TAMPA — A Florida equipment financing and leasing services company has been denied its request to enforce an automatic stay of an insurance company's attempt to collect on a judgment.
According to the May 16 U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida Tampa Division filing, defendants John Edward Walker Hardin, Leasing Resources of America 4 Inc., and Cohesive Networks Inc., filed a suggestion of bankruptcy and petitioned the court to review an automatic stay, as well as sought a protective order staying discovery in a lawsuit filed by the plaintiff, Zurich American Insurance Company.
At question is the enforcement of an automatic stay that stems from jury trial judgments that were issued against Leasing Resources and which Zurich American has not been able to collect because, Leasing Resources owner Hardin transferred the company's assets to Cohesive, another business he also owns.
The defendants argue an automatic stay is needed because Hardin's brother, Henry, filed for bankruptcy. Zurich argued it is not seeking any property that belongs to his brother's bankruptcy estate.
The court agreed with Zurich with U.S. Magistrate Judge Amanda Arnold Sansone stating the defendants were "not entitled" to receive an automatic stay or protective order. The judges said it would only apply if the defendants were bankruptcy debtors who are alleged to "possess fraudulently transferred property."
The court therefore denied the defendants' motion to enforce automatic stay and denied their motion for protective order.