UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA In re Roberto Felice Donna, Debtor. JESUS VENTURA, et al., Plaintiffs-A ppellants, v. ROBERTO DONNA, Debtor-Appellee. Bankr. Case No. 16-00091 Adversary Proceeding No. 16-10026 Bankr. Appeal No. 17-2217 (TFH) MEMORANDUM OPINION Appellants initiated an adversary proceeding against Roberto Donna in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Columbia in September 2017. The Bankruptcy Court granted summary judgment Mr. Donna on all of Appellants’ claims, and awarded him attorney’s fees for his response to Appellants’ motion for a protective order. Appellants have appealed the Bankruptcy Court’s rulings. I. BACKGROUND Roberto Donna is a chef of Italian cuisine who has long worked in the Washington, D.C. area. AA at 716. He was a majority owner of the Italian restaurant Galileo from 1984 until it closed in 2006. AA at 717-18 [ECF No. 5-1]. In 2006, he opened the restaurant Bebo Trattoria (“Bebo Trattoria” or “Bebo”) in Arlington, Virginia. AA at 718. Bebo lost its lease and closed in April 2009. AA at 720. Appellants Jesus Ventura, Mohammed Douah, Arturo Ramos, Bisera Romic, Carlos Sosaya, Dorde Milojevic, Teor Vuckovic, Marijana Bosnjak, Tulga Dorjgotov and Elizabeth Scott (“the Employees”) were employees of Bebo Trattoria. They worked at the restaurant for lengths of time varying from 5 to 23 months, spanning January 2007 to December 2008. AA at 1287; 1293; 1295; 1298; 1300; 1302; 1305; 1310; 1312. In 2008, a group of former Bebo Trattoria employees, including most of the Employees here, sued Roberto Donna, Bebo Foods, Inc. and RD Trattoria, Inc. for failing to pay minimum and overtime wages in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) and the D.C. Wage Payment and Collection Law (“DCWPCL”) when they were employed at Bebo Trattoria and Galileo. In 2010, the district court granted summary judgment to the former employees, finding that Mr. Donna violated the FLSA and the DCWPCL by failing to pay his employees wages and overtime. Ventura v. Bebo Foods, Inc., 738 F. Supp. 2d 1, 5 (D.D.C. 2010) (Ventura J). After holding two hearings on damages, the court awarded the plaintiffs $526,893.16, including liquidated damages. Ventura v. Bebo Foods, Inc., 738 F. Supp. 2d 8, 12 (D.D.C. 2010) (Ventura I). Mr. Donna was pro se during both the summary judgment briefing andthe damages hearings. Mr. Donna filed for Chapter Seven bankruptcy on March 2, 2016. In response, the Employees filed an adversary proceeding in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Columbia seeking relief from the discharge of Mr. Donna’s debts as it relates to their damages award in Ventura II. They sought relief pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 526(a)(6), which excludes from discharge debts “for willful and malicious injury by the debtor to another entity,” and pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(2)(A), which excludes from discharge debts “obtained by . . . false pretenses, false representation, or actual fraud.” _ The Bankruptcy Court granted summary judgment for Mr. Donna, finding that “the plaintiffs have not provided evidence to ...
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