Catmull v. Van Orden (In re Catmull)
UNPUBLISHED
Debtors filed an adversary complaint seeking relief from defendant's Idaho state court judgment against them, alleging errors and fraud in the Idaho trial proceedings. Defendants' judgment had been affirmed on appeal, and debtors' federal district court lawsuit alleging breach of the parties' contract by defendants was resolved in defendants' favor, based on the principle of res judicata. The bankruptcy court ruled that some of debtors' claims merely alleged errors that could have been corrected on appeal, which did not provide a sufficient basis for a fraud claim that would justify the relief they sought. The court also ruled that debtors' single fraud claim was not sufficiently specific to form a basis for relief and that, even if it had been specific, the claim made was in the nature of intrinsic fraud, while the relief sought required extrinsic fraud.