UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT ____________

No. 20-1726 ____________

DESMOND CONBOY; BRENDAN GILSENAN,

Appellants

v.

UNITED STATES SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION; CBE GROUP; FIRST NATIONAL BANK, d/b/a Metro Bank; SEDA COG ____________

On Appeal from the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania (D.C. No. 3-18-cv-00224) District Judge: Honorable Malachy E. Mannion ____________

Submitted on January 21, 2021 Before: HARDIMAN, ROTH, Circuit Judges, and PRATTER, District Judge.

(Filed: March 19, 2021)

Joshua L. Thomas 225 Wilmington-West Chester Pike Suite 200 Chadds Ford, PA 19317 Counsel for Appellants David J. Freed Samuel S. Dalke Office of United States Attorney Middle District of Pennsylvania 228 Walnut Street, P.O. Box 11754 220 Federal Building and Courthouse Harrisburg, PA 17108 Counsel for Appellee United States Small Business Administration Robbie Malone Eugene X. Martin, IV Malone Frost Martin  The Honorable Gene E.K. Pratter, United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, sitting by designation.

2 8750 North Central Expressway NorthPark Central, Suite 1850 Dallas, TX 75231 Justin M. Tuskan Metz Lewis Brodman Must O’Keefe 535 Smithfield Street Suite 800 Pittsburgh, PA 15222 Counsel for Appellee CBE Group Jeffrey E. Havran Margolis Edelstein 220 Penn Avenue Suite 305 Scranton, PA 18503 Counsel for Appellee Seda Cog

___________

OPINION OF THE COURT ____________ HARDIMAN, Circuit Judge.

Almost two decades ago, this Court declared that “[a]n appeal is not just the procedural next step in every lawsuit,” and the decision to challenge “an order of the District Court is not a matter to be taken lightly.” Beam v. Bauer, 383 F.3d 106, 108 (3d Cir. 2004). Today we reemphasize these truths. In this appeal, counsel for Appellants Desmond Conboy and Brendan

3 Gilsenan filed a brief that was essentially a copy of the one he filed in the District Court. Because the substance of this appeal is as frivolous as its form, we will affirm the District Court’s summary judgment and grant Appellee CBE Group’s motion for damages under Rule 38 of the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure.

I

The case arises out of an unpaid debt. Appellants Conboy and Gilsenan, with help from a $594,000 loan from the United States Small Business Administration, bought and renovated a commercial property in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania that became Ceoltas Irish Pub. Conboy and Gilsenan executed a note, mortgage, and unconditional guarantees that they would repay the loan. The guarantees provided that federal law would control the enforcement of the note and guarantees and that Conboy and Gilsenan may not invoke any state or local law to deny their obligation to the SBA.

Conboy and Gilsenan defaulted on the loan and sold the property. The SBA allowed the sale to proceed but declined to release Appellants from their loan obligations.

After repeated attempts to collect the debt failed, the SBA assigned the debt to CBE Group for collection. Rather than pay the debt, Conboy and Gilsenan sued the SBA, the United States Treasury Department, First National Bank, Seda Cog (an agency that facilitated the original loan transaction), and CBE in the Court of Common Pleas of Monroe County, Pennsylvania. The SBA removed the case to the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. The Treasury Department and First National Bank were dismissed from the litigation with Conboy and Gilsenan’s consent.

4 In an amended compla