Order Denying Application for Release of Unclaimed Funds and Serving Warning on Applicant That Rule 9011 Sanctions May be Imposed in Future Cases in Which the Funds Have Already Been Released
It is hereby
ORDERED that the Order set forth below is hereby signed as an order of the court to be entered by the clerk.
ORDER DENYING APPLICATION FOR RELEASE OF UNCLAIMED FUNDS AND SERVING WARNING ON APPLICANT THAT RULE 9011 SANCTIONS MAY BE IMPOSED IN FUTURE CASES IN WHICH THE FUNDS HAVE ALREADY BEEN RELEASED
S. TEEL, Bankruptcy Judge
This order addresses an Application (Docket Entry ("DE") No. 517) filed on October 13, 2004, by Larry L. Moses, The Financial Resources Group, Inc., as attorney-in-fact for Ricardo Lopez Hercules.
I
The Application seeks the release of unclaimed funds of $1,428.59 that were owed to Hercules and deposited into the registry of the court. However, as reflected by the docket entries sheet for this case, on June 28, 2001, Ricardo Hercules filed an application (DE No. 488) to release unclaimed funds in the exact same amount of $1,428.59, and on July 9, 2001, the court entered an order (DE No. 493) granting Hercules' application. The current Application is thus meritless.
II
An examination of the docket sheet would have revealed that these unclaimed funds were already paid out, and the Application thus violates F.R. Bankr. P. 9011(b), as the representation that the funds remained unclaimed was not "formed after an inquiry reasonable under the circumstances." The court in its discretion will not impose sanctions in this instance. However, the court serves warning on Larry Moses and The Financial Resources Group, Inc., that the court will impose sanctions (which under F.R. Bankr. P. 9011(c) may include "an order to pay a penalty into court") if they file, in this or any other case, an application for the release of funds deposited as funds unclaimed by an entity if an examination of the court's docket sheet prior to preparation of the application would have reflected that the court already ordered release of the funds to the entity. It is thus
ORDERED that the Application (DE No. 517) is DENIED.