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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF MONTANA BILLINGS DIVISION PHILIP KEITH, Plaintiff, vs. WALLER AND WOMACK, P.C., ELI PATTEN, and NEAL JENSEN, United States Trustee, Defendants. Plaintiff Philip Keith ("Keith"), appearing pro se, is suing the named Defendants alleging various claims related to Keith's bankruptcy proceedings. Cmplt. (ECF 2).1 The Defendants are Waller and Womack, P.C. ("Waller & Womack"), Eli Patten ("Patten"), and Neal Jensen ("Jensen"). According to representations by their counsel in this action, Joseph V. Womack ("Womack"), of Waller & Womack, is FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF U.S. MAGISTRATE JUDGE CV 12-163-BLG-RFC-CSO

The ECF citation refers to the document as it is numbered in the Court's electronic filing system. Citations to page numbers refer to those assigned by the ECF system.

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the Court-appointed Chapter Seven Trustee for Keith's bankruptcy estate. Waller & Womack's Br. in Support of Mtn. to Dismiss (ECF 9) at 5. Patten and his law firm Crowley Fleck PLLP have been approved by the Bankruptcy Court to provide legal representation to Trustee Womack. Patten's Br. in Support of Mtn. to Dismiss (ECF 12) at 2. Jensen is the United States Trustee. ECF 2 at 1. Waller & Womack and Patten have moved to dismiss Keith's claims against them. See ECF 8, 11. Having reviewed the record, together with the parties' arguments in support of their positions, the Court recommends that the motions be granted. I. BACKGROUND Keith's complaint alleges as follows. Keith is a debtor in a District of Montana bankruptcy case entitled In re Philip Dennis Keith, Bankruptcy Case Number 10-61722. In 2012, Womack examined a witness named Heather Keith. ECF 2 at

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