice of default and his intention to rescind the contracts
for deed.
Id. §§ 5.063(b)(1)-(3), 5.064. Hence, the bankruptcy
court did not clearly err in making these factual findings.
Given the arguments presented on appeal, it is clear that
the district court did not err in affirming the bankruptcy
court’s grant of judgment for the Graves. The judgment of the
district court is
AFFIRMED.
4