Byrd v. Wyeth, Inc.

907 F. Supp. 2d 803, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 18590, 2012 WL 516077
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Mississippi
DecidedFebruary 15, 2012
DocketCivil Action No. 2:03CV104TSL-MTP
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 907 F. Supp. 2d 803 (Byrd v. Wyeth, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Mississippi primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Byrd v. Wyeth, Inc., 907 F. Supp. 2d 803, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 18590, 2012 WL 516077 (S.D. Miss. 2012).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

TOM S. LEE, District Judge.

This cause is before the court on the motion of defendants Wyeth, Inc. fik/a American Home Products and Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, Inc. fik/a Wyeth-Ayerst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (collectively Wyeth) for summary judgment. Plaintiff Jeanette Byrd has responded in opposition to the motion and the court, having considered the memoranda of authorities, together with attachments, submitted by the parties, concludes that the motion should be denied.

On January 8, 1999, plaintiff Jeanette Byrd filed a voluntary petition for bankruptcy protection under Chapter 13 of the Bankruptcy Code. Her plan was confirmed by the bankruptcy court on May 4, 1999. Three years later, on May 22, 2002, Byrd was diagnosed with breast cancer. She filed the present product liability lawsuit against Wyeth on December 23, 2002, alleging her breast cancer was caused by her ingestion of hormone replacement therapy drugs manufactured by Wyeth. On March 20, 2003, approximately three months after plaintiff filed her lawsuit against Wyeth, the bankruptcy court entered its order discharging her debts upon completion of her plan.

In its present motion, Wyeth invokes the doctrine of judicial estoppel, contending that plaintiffs claim in this cause became property of the bankruptcy estate, notwithstanding that it arose post-confirmation, and that consequently, plaintiff had a duty to disclose the claim to the bankruptcy court. It contends that because she failed to amend her bankruptcy schedules to disclose the claim prior to the bankruptcy court’s discharge order, she is barred from pursuing it. See Jethroe v. Omnova Solutions, Inc., 412 F.3d 598, 600 (5th Cir.2005) (explaining that “[a] court should apply judicial estoppel if (1) the position of the party against which estoppel is sought is plainly inconsistent with its prior legal position; (2) the party against which estoppel is sought convinced a court to accept the prior position; and (3) the party did not act inadvertently,” and stating that “[jludicial estoppel is particularly appropriate where ... a party fails to disclose an asset to a bankruptcy court, but then pursues a claim in a separate tribunal based on that undisclosed asset”) (citing In re Coastal Plains, 179 F.3d 197, 206-07 (5th Cir.1999)). In response, Byrd argues principally that in a Chapter 13 bankruptcy proceeding, claims that accrue post-petition are not property of the bankruptcy estate such that there is no duty to disclose such claims. She submits, though, that even if the court concludes otherwise, the law on this issue is complex and unclear and that because of this, her failure to disclose her claim against Wyeth was inadvertent, so that judicial estoppel cannot be applied to bar her claim, or alternatively that the court, in the exercise of its [805]*805discretion in this matter of equity, should permit her to pursue her claim.

The court has thoroughly considered the parties’ arguments and the authorities cited, and is of the opinion that even if the requirements of judicial estoppel are satisfied, application of judicial estoppel in the circumstances of this case would be “an inappropriate use of the court’s equitable powers.” Woodard v. Taco Bueno Restaurants, Inc., Civil Action No. 4:05-CV-804-Y, 2006 WL 3542693, *11 (N.D.Tex. Dec. 8, 2006). As explained in detail by the court in Woodard, two sections of the Bankruptcy Code, 11 U.S.C. § 1306 and 11 U.S.C. § 1327, create a contradiction as to the proper treatment of a Chapter 13 debtor’s assets acquired after confirmation. Id. at *5. Section 1306 states that the bankruptcy estate includes property “that the debtor acquires after the commencement of the case but before the case is closed, dismissed, or converted.” 11 U.S.C. § 1306(a)(1). However, § 1327 provides, “Except as otherwise provided in the plan or the order confirming the plan, the confirmation of a plan vests all of the property of the estate in the debtor ... free and clear of any claim or interest of any creditor provided for by the plan.” 11 U.S.C. § 1327(b)-(c). Thus, “Section 1306 seems to indicate that the bankruptcy estate continues in existence until the case is closed, dismissed, or converted, and all assets acquired by a debtor during this time are the property of the estate if those assets are of the kind specified in section 541____ On the other hand, section 1327 clearly indicates that all property in the bankruptcy estate at confirmation is vested in the debtor free and clear of any claims.” Id. See also Gilbreath v. Averitt Exp., Inc., Civil Action No. 09-1922, 2010 WL 4554090, *9 (W.D.La. Nov. 3, 2010) (observing that “while Section 1306 indicates that the bankruptcy estate continues to accrue assets after confirmation of a debt- or’s Chapter 13 plan, a plausible reading of Section 1327 is that any property a debtor acquires post-confirmation is owned free and clear by the debtor and excluded from the bankruptcy estate”) (citing Woodard, 2006 WL 3542693, at *5). The court in Woodard noted that the Fifth Circuit had not addressed the issue of this apparent contradiction, and four United States circuit courts which had considered the issue had “adopted separate approaches to determine the appropriate disposition of assets that a chapter 13 debtor acquires after confirmation.” Id.

The first approach, sometimes called the estate-termination approach, takes the view that all property of the estate becomes the property of the debtor upon confirmation and ceases to be property of the estate.
The second approach, sometimes called the estate-preservation approach, takes the view that all property of the estate remains property of the estate after confirmation until discharge, dismissal, or conversion.
The third approach accomplishes the King Solomon solution by “splitting the baby.” Sometimes referred to as the estate-transformation approach or the middle-of-the-road approach, it holds that only such property necessary for the execution of the confirmed plan remains property of the bankruptcy estate after confirmation. Any remainder passes free and clear to the debtor.
The fourth approach takes the view that by virtue of section 1327, all property of the estate at the time of confirmation vests in the debtor free and clear of any claims of the creditors but that the bankruptcy estate does not cease to exist. Instead, the bankruptcy estate continues to be funded by the debtor’s reg[806]*806ular income and assets acquired post petition as specified under section 1306.

Id. at *5-7 (citations omitted). The Woodard court found all these approaches unacceptable and opted for a fifth approach under which the debtor, upon confirmation, “is given an immediate and fixed right to the future enjoyment of the bankruptcy estate,” but this future enjoyment occurs only after the debtor “has faithfully completed his obligations under the plan and is entitled to discharge.” Id. at *9.

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907 F. Supp. 2d 803, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 18590, 2012 WL 516077, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/byrd-v-wyeth-inc-mssd-2012.