Page 3 of 7  requires her removal as trustee from this case and from all other cases in which Mr. Ryan is  enrolled as counsel. Ms. Abide objects.  9  Movers' original and amended motions comprise a lengthy narrative of reasons why Ms.  Abide should no longer serve as the Dickersons' chapter 7 trustee. But their pretrial  memorandum narrows the focus of their challenge to Ms. Abide's lawsuit against Mr. Ryan in  theToddcase. Indeed, Mr. Ryan agreed with Ms. Abide's counsel at the hearing on the motion  that Movers had abandoned all other allegations in their motion to remove trustee.  10  ANALYSIS  Burden of Proof  Mr. Ryan and his clients, as the parties seeking removal of a trustee, bear the burden of  proof by a preponderance of evidence.  11  11 U.S.C. § 324(a) – Removal for \"cause\"  Bankruptcy Code section 324(a) provides that \"[t]he court, after notice and a hearing,  may remove a trustee … for cause.\" Movers contend that Ms. Abide is biased against Mr. Ryan,  and that her bias creates a conflict of interest that is cause to remove her as trustee.  12    9 Objection to Motion to Remove Trustee [P-203].  10 The trustee's counsel relied on paragraph 2(d) of the April 8, 2020 pretrial and scheduling order [P-230]. That order provides, \"Issues not timely briefed shall be deemed abandoned and shall not be considered at the hearing.\"  11Dye v. Brown (In re AFI Holding, Inc.),530 F.3d 832, 845 (9th Cir. 2008) (\"[T]he party seeking removal has the burden.\").See also In re Tres-Ark, Inc., 483 B.R. 460, 467 (Bankr. W.D. Tex. 2012) (citingGrogan v. Garner, 498 U.S. 279, 111 S.Ct. 654 (1991) (\"When the Bankruptcy Code is silent on the burden of proof, the Supreme Court states preponderance of the evidence is presumed.\")  12 Amended Motion to Remove Trustee from the Case [P-206, ¶ 12].  Case 18-10136 Doc 261 Filed 09/01/20 Entered 09/01/20 11:42:34 Page 3 of 7

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