Samuel Rosen v. Thomas L. Abrams , 658 F. App'x 549 ( 2016 )

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[DO NOT PUBLISH]
IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT
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Nos. 16-11352
Non-Argument Calendar
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D.C. Docket Nos. 1:15-cv-22380-KMM; 1:13-bkc-14289-LMI
In Re: THE FORT LAUDERDALE BRIDGE CLUB, INC.,
Debtor.
______________________________________________________
SAMUEL ROSEN,
Plaintiff-Appellant,
versus
THOMAS L. ABRAMS,
Defendant - Appellee.
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Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Southern District of Florida
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(October 17, 2016)
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Before TJOFLAT, WILLIAM PRYOR and JILL PRYOR, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:
Samuel Rosen appeals two orders issued by the district court in a bankruptcy
case. The first order affirmed the decisions of the bankruptcy court to enforce a
settlement agreement and a plan of reorganization. The second order prevented
Rosen from submitting any additional filings without advance permission from the
district court. We affirm.
I. BACKGROUND
Between 2010 and 2013, Rosen filed several actions against The Fort
Lauderdale Bridge Club, Inc. and its leadership on behalf of himself and other
members that caused the Club to declare bankruptcy under Chapter 11 of the
Bankruptcy Code. In May 2014, the bankruptcy court approved a settlement in
which Rosen received $75,000 in exchange for dismissing all pending actions and
releasing the Club, its leadership, and its attorney, Thomas Louis Abrams, from
liability for their actions in the bankruptcy proceedings. Later, the bankruptcy court
confirmed a plan of reorganization for the Club and then entered a final decree that
closed the bankruptcy case.
After Rosen submitted a letter to the Club demanding that it sue Abrams, the
bankruptcy court granted Abrams’s request to reopen the bankruptcy case. Abrams
moved to sanction Rosen for violating the settlement agreement and to enforce the
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plan of reorganization. The bankruptcy court issued two orders that enforced
Rosen’s agreement to relinquish all claims against Abrams and the provision in the
plan of reorganization prohibiting further litigation against Abrams. The district
court also awarded Abrams $5,320 in fees over Rosen’s objections.
Rosen appealed the orders of enforcement and the fee award, and the district
court affirmed. The district court ruled that Rosen lacked standing to appeal the
order that enforced the plan of organization, that Rosen violated the agreement in
which he “relinquished any right he may have had to pursue a derivative action,”
and that Abrams was entitled to recover his attorney’s fees and costs. To deter
Rosen from “filing [additional] frivolous claims and appeals . . . and . . . [to]
protect[] . . . limited judicial resources,” the district court ordered the clerk to “not
accept any further filings or appeals from Rosen [for which he had not] first
obtain[ed] permission” to file.
II. STANDARDS OF REVIEW
As the second court of review, we review de novo the legal conclusions of
the district court and the bankruptcy court. In re Custom Contractors, LLC, 745
F.3d 1342, 1346 (11th Cir. 2014). We review related findings of fact for clear
error. Id.
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III. DISCUSSION
Rosen challenges the orders entered by the district court. Rosen argues that
he did not violate the settlement agreement and that he had standing to appeal the
order that enforced the plan of organization. Rosen also asserts that the district
court erred by awarding Abrams $5,320 in attorney fees without a hearing and by
prohibiting Rosen from filing further pleadings without advance permission. These
arguments fail.
The district court did not err by affirming the order that enforced the
settlement agreement against Rosen. Rosen wrote a letter to the Club demanding
that it “recover from . . . Abrams all damages occasioned by his wrongful conduct”
while representing the Club. That letter flagrantly violated the settlement
agreement, which was formulated to “end . . . all hostilities, motions and actions
by” Rosen against Abrams. Rosen agreed to, individually and through “all of those
claiming by or through [him],” to “release . . . any and all claims, rights, and
causes of action . . . of any type whatsoever, which relate to, concern or arise in
any way from the relationship between [Abrams] and [Rosen] and [Rosen] and the
[Club], including but not limited to . . . claims . . . which relates in any way to
[Abrams’s] representation of or relationship with the [Club].” Rosen argues that
his demand letter represents the exercise of “a constitutionally protected right, [of]
not only free speech but a right secured under a state statute,” but we will not
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consider an argument that Rosen failed to present to the district court, see In re
New Power Co., 438 F.3d 1113, 1122 (11th Cir. 2006), and that he raises in a
conclusory manner, see Sapuppo v. Allstate Floridian Ins. Co., 739 F.3d 678, 682
(11th Cir. 2014). Rosen also argues that the district court “reli[ed] []on the plan to
find” that he breached the settlement agreement, but the district court did not
mention the plan of reorganization in its decision.
Rosen argues that he had standing to appeal the order that enforced the plan
of reorganization, but we decline to consider this argument. Rosen fails to satisfy
his obligation to state his “contentions and the reasons for them, with citations to
the authorities and parts of the record” that support his argument. See Fed. R. App.
P. 28(a)(8); Sapuppo, 739 F.3d at 681. Rosen’s brief is devoid of any caselaw or
any substantive discussion about his standing to appeal an order that relieves
Abrams of liability for his legal services.
We decline to consider Rosen’s challenges to the fee award to Abrams and
to the order prohibiting Rosen from submitting additional filings in the district
court. Rosen lists the two arguments in his statement of the issues, but he fails to
mention, much less discuss, the issues in the argument portion of his brief. A list of
“conclusory assertions” about which “[t]he brief makes no argument and cites no
authorities” fails to present a cognizable issue for review on appeal. Sapuppo, 739
F.3d at 682.
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IV. CONCLUSION
We AFFIRM the judgment of the district court.
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