Another U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge has rejected a DOMA-based motion by the U.S. Trustee to dismiss a joint bankruptcy filing by a married same-sex couple. In In re Ziviello-Howell, Case No. 11-22706-A-7 (May 31, 2011), Judge Michael S. McManus of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of California, finding that the case before him was "substantially similar" to In re Somers, 2011 WL 1709839 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. 2011), and followed the persuasive precedent of finding no basis to grant the motion. The U.S. Trustee argued that because of DOMA, the bankruptcy court was precluded from treating a same-sex couple as married, even if they were married under state law, and thus they could not file a joint petition.