Zinnia I. Chen v. Siemens Energy Incorporated

[DO NOT PUBLISH]
IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT FILED
________________________ U.S. COURT OF APPEALS
ELEVENTH CIRCUIT
No. 11-14372 MAY 2, 2012
Non-Argument Calendar JOHN LEY
________________________ CLERK
D.C. Docket No. 6:10-cv-01330-GAP-DAB
ZINNIA I. CHEN,
lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll lPlaintiff-Appellant,
versus
SIEMENS ENERGY INCORPORATED,
llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll Defendant-Appellee.
________________________
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Middle District of Florida
________________________
(May 2, 2012)
Before DUBINA, Chief Judge, JORDAN and ANDERSON, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:
Appellant Zinnia Chen, proceeding pro se, appeals the district court’s
dismissal of her 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2(a) (“Title VII”) employment discrimination
lawsuit. Chen filed her Title VII action against her former employer, Siemens
Energy Inc., alleging that Siemens had discriminated against her in promotion
decisions on account of her being an asian woman. The district court dismissed
Chen’s claim for lack of standing, upon learning that Chen, after filing her Title
VII claim, had filed a petition for bankruptcy under Chapter 7, and thus, the
bankruptcy trustee was the only party with standing to prosecute the Title VII
claim. Chen argues on appeal that this dismissal was in error.
The existence of standing “is a jurisdictional prerequisite to suit in federal
court.” Alabama v. United States Envtl. Prot. Agency, 871 F.2d 1548, 1554 (11th
Cir. 1989). We review a district court’s dismissal for lack of subject matter
jurisdiction de novo. Sinaltrainal v. Coca-Cola Co., 578 F.3d 1252, 1260 (11th
Cir. 2009).
The commencement of a bankruptcy case creates an estate comprised of
virtually all of the debtor’s assets. 11 U.S.C. § 541(a)(1). The Bankruptcy Code
defines the estate to include “all legal or equitable interests of the debtor in
property as of the commencement of the case.” 11 U.S.C. § 541(a)(1). This
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includes all pre-petition causes of action. Parker v. Wendy’s Int’l., Inc., 365 F.3d
1268, 1272 (11th Cir. 2004); Barger v. City of Cartersville, 348 F.3d 1289, 1292
(11th Cir. 2003). Accordingly, the trustee, as the representative of the bankruptcy
estate, becomes the only party with standing to bring a cause of action that belongs
to the estate. Parker, 365 F.3d at 1272; Barger, 348 F.3d at 1292. Unless the
cause of action is abandoned pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 554, the rights of the debtor
in that cause of action are extinguished. Parker, 365 F.3d at 1272. Property not
abandoned under § 554 that is not administered during bankruptcy proceedings
remains in the estate. 11 U.S.C. § 554(d). Where a debtor fails to list an interest
on the bankruptcy schedules, that interest remains in the bankruptcy estate.
Parker, 365 F.3d at 1272.
Here, we conclude that Chen’s Title VII claim became part of her bankruptcy
estate upon the filing of her Chapter 7 petition. At that point, Chen lost standing, and
the bankruptcy trustee became the only party with standing to bring the Title VII
claim, unless the trustee later abandoned the claim from the estate, which has not
occurred. Accordingly, we affirm the district court’s judgment of dismissal.
AFFIRMED.
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