Published: August 08, 2008 12:00 am            

Rep. Terrill asks court to deny reopening bankruptcy petition

OKLAHOMA CITY -- One day after he said and his wife "didn't object at all" to a federal bankruptcy judge's order reopening his Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing, an attorney for state Rep. Randy Terrill filed a motion in federal court Friday asking the court not to reopen the case.

Terrill's filing was the latest in his federal bankruptcy case which began in October 2005 and was discharged in March 2006.

Earlier this summer, Edmond attorney John D. Mashburn filed a motion to reopen the case after published reports alleged irregularities between Terrill's bankruptcy petition and his state campaign filings.

On Thursday, Western Oklahoma District Bankruptcy Court Judge T.M. Weaver granted Mashburn's request, reopening the case and ordering the appointment of a trustee.

"It is therefore ordered ... that the trustee's motion is sustained, this case is hereby reopened, and the court orders the appointment of a trustee herein," Weaver wrote, noting that "no objections or responses" had been sent to the court.

"Said motion was filed July 18 ... notice was duly given to all parties appearing on the mailing matrix," the judge wrote. "The time for response to said motion expired on Aug. 5, and no objections or responses have been served or filed."

Friday, Terrill filed a request asking the court to deny Mashburn's motion.

"Wherefore, debtor respectfully requests that your honorable court deny the motion to reopen the bankruptcy filed by the trustee and if needed set this matter for a hearing and order such other and further relief as is just a proper," Oklahoma City attorney Jeffrey West, wrote.

West, listed as the attorney for both Terrill and his wife, Angela, filed the motion in Oklahoma City's federal bankruptcy court at 12:37 p.m. Friday, a little more than 24 hours after federal judge T.M. Weaver issued his order.

In his motion, West said the allegation that Terrill had received a "loan repayment" from his campaign was not, in fact, a loan.

"...That payment was for a re-imbursement for expenditures that the debtor incurred during his normal course of business in operating his campaign," West wrote. "...These are not "loans" in the traditional sense of the word and are monies the debtor put into his campaign for operation and payment of expenditures. At no time was money ever exchanged or received by the debtors in regard to these 'loans.'"

On Thursday, Terrill said neither he nor his wife had objections to the case being reopened and added the couple "had filed no objections to the trustee's request."

"We don't have any problem with the court taking a second look," Terrill said Thursday evening. "We don't object at all to the court taking a second look to make sure everything was done properly. Neither my wife, nor I filed objections to the trustee's request and we did not contest the court's action. We have no problem with them taking a second look at a personal, private financial matter."

Telephone calls from The Transcript to both West and Mashburn were not returned.

M. Scott Carter 366-3545 scarter@normantranscript.com

        

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