In re Endeavor Highrise LP – Defendant Counterclaimant’s Jury Demand Stricken by Bankruptcy Court

In a case of apparent first impression, in In re Endeavor Highrise LP, 425 B.R. 402 (Bankr.S.D.Tex. 2010),by memorandum opinion dated March 12, 2010, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Souther District of Texas concluded that the filing a counterclaim against the bankruptcy trustee as part of a defendant’s answer to the trustee’s adversary complaint was the equivalent of filing a proof of claim for jurisdictional purposes.  As a result, the defendant waived its demand for a jury trial. On the trustee’s motion, the jury demand was stricken.