9th Circuit Bankruptcy Appellate Panel hears oral arguments at Gonzaga Law

On September 27th, the Bankruptcy Appellate Panel heard oral arguments in In Re: Terell W. Eutsler, BAP No. EW-17-1131 in Gonzaga Law’s Barbieri Courtroom. The case arises out of Eutsler’s 2015 Chapter 13 Petition for bankruptcy. At the time of the filing, Eutsler, William Leslie Doggett, Jr., Brady Carruth, and Stephen Dorr were shareholders in a closely-held Texas corporation, Softbase Development, Inc. In 1998, the four all entered into a buy-sell agreement regarding the company’s shares.

After Eutsler filed his Ch. 13 Petition, Carruth and Doggett elected to exercise their rights under the buy-sell agreement in an attempt to force Eutsler to sell his shares in Softbase, Inc. They filed a motion to lift the automatic stay arguing that the buy-sell agreement was an executory contract and not subject to the automatic stay. The Bankruptcy Court disagreed and denied their request. Carruth and Doggett appealed and the Bankruptcy Appellate Panel heard oral arguments by the parties’ attorneys including Gonzaga Law alumna Eowen S. Rosentrater (J.D., ’05) who represented Eutsler.