ROBERT E. GRANT, Chief Judge.
A default judgment was entered against the debtor in this adversary proceeding on June 12, 2012. That judgment did two things. It revoked the debtor's discharge because he had refused to comply with a turnover order, see, 11 U.S.C. § 727(d)(3), (a)(6)(A), and it entered a money judgment against him in the sum of $2,839, the amount the turnover order required him to pay the trustee.
The court has wide discretion in deciding motions under Rule 60(b), see, Zuelzke Tool & Engineering Co. v. Anderson Die Castings, Inc., 925 F.2d 226, 228-29 (7th Cir.1991); Reinsurance Co. of America, Inc. v. Administratia Asigurarilor de Stat (Admin, of State Ins.), 902 F.2d 1275, 1277 (7th Cir.1990), Cincinnati Ins. Co. v. Flanders Elec. Motor Service, Inc., 131 F.3d 625, 628 (7th Cir.1997), and the movant bears the burden of proving that the court should grant relief. Matter of Canopy Financial, Inc., 708 F.3d 934, 937 (7th Cir.2013); Peacock v. Board of School Commissioners of Indianapolis, 721 F.2d 210, 213 (7th Cir.1983).
Rule 60(b)(5) allows the court to grant relief from a judgment when it "has been satisfied, released or discharged; it is based on an earlier judgment that has been reversed or vacated; or applying it prospectively is no longer equitable." It is the first portion this rule that forms the basis for the debtor's primary argument — that the judgment in question has been satisfied. This part of Rule 60(b) "has been relied upon very rarely," 11 Charles Alan Wright & Arthur R. Miller, Fed. Prac. & Proc. Civ. § 2863 (3d ed.), and so there are few reported decisions discussing it. Those that do, however, generally use it to prevent the plaintiff from obtaining a windfall by collecting more than the amount actually due on account of a particular judgment, such as when it may have been paid or satisfied by someone else or a single judgment has been entered against multiple defendants. See e.g., AIG Baker Sterling Heights, LLC v. Am. Multi-Cinema, Inc., 579 F.3d 1268, 1272 (11th Cir. 2009); Landau & Cleary, Ltd. v. Hribar Trucking, Inc., 867 F.2d 996, 1001 (7th Cir.1989); Oliver v. City of Shattuck ex. rel. Versluis, 157 F.2d 150, 153 (10th Cir. 1946); Heckling v. Allen, 15 F. 196, 198 (C.C.D.Colo.1882). See also, Lovejoy v. Murray, 70 U.S. 1, 7, 3 Wall. 1, 18 L.Ed. 129 (1865) (discussing the writ of audita querela). Consequently, this part of Rule 60(b)(5) appears to serve as a defendant's remedy when the holder of the judgment refuses to acknowledge that it has been satisfied or to file a satisfaction of judgment. See e.g., Indiana Trial Rules 63.1(b), 67(B). Viewed in this way, the rule is inapplicable to a monetary judgment entered against a single defendant, which is later paid, unless the plaintiff would refuse to file a satisfaction or release of its judgment. That is not the situation here.
Debtor's argument that the judgment has been satisfied fails to fully appreciate that the judgment in question has two components. The first is a money judgment in the sum of $2,893; the second is the revocation of discharge. The argument based upon the satisfaction of the obligation that led to the revocation of
While filing a petition for relief under the Bankruptcy Code offers debtors a number of benefits — chief among them being the discharge — it also imposes duties upon them. See e.g., 11 U.S.C. § 521, Fed. R. Bankr.P. Rule 4002. In essence, those duties require a debtor to truthfully and accurately disclose its assets and liabilities, cooperate with the trustee administering the case, and surrender property of the bankruptcy estate to the trustee so that it can be liquidated for the benefit of creditors. In motivating a debtor to fulfill these obligations, the Bankruptcy Code often takes a carrot and stick approach. The carrot is the discharge that the debtor will receive. One of the available sticks is that the discharge can be denied or revoked. That is what happened here. The debtor came into possession of property of the bankruptcy estate, failed to deliver it to the trustee and then refused to comply with an order requiring him to do so. See, 11 U.S.C. § 727(a)(2)(B), (a)(6), (d)(2), (3). The debtor's motion fails to recognize that the denial or revocation of discharge is a remedy for a debtor's misconduct and, as such, is designed to deter it. The trustee is entitled to both the property in question and the revocation or denial of the debtor's discharge; not one or the other. See, In re Baber, 2007 WL 3113336, 2007 Bankr.LEXIS 3643 (Bankr.N.D.Okla. 2007); In re Butler, 2004 WL 3127441 (Bankr.C.D.Ill.2004). See also, In re Thomas, 2011 WL 2193357, 2011 Bankr.LEXIS 2155 (Bankr.N.D.Ohio 2011); Jacobs, 2008 WL 4369273, 2008 Bankr.LEXIS 3611.
The rules which require a debtor to surrender property to the trustee and to cooperate with the trustee contemplate a certain degree of willingness. Fulfilling those obligations should not be like pulling
The debtor's claim for relief under Rule 60(b)(6) — any other reason that justifies relief — also fails. What the court has already said about the linkage between a debtor's discharge and the faithful performance of its obligations under the Bankruptcy Code sufficiently explains why the court sees nothing so unjust about the judgment to warrant granting relief under this portion of the rule. Furthermore, Rule 60(b)(6) requires a showing of "exceptional circumstances" and nothing the debtor has filed demonstrates that they exist here. Helm v. Resolution Trust Co., 84 F.3d 874, 878-79 (7th Cir.1996). See also, Williams v. Hatcher, 890 F.2d 993, 996 (7th Cir.1989); Inryco, Inc. v. Metropolitan Engineering Co. Inc., 708 F.2d 1225 (7th Cir.1983).
Although the debtor's motion was originally based only on sub-paragraphs 5 and 6 of Rule 60(b), shortly prior to the hearing debtor's counsel attempted to transform it into something else — something more akin to 60(b)(1), "mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect" — by asking the court to consider an affidavit submitted by the debtor in support of the motion.
Debtor's motion will be denied. An order doing so will be entered.