| Syllabus | Dissent [ O'Connor ] | Opinion [ White ] |
|---|---|---|
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SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES
No.
PIONEER INVESTMENT SERVICES COMPANY, PETITIONER v. BRUNSWICK ASSOCIATES LIMITED PARTNERSHIP et al.
on writ of certiorari to the united states court of appeals for the sixth circuit
[
Justice
Bankruptcy Rule 9006(b)(1) provides that, if a party moves for permission to act after having missed a deadline, the court "may at any time in its discretion . . . permit the act to be done where the failure to act was the result of excusable neglect." This language establishes two requirements that must be met before untimely action will be permitted. First, no relief is available unless the failure to comply with the deadline "was the result of excusable neglect." Bkrtcy. Rule 9006(b)(1). Second, the court may withhold relief if it believes forbearance inappropriate; the statute does not require the court to forgive every omission caused by excusable neglect, but states that the court %may" grant relief "in its discretion." Ibid. (emphasis added). Thus, the court must at the
threshold determine its authority to allow untimely action by asking whether the failure to meet the deadline resulted from excusable neglect; if the answer is yes, then the court should consider the equities and decide whether to excuse the error.
Instead of following the plain meaning of the statute and examining this case in these two steps, the Court employs a multifactor balancing test covering numerous equitable considerations, including (and perhaps not limited to) "the danger of prejudice to the debtor, the length of the delay and its potential impact on judicial proceedings, the reason for the delay, . . . and whether the movant acted in good faith." Ante, at 15. But Rule 9006(b) does not simply command courts to permit late filing whenever it would be "equitable" in light of all the circumstances. Rather, it establishes that the courts may exercise their discretion in accord with the equities only if the failure to meet the deadline resulted from excusable neglect in the first place. Whether the failure resulted from excusable neglect depends on the nature of the omission itself, both in terms of cause and culpability. Consequently, until the reason for the omission is determined to be sufficiently blameless, the consequences of the failure, such as the effect on the parties or the impact on the judicial system, are not relevant. In re Vertientes, Ltd., 845 F. 2d 57, 60 (CA3 1988) ("The court has no discretion to grant an extension simply because no prejudice would result, or for any other equitable reason"); In re South Atlantic Financial Corp., 767 F. 2d 814, 819 (CA11 1985) (The focus of the Rule is on the omission and the reasons therefor rather than on the effect on others), cert. denied, 475 U.S. 1015 (1986); see also Maressa v. A. H. Robins Co., 839 F. 2d 220, 221 (CA4 1988) (no exception to claim filing deadlines based on general equitable principles).
Although the Court pays lip service to the existence of a threshold determination regarding excusable neglect, seeante, at 2 ("Rule 9006(b)(1) empowers a bankruptcy court to permit a late filing if the movant's failure to comply with an earlier deadline `was the result of excusable neglect' "), it holds that the threshold question is "at bottom an equitable one." Ante, at 15. Our case law is to the contrary.
In Lujan v. National Wildlife Federation, 497 U.S. 871 (1990), we applied the virtually identical language of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 6(b). Under that Rule, as under this one, a court may not permit untimely filing unless it "find[s] as a substantive matter . . . that the failure to file on time `was the result of excusable neglect.' " 497 U. S., at 897. Characterizing that "obstacle" as "the greatest of all," ibid., we examined the reasons for the movant's failure to make a timely filing. Nowhere in our discussion did we mention the equities or the consequences of the movant's failure to file. Instead, we concentrated exclusively on the asserted cause of the failure and the movant's culpability. See ibid.
The Court concedes that Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 6(b) and Bankruptcy Rule 9006(b) have virtually identical language; indeed, it even relies on the former to support its interpretation of the latter. Ante, at 11-12. Yet the majority provides no reason why we should depart from the analysis we so recently employed in Lujan, except to say it reads that case differently. See ante, at 15, n. 13. While it is true that we did not %define" the phrase "excusable neglect" in Lujan, ante, at 15, n. 13, there is no denying that we applied that phrase to the facts before us: There is simply no other explanation for the opinion's discussion of whether the movant had overcome that "greatest" of "substantive obstacle[s]," 497 U. S., at 897. But even if Lujan might be read differently, the majority offers no affirmative reason to believe that the equities should bear on whether neglect is "excusable." Instead it states:
"Because Congress has provided no other guidepostsfor determining what sorts of neglect will be considered `excusable,' we conclude that the determination is at bottom an equitable one, taking account of all relevant circumstances surrounding the party's omission." Ante, at 15.
In my view, Congress has provided "guideposts" as to how courts should determine whether "neglect will be considered `excusable.' " The majority simply fails to follow them. First is the remaining language of Rule 9006(b)(1) itself, a good portion of which the majority fails to consult. The Rule, read in its entirety, establishes that the excusable neglect determination requires inquiry into causation rather than consequences: Unless "the failure to act was the result" of the excusable neglect, relief is unavailable. "It is clear from this language that the focus of [the Rule] is on the movant's actions and the reasons for those actions, not on the effect that an extension might have on the other parties' positions." In re South Atlantic Financial Corp., 767 F. 2d, at 819. Moreover, Rule 9006(b)(1) indicates that the court must determine whether the neglect was "excusable" as of the moment it occurred rather than in light of facts known when untimely action is proposed. The Rule authorizes relief in cases where the failure "was" the result of excusable neglect, not as to incidents where the neglect is excusable in light of current knowledge.
The majority also overlooks a second and dispositive guidepost--the accepted dictionary definition of "excusable neglect." That definition does not incorporate the results or consequences of a failure to take appropriate and timely action; to the contrary, it turns on the cause or reasons for the failure and the culpability involved. According to Black's Law Dictionary 566 (6th ed. 1990), "excusable neglect" is:
"[A] failure to take the proper steps at the proper time, not in consequence of the party's owncarelessness, inattention, or willful disregard of the process of the court, but in consequence of some unexpected or unavoidable hindrance or accident, or reliance on the care and vigilance of his counsel or on promises made by the adverse party. As used in rule (e. g. Fed. R. Civil P. 6(b)) authorizing court to permit an act to be done after expiration of the time within which under the rules such act was required to be done, where failure to act was the result of `excusable neglect', quoted phrase is ordinarily understood to be the act of a reasonably prudent person under the same circumstances."
Cf. 4A C. Wright & A. Miller, Federal Practice and Procedure §1165, pp. 480, 482 (2d ed. 1987) ("Excusable neglect [in Fed. Rule Civ. Proc. 6(b)] seems to require a demonstration of good faith on the part of the party seeking an enlargement and some reasonable basis for noncompliance . . . . Absent a showing along these lines, relief will be denied"). Of course, we are not bound to accept Black's Law Dictionary as the authoritative expositor of American law. But if Congress had intended to depart from the accepted meaning of excusable neglect--supplementing its exclusive focus on the reason for the error with an emphasis on its effect--surely it would have so indicated.
In any event, it is quite unnatural to read the term "excusable neglect" to mean a variety of neglect that, in light of subsequent events and all the equities, turns out to be excusable. Not only does such an interpretation suffer from circularity--excusable neglect becomes the neglect that the court in its equitable discretion chooses to excuse--but it also renders critical language in the Rule superfluous. After all, the majority's interpretation would be no different if Rule 9006(b) afforded courts discretion to give relief in cases of "neglect" rather than "excusable neglect." The term "neglect" would describe the acceptable level of culpability, see ante, at 7-14, and theequities still would move the court's discretionary decision on whether it in fact would excuse the error once "neglect" was shown. The Court's interpretation thus reads the word "excusable" right out of the Rule. In my view, Congress included the word "excusable" to convey the notion that some types of neglect--at a minimum, the highly culpable and the willful--cannot be forgiven, regardless of the consequences.
The Court does recognize one guidepost. It states that the requirement of "excusable neglect" should be construed so as to "deter creditors or other parties from freely ignoring court ordered deadlines in the hopes of winning a permissive reprieve under Rule 9006(b)(1)." Ante, at 14-15. But rather than concentrating on the types of culpable neglect that ought to be deterred, the majority immediately shifts its focus to considerations such as the effect of the failure to take timely action, including prejudice to the debtor and the effect on judicial proceedings. Ante, at 16-17. If the goal of requiring neglect to be "excusable" is to deter culpable noncompliance, the consequences of such noncompliance should be irrelevant. To hold otherwise not only undermines deterrence but excuses the inexcusable.
The Court's approach also undermines the interests the Bankruptcy Rules seek to promote. Because the majority's balancing test is indeterminate, its results frequently will be called into question. Reasonable minds often differ greatly on what the equities require. This case is a prime example. Applying much the same test the Court applies today, two courts below held that respondent's neglect was inexcusable. Then the Court of Appeals substituted its view and held otherwise. Today the Court evens the score at two to two. We ought not unnecessarily introduce so much uncertainty into a routine matter like an "excusable neglect" determination. Nor should we unhesitatinglyendorse an approach that invites litigants to seek redetermination of their procedural disputes from four different courts.
Direct application of Rule 9006(b)(1)'s plain language to this case, in contrast, is straightforward. First, we must examine the failure to act itself and ask if it resulted from excusable neglect. If it did, then the lower court may, in its discretion, permit untimely action in accord with the equities. But if the failure did not result from excusable neglect, there is no reason to consider the effects of the failure.
That, of course, brings us to the question to which the majority devotes the bulk of its discussion: whether mere negligence can qualify as excusable neglect. Ante, at 7-14. As the majority points out, ante, at 6, the Courts of Appeals have disagreed on this matter. Some require the omission to result from circumstances beyond counsel's reasonable control. See, e. g., In re South Atlantic Financial Corp., 767 F. 2d, at 819, and cases cited ante, at 6, n. 3. Others hold that negligence may constitute excusable neglect but distinguish among different types of negligence. Cf. Consolidated Freightways Corp. of Delaware v. Larson, 827 F. 2d 916, 919 (CA3 1987) ("Excusable neglect" inquiry entails a "qualitative distinction between inadvertence which occurs despite counsel's affirmative efforts to comply and inadvertence which results from counsel's lack of diligence") (Fed. Rule App. Proc. 4(a)), cert. denied sub nom., Consolidated Freightways Corp. of Delaware v. Secretary of Transp. of Pennsylvania, 484 U.S. 1032 (1988). In my view, we need not resolve that dispute in this case. Once we properly clarify the factors that are relevant to the excusable neglect determination, the Bankruptcy Court's findings compel the conclusion that respondent's neglect was inexcusable under any standard.
The Bankruptcy Court expressly found that respondent's former counsel's failure to file a timely proof of claimresulted from negligence and, to some degree, an attitude of "indifference" toward the deadline. App. 172a. In addition, the court noted that the client, a sophisticated business person and an active participant in the bankruptcy proceedings, had received actual notice of, and was aware of, the deadline. Id., at 171a. Thus, this is not a case of a clerical or other minor error yielding an untoward result despite counsel's best efforts; it is a case in which counsel simply failed to look after his business properly, even if that failure was not the result of bad faith.
The Court of Appeals held the neglect excusable nonetheless for two reasons. First, it thought it inequitable to saddle the client with the mistakes of its attorney. The Court today properly rejects that rationale. Ante, at 16. The second reason offered by the Court of Appeals was that the notice containing the deadline was incorporated in a document entitled "Notice for Meeting of Creditors." That designation, the court explained, was not enough to put those without extensive bankruptcy experience on notice that the "bar date" at the end of the notice was the final date for filing proofs of claims. In re Pioneer Investment Services Co., 943 F. 2d 673, 678 (CA6 1991). In addition, the court noted that use of the term "bar date" to designate the deadline for filing a proof of claim was "dramatic[ally] ambigu[ous]" since there are many bar dates in bankruptcy, not all of them for the filing of proofs of claims. Ibid. The Court today signals its agreement. Ante, at 17, and n. 13. The majority and the Court of Appeals may be correct that the form of notice was unorthodox; they also may be correct in asserting that, if the inadequacy of notice caused respondent to miss the deadline, respondent's failure was the result of "excusable neglect." But they are not correct in asserting that respondent's former lawyer overlooked the deadline "as a result of " the unorthodox form of notice. The Bankruptcy Court made no such finding. Nordid it find that the notice's ambiguity somehow led counsel astray. On the contrary, the Bankruptcy Court found that both counsel and client had actual notice of the deadline and that the cause of their failure to file on time was indifference and negligence. App. 172a.
To be sure, we would not be obligated to accept those findings if they were not supported by the record. But they are supported by the record. Indeed, in a commendable display of candor, respondent's former counsel admitted that the "foul up" was "particularly" his own. Id., at 72a. Accord, id., at 112a ("[T]he foul up I can't lay to the clients' shoes because it really is probably mine"). There is no indication that he blamed his error on petitioner's form of notice. Rather, he appealed to the Bankruptcy Court's sense of fairness, arguing that it would be inequitable to penalize his client so greatly where the "delay was occasioned not by [the client], but by its counsel." Id., at 73a. Accord, id., at 102(a) ("[U]nder all the circumstances, we think it would be unfair and inequitable to visit the sins of the lawyer on the client"); id., at 112a (Although the foul up was respondent's attorney's, given "the lack of prejudice [and] the totality of all the circumstances, [it would be] inherently inequitable to visit the sins on the client for this situation").
Perhaps it would have been desirable for the Bankruptcy Court to make a specific factual finding on whether the unorthodox form of notice actually caused respondent's former counsel to miss the deadline. Given that respondent's lawyer offered no reason why he overlooked the bar date, it is not inconceivable that the notice's unorthodoxy led him astray. Id., at 57a (no recollection of seeing the order setting the deadline); id., at 103a (same). But if there is uncertainty, the answer is to remand to the Bankruptcy Court for appropriate factual findings. Based on the current state of the record and the findings the Bankruptcy Court did make, I cannot acceptthe majority's finding that counsel's failure in fact resulted from the inadequacy of notice.
Respondent's former counsel's error may represent a relatively unaggravated instance of negligence. He did not miss deadlines repeatedly despite clear warnings. Nor did he act in bad faith. But respondent, its former lawyer, the Court of Appeals, and the majority today, have all failed to produce a reasonable explanation for this rather major error. More important still, the Bankruptcy Court did explain the error. It found that respondent's failure to meet the deadline resulted at least in part from counsel's "indifference." The majority offers no reason for ignoring that finding. Even accepting the conclusion that excusable neglect may cover some instances of negligence, indifference falls outside the range of the "excusable." Because the failure to act in this case did not result from excusable neglect, there is no occasion to consider whether the Bankruptcy Court properly exercised its discretion in light of the equities; respondent was ineligible for relief in any event.
The Court's only response is that, even if one focuses exclusively on the nature of the error and why it occurred, the parties can still litigate the Rule's application. Ante, at 15, n. 14. But that objection can be made to any approach; courts always must apply law to facts. The point is that following the plain language of Rule 9006(b)(1) renders the law's application both easier and more certain. A determination that a party missed the filing deadline on account of "indifference" or some other reason is not as "susceptible of litigation," ibid., as the result of multifactor balancing. The determination is factual and, as such, may be overturned on review only if clearly erroneous. In fact, no one--neither the parties nor any of the many courts that have reviewed this case--has suggested that there was clear error here. Rather, in this case, as in most others like it, the Bankruptcy Court's findings are more than adequatelysupported by the record.
Indeed, the majority succeeds in circumventing the finding of "indifference" only by ignoring it, concentrating instead on other considerations in the multifactor test. The Court's technique will no doubt prove instructive to anyone appealing an excusable neglect determination in the future, for it highlights the indeterminacy of the test: A simple shift in focus from one factor to another--here, from cause to effects--shifts the balance and the result. The approach required by the Rule itself, in contrast, precludes that slippery tactic. At the threshold, there is but one question on which to focus: the reason the deadline was missed. Contrary to the Court's assertion, ibid., that singular focus does not require us to hold today that all incidents of negligence are inexcusable. We need hold only that indifference is inexcusable. That, I would have thought, goes without saying.
When courts depart from the language of a congressional command, they often create unintended difficulties in the process. This case, I fear, may prove no exception. The majority's single step, multifactor, equitable balancing approach to "excusable neglect" is contrary to the language of Rule 9006(b) and inconsistent with sensible notions of judicial economy. Its indeterminacy not only renders consistent application unlikely but also invites unproductive recourse to appeal. Such consequences are especially unfortunate in the Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure. An entity in bankruptcy can ill afford to waste resources on litigation; every dollar spent on lawyers is a dollar creditors will never see. Congress established in Rule 9006(b) the inquiry that should be made when courts contemplate permitting untimely action. Under the approach commended by that Rule, respondent is barred from filing an untimely proof of claim because its omission resulted from a neglect that, on this record,was simply inexcusable; the equities, no matter how compelling, cannot propel respondent over that hurdle. I therefore respectfully dissent.