In Re John Clifford Howren; Vickie Hall Howren, Debtors.stratus Acquisition Corporation, Plaintiff-appellee, v. John Clifford Howren, Defendant-appellant, 983 F.2d 1066 (6th Cir. 1992)

Annotate this Case
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit - 983 F.2d 1066 (6th Cir. 1992) Dec. 15, 1992

Before MERRITT, Chief Judge, and BOYCE F. MARTIN, Jr., and MILBURN, Circuit Judges.


ORDER

John Clifford Howren, represented by counsel, appeals the district court's order affirming the Bankruptcy Court's decision in this adversary proceeding. This case has been referred to a panel of the court pursuant to Rule 9(a), Rules of the Sixth Circuit. Upon examination of the record and briefs, this panel unanimously agrees that oral argument is not needed. Fed. R. App. P. 34(a). In addition, the parties have filed a joint request to waive oral argument.

Howren is a debtor in a Chapter 7 proceeding pending in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee. Stratus Acquisition Corporation is a creditor holding a $358,654.35 judgment. Stratus filed an adversary proceeding in the Bankruptcy Court claiming that it extended credit to Howren in reliance upon a personal financial statement which was false and that the debt was nondischargeable under 11 U.S.C. § 523(a) (2) (B). The Bankruptcy Court held that Stratus did carry its burden of proof under the statute. See Grogan v. Garner, 111 S. Ct. 654, 661 (1991). The district court agreed with the Bankruptcy Court's decision.

On appeal, Howren argues that the Bankruptcy Court applied the wrong legal standard to find that Stratus reasonably relied on the financial statement, and that the Bankruptcy Court's finding that Stratus received Howren's personal financial statement prior to extending credit is clearly erroneous.

Upon consideration, we affirm the district court's order for the reasons stated by the Bankruptcy Court decision dated October 4, 1991, which the district court adopted in its March 30, 1992, decision. Rule 9(b) (3), Rules of the Sixth Circuit.

Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.