Chevron Oil Co. v. Dobie

80 Misc. 2d 146, 362 N.Y.S.2d 668, 1974 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 1861
CourtNew York Supreme Court
DecidedOctober 11, 1974
StatusPublished

This text of 80 Misc. 2d 146 (Chevron Oil Co. v. Dobie) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New York Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Chevron Oil Co. v. Dobie, 80 Misc. 2d 146, 362 N.Y.S.2d 668, 1974 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 1861 (N.Y. Super. Ct. 1974).

Opinion

Edward F. Crawford, J.

Defendant moved for .summary judgment asserting that the causes of action stated in plaintiff’s two complaints, to wit, a cause of action for $20,767.22 asserted against defendant upon a personal guarantee of the corporate debt of a corporation known as Ed-Nor Associates, Inc. and a cause of action for $6,279.89 upon the personal guarantee of the corporate debt of a corporation known as Anciad Corporation, were barred and that there was no triable issue of fact with respect to defendant’s affirmative defense of discharge in bankruptcy. One other person personally guaranteed the debt of Ed-Nor Associates, Inc. and two other persons personally guaranteed the debt of Anciad Corporation. Plaintiff cross-moved for summary judgment upon the ground that there was no triable issue of fact and that defendant had failed to duly schedule said debt as required by section 7 (subd. [a], par. [8]) of the Bankruptcy Act (TI. S. Code, tit. 11, § 25, subd. [a], par. [8]), and that, therefore, the debt was excepted from discharge by the terms of section 17 (subd. [a], par. [3]) of the Bankruptcy Act (U. S. Code, tit. 11, § 35, subd. [a], par. [3]). The court notes the provisions of section 7 (subd. [a], par. [8]) of the Bankruptcy Act (U. S. Code, tit. 11, § 25, subd. [a:], par. [8]) which states that among the duties of a voluntary bankrupt are tq “ prepare, make oath to, and file in court * * * with his petition * * * a list of all his creditors, including all persons asserting contingent, unliquidated, or disputed claims, showing their residences or places of business, if known, or if unknown that fact to be stated, the amount due to or claimed by each of them, the consideration thereof, the security held by them, if any, and what claims, if any, are contingent, unliquidated, or disputed ”. Subdivision (a) of section 17 of the Bankruptcy Act states (TJ. S. Code, tit. 11, § 35, subd. [a]): “ A discharge in bankruptcy shall release a bankrupt from all of his provable debts * * * except such as # * * (3) have not been duly scheduled in time for proof and allowance, with the name of the creditor, if known to the bankrupt, unless such creditor had notice or actual knowledge of the proceedings in bankruptcy ”.

It is clear from the copies of the schedules in defendant’s 1970 voluntary bankruptcy proceeding which are part of the motion papers, that the only reference to the plaintiff in the schedules was on the second page of Schedule A-3, a schedule of unsecured creditors whose claims totaled $30,286, wherein the plaintiff’s claim was listed as follows: “ Chevron Oil Co., [148]*148Perth Amboy, New Jersey 1969 mdse 100.00 ”. There were 18 other creditors listed on page 2 of the schedule.

Plaintiff contends that the manner of listing did not constitute ’due scheduling because no street address was given and further by reason of the facts that the schedule grossly underestimates ’the amount owing to the plaintiff upon the date the petition was filed, an amount estimated by plaintiff at $10,000, by reason of the fact that the description of the consideration merely stated “ mdse ” without any reference to the guarantee or to the accounts guaranteed, and by reason of the. fact that there is no statement as to whether the debt is contingent, unliquidated or disputed when in fact it was contingent upon default by said corporations. The defendant attached to his motion papers copies of the notice of first meeting of creditors and order fixing last day for filing objections to discharge, which documents are required to be mailed by the Referee in Bankruptcy to all creditors listed, and a copy of the certificate of mailing by the Clerk of the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York certifying that a copy of the notice of first meeting of creditors and order was mailed to 11 Chevron Oil Co. Perth Amboy New Jersey.” There is no indication that the notice was ever returned by the postal authorities due to inability to deliver. 'The court does take note of the fact that the form of notice used by the Referee in Bankruptcy does not set forth any information from the schedules other than the name and address of the bankrupt. Upon receipt of such a notice, it is incumbent upon a creditor so notified to check his own records and take such steps as he deems necessary relative to filing a claim, attending the first meeting of creditors and participating .at such other hearings or meetings as may be called.

The plaintiff specifically claims by affidavit of a credit specialist in its employ whose duty it was to supervise the instant accounts, that he never learned of the bankruptcy until the attorneys charged with collecting the account in 1973 advised of the same, that he checked all records in the offices of the plaintiff and found no record of receipt of such notice and that he could locate no individual in the company who received notice or had previous notice or knowledge of the 1970 bankruptcy. He further states that all the plaintiff’s records were indexed under the names of Ed-Nor Associates, Inc. and Anciad Corporation rather than under that of the defendant.

All cases cited by the plaintiff to the court which deal with the concept of due scheduling have to do with the matter of the [149]*149proper name and address of the creditor rather than with the amount of the debt, contingent nature thereof and the like. In this case there is no question about the name. The question as to address is solely related to whether or not a street address has to be set forth by the petitioner. While there are a number of cases which hold that insertion of the wrong address or wrong street address will serve to except the debt from discharge (e.g., Columbia Bank v. Birkett, 174 N. Y. 112, affd. 195 U. S. 345; Salmon v. Sarmo, 265 App. Div. 114; Jud v. Carey Drive Yourself, 13 Misc 2d 580; Horbach v. Arkell, 172 App. Div. 566; Matter of Venson, 234 F. Supp 271, affd. 337 F. 2d 616) the court feels bound by the decision of the United States Supreme Court in Kreitlem v. Ferger (238 U. S. 21, 34) wherein the court held: ‘' Bearing in mind the general purpose of the statute to relieve honest bankrupts, considering that the Act does not expressly require the street address to be stated" or the residence to be given unless known, and giving proper legal effect to the Order of Discharge, we hold that a schedule listing the creditor’s residence as Indianapolis is, at least, prima facie sufficient.” The court applies the Kreitlein rule to this ease and, in doing so, notes that, at least with respect to the billings to Ed-Nor Associates, Inc., copies of which are annexed to the plaintiff’s pleadings, the regional office of the plaintiff was merely set forth thereon as Perth Amboy, New Jersey, the address in fact used by defendant in his bankruptcy schedules.

There are two opposing points of view relative to omissions in schedules, one of them is represented by the majority in the Kreitlein case (supra), and the other by the minority. The more strict point of view is also well outlined in King v. Harry (131 F. Supp. 252, 254), wherein the court states that: “ A discharge in bankruptcy is a privilege. It is not a one-way street.

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Related

Birkett v. Columbia Bank
195 U.S. 345 (Supreme Court, 1904)
Kreitlein v. Ferger
238 U.S. 21 (Supreme Court, 1915)
Maynard v. Elliott
283 U.S. 273 (Supreme Court, 1931)
In Re Venson
234 F. Supp. 271 (N.D. Georgia, 1964)
King v. Harry
131 F. Supp. 252 (District of Columbia, 1955)
Columbia Bank v. . Birkett
66 N.E. 652 (New York Court of Appeals, 1903)
Dulberg v. Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States
12 N.E.2d 554 (New York Court of Appeals, 1938)
Horbach v. Arkell
172 A.D. 566 (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, 1916)
Salmon v. Sarno
265 A.D. 114 (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, 1942)
Jud v. Carey Drive Yourself, Inc.
13 Misc. 2d 580 (New York Supreme Court, 1958)

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Bluebook (online)
80 Misc. 2d 146, 362 N.Y.S.2d 668, 1974 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 1861, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/chevron-oil-co-v-dobie-nysupct-1974.