OPINION

RENÉE MARIE BUMB, District Judge.

The issue presented by this appeal from the Bankruptcy Court is the applicability of the Barton1 doctrine to: (A) Appellant Great Northern Insurance Company's Motion for Leave to File a counterclaim under the New Jersey Insurance Fraud Prevention Act, N.J.S.A. 17:33A-4(a)(1)-(3) ("NJ IFPA"), against the Appellee Chapter 7 Trustee in a state court suit brought by the Trustee2; and (B) the Trustee's Cross-Motion to bar Great Northern from asserting its fifth affirmative defense— that the Trustee violated the "concealment or misrepresentation" provision of the insurance policy— in the same state court suit. The Bankruptcy Court denied Great Northern's Motion [see Bankr. Docket # 903, Order of June 27, 2017], and granted the Trustee's Cross-Motion only insofar as Great Northern's fifth affirmative defense was coextensive with its proposed NJ IFPA claim [see Bankr. Docket # 1028, Order of October 4, 2018].3

For the reasons stated herein, the Court will affirm in part and reserve decision in part.

I. BACKGROUND

On December 21, 2011, several creditors of the Debtor, DGI Services, LLC, initiated this involuntary Chapter 7 case. [Bankr. Docket # 1] Relevant to the issues raised on appeal, on November 13, 2011 (i.e., pre-petition), vandals broke into the Debtor's premises, physically damaged the Debtor's equipment, and breached the secure data room. In re DGI Services, LLC, 2017 WL 3314225 at *1 (Bankr. D.N.J. June 26, 2017). The Debtor timely submitted a notice of claim to its insurance company, Great Northern, which "had issued an insurance policy in favor of the Debtor, covering: (1) loss or damage caused by or resulting from a peril not otherwise excluded; and (2) business income loss." Id. Post-petition, Great Northern denied coverage, which led the Trustee to file suit in New Jersey state court seeking "declaratory judgment that (i) the loss . . . is covered by the Policy; (ii) the Debtor's Estate is entitled to payment of the amount owed for the damaged physical assets; and (iii) the Debtor's Estate is entitled to payment of the business income loss claim pursuant to an appraisal process set forth in the insurance policy." Id.

During the course of the state court coverage litigation, Great Northern learned of information which it asserts supports a claim of insurance fraud, pursuant to the NJ IFPA, against the Trustee. See In re DGI Services, 2017 WL 3314225 at *2. Great Northern— knowing that the Barton doctrine required it to get permission from the Bankruptcy Court before filing a claim against the Trustee in her official capacity as Trustee— filed a Motion with the Bankruptcy Court for leave to file an NJ IFPA counterclaim against the Trustee in the pending state court coverage litigation. [See Bankr. Docket # 863] In response, the Trustee opposed the motion, and cross-moved to bar Great Northern from asserting its fifth affirmative defense that the Trustee violated the "concealment or misrepresentation" provision of the insurance policy at issue, therefore voiding coverage under the policy. [Trustee's Brief, Bankr. Docket # 885-1, p. 35, citing Great Northern's Proposed Answer, Bankr. Docket # 863-3, p. 15]4

With respect to Great Northern's Motion, the Bankruptcy Court held that the proposed NJ IFPA claims failed to state a claim. Then with respect to the Trustee's Cross-Motion, the Bankruptcy Court reasoned, "[t]o succeed under an affirmative defense of fraud, Great Northern must prove the same elements of fraud outlined in the IFPA, as discussed above. Since the Court ruled that Great Northern cannot prevail under the theory of fraud, Great Northern's affirmative defense of fraud would also not be successful." In re DGI Servs., 2017 WL 3314225 at *5.

Great Northern timely appealed. On appeal, it became apparent to this Court that the parties did not agree on what the Bankruptcy Court had ruled with respect to the Trustee's Cross-Motion5, and so this Court remanded to the Bankruptcy Court for clarification on that issue. On October 8, 2018, the Bankruptcy Court issued a clarifying order which states,

[Bankr. Docket # 1028] Great Northern timely appealed again.

II. LEGAL STANDARD

This Court has jurisdiction to hear appeals from the Bankruptcy Court's final orders pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 158(a). The Bankruptcy Court's legal determinations are reviewed de novo; its factual findings are reviewed for clear error. In re Titus, 916 F.3d 293, 299-300 (3d Cir. 2019).

III. ANALYSIS

The Court first addresses (A) the Bankruptcy Court's ruling on Great Northern's Motion for Leave to File an NJ IFPA counterclaim against the Trustee, and then addresses (B) the Bankruptcy Court's ruling on the Trustee's Cross-Motion to bar Great Northern from asserting its fifth affirmative defense.

A.

The parties do not dispute that the Bankruptcy Court applied the correct legal standard. Under the Barton doctrine,

In re DGI Servs., 2017 WL 3314225 at *3 (quoting In re VistaCare Grp., LLC., 678 F.3d 218 (3d Cir. 2012)).

With regard to Great Northern's Motion for Leave to File the proposed NJ IFPA claims, this Court finds no error in the Bankruptcy Court's analysis. The facts as alleged by Great Northern do not support a claim for insurance fraud under the statute. All of Great Northern's arguments to the contrary are based on a faulty premise— namely, that there was no bona fide dispute as to what were continuing expenses under the terms of insurance policy6, and accordingly, what the Trustee could properly claim under the policy. As the Bankruptcy Court explained, "a difference of opinion between an insurer and an insured on the scope of coverage under an insurance policy does not give rise to a finding that one of the parties made a misrepresentation, even if that party's opinion was erroneous." In re DGI Servs., 2017 WL 3314225 at *4.7

Accordingly, the Court will affirm the Bankruptcy Court's June 26, 2017 Order as incorporated in paragraph 2 of its October 8, 2018 Order.

B.

With respect to the Bankruptcy Court's Order granting in part the Trustee's Cross-Motion, the Court will reserve decision. As the Court extensively discussed with the parties at oral argument, it is not clear how an appellate ruling at this late date will affect, if at all, the state court coverage litigation.8 Moreover, the Court questions whether this second issue— the Barton doctrine's applicability to Great Northern's fifth affirmative defense9— has been effectively rendered moot, either by a final judgment entered in state court, or perhaps by a settlement.10 Accordingly, the Court will direct the parties each to submit a letter brief which (a) reports the status of the state court coverage litigation and (b) addresses whether the remainder of this appeal is now moot.

IV. CONCLUSION

For the foregoing reasons, the Court will affirm the decision of the Bankruptcy Court holding that the Barton doctrine bars Great Northern's proposed NJ IFPA counterclaim against the Trustee. The Court will reserve decision as to the Bankruptcy Court's decision concerning Great Northern's fifth affirmative defense pending an update from the parties concerning the status of the state court coverage litigation. An appropriate Order shall issue on this date.