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Robson v. Texas Eastern Corp.8/15/2005
pellants' App. p. 187.
On November 10, 2003, TEC moved for partial summary judgment, asserting that the Robsons lacked standing to pursue their personal injury claims and that the doctrine of judicial estoppel barred the Robsons' personal injury claims because the Robsons did not properly disclose their personal injury claims in their Chapter 13 bankruptcy schedules. On April 5, 2004, the trial court granted TEC's Motion for Partial Summary Judgment and dismissed the Robsons' personal injury claims. The trial court did not issue findings of fact or conclusions of law with its order.
On May 5, 2004, the Robsons filed a motion to correct error. The trial court did not rule on this motion, and the motion was deemed denied on June 20, 2004. The Robsons now appeal.
I. Standard of Review
On appeal, the standard of review of a summary judgment ruling is the same as that used by the trial court: summary judgment is appropriate only where the evidence shows there is no genuine issue of material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Ind. Trial Rule 56(C) (2005); Gunkel v. Renovations, Inc., 822 N.E.2d 150, 152 (Ind. 2005). All facts and reasonable inferences drawn therefrom are construed in favor of the non-moving party. Id. The review of a summary judgment motion is limited to those materials designated to the trial court. Trial Rule 56(H); Gunkel, 822 N.E.2d at 152. Motions for summary judgment must be ruled upon carefully so as not to deprive litigants of their day in court. Id.
I. Judicial Estoppel
Judicial estoppel is a judicially created doctrine that seeks to prevent a litigant from asserting a position inconsistent with one asserted in the same or a previous proceeding. Ryan Operations G.P. v. Santiam-Midwest Lumber Co., 81 F.3d 355, 358 (3rd Cir. 1996). Judicial estoppel is not intended to eliminate all inconsistencies; rather, it is designed to prevent litigants from playing "fast and loose" with the courts. Id. The primary purpose of judicial estoppel is not to protect litigants but to protect the integrity of the judiciary. Johnson v. Trust Co. Bank, 478 S.E.2d 629, 630 (Ga. Ct. App. 1996), cert. denied.
The basic principle of judicial estoppel is that, absent a good explanation, a party should not be permitted to gain an advantage by litigating on one theory and then pursue an incompatible theory in subsequent litigation. Id. Judicial estoppel only applies to intentional misrepresentation, so the dispositive issue supporting the application of judicial estoppel is the bad-faith intent of the litigant subject to estoppel. Burnes v. Pemco Aeroplex Inc., 291 F.3d 1282, 1286-87 (11th Cir. 2002).
Judicial estoppel is applicable when a bankrupt debtor fails to disclose a cause of action as an asset in bankruptcy proceedings and then pursues the omitted cause of action in a subsequent proceeding. See Ryan, 81 F.3d at 358. When applying judicial estoppel in the bankruptcy context, it matters not that the party asserting judicial estoppel was not a party to the initial bankruptcy adjudication. Id. at 360.
There are some minor variances in the manner courts apply the doctrine of judicial estoppel to causes of action not scheduled as an asset in bankruptcy proceedings. Compare Chandler v. Sanford Univ., 35 F.Supp.2d 861, 864 (N.D. Ala. 1999) (shifting the burden of proof to the plaintiff-debtor after the party asserting judicial estoppel establishes certain underlying facts) with Murray v. Bd. of Educ. of the City of N.Y., 248 B.R. 484, 487 (S.D.N.Y. 2000) (applying a singular analysis with no burden shift).
The better-developed test is that found in Ryan, whi
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