In re James Lawrence Bryant, Jr. and Sharon Renea Bryant (Case No. 25-10147)
Order Regarding Debtors’ Failure To Comply with Rule 9011. The Court concluded a show cause hearing requiring pro se Debtors to appear and show cause as to why they should not be sanctioned for their failure to comply with Fed. R. Civ. P. 9011. In their chapter 7 case, Debtors filed multiple documents containing arguments neither warranted by existing law nor by a nonfrivolous argument to modify existing law or establish new law. These filings requested duplicative relief and contained fake or misleading citations – indicative of generative artificial intelligence. The Court issued an order directing Debtors to appear and show cause why they should not be sanctioned for failure to comply with Rule 9011. Debtors subsequently withdrew some, but not all, of the violative filings. After the hearing, the Court concluded that Debtors appeared to have tried to remedy their violations, showed contrition for their voluminous and violative filings, and in consideration of their pro se status, sanctions were unwarranted at that time. The Court explained that Rule 9011 requires all filers, including individuals proceeding pro se, to ensure their filings are warranted by existing law or by a nonfrivolous argument to extend, modify or reverse existing law, or establish new law. The Court also warned Debtors that, should they continue to file frivolous statements of law or repeat arguments the Court had previously rejected, the Court would consider imposing sanctions in the future, and concluded the show cause hearing.