DLB Collection Trust v. Harline (In re Harline)
APPEAL
Unpublished
When debtor's chapter 11 case was converted to chapter 7, the bankruptcy court issued a notice that listed February 11 of the previous year as the last day to file non-dischargeability complaints. The correct date should have been February 9, 1987. Plaintiffs' complaints, filed on February 11, 1987, were dismissed by the bankruptcy court as untimely, finding that plaintiffs could not reasonably rely on a date that had already passed, and had a duty to compute the date themselves from the date of the creditors meeting. On appeal, the district court reversed, concluding that the bankruptcy court should have, sua sponte, used its power under Bankruptcy Rule 4004(b) to correct its own mistake by extending the time for filing plaintiffs' complaints, even though plaintiffs had not requested an extension.