Citibank, South Dakota, N.A. v. Brower (In Re Brower)

348 B.R. 507, 2006 Bankr. LEXIS 2752, 2006 WL 2419126
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, D. Arizona
DecidedAugust 16, 2006
DocketBankruptcy No. 05-11196-PHX-SSC, Adversary No. 05-749
StatusPublished

This text of 348 B.R. 507 (Citibank, South Dakota, N.A. v. Brower (In Re Brower)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, D. Arizona primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Citibank, South Dakota, N.A. v. Brower (In Re Brower), 348 B.R. 507, 2006 Bankr. LEXIS 2752, 2006 WL 2419126 (Ark. 2006).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM DECISION

SARAH SHARER CURLEY, Bankruptcy Judge.

I. PRELIMINARY STATEMENT

Plaintiff, Citibank, South Dakota, N.A., commenced an adversary proceeding against Loren Drake Brower, the Debtor, on October 3, 2005, to determine whether the debt due and owing to it was nondis-ehargeable under 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(2)(A). The Debtor, who is pro se, responded, and the Court conducted various pretrial proceedings in this matter. The Court held a trial on April 20, 2006, with the Plaintiff to file and serve a post-trial memorandum on May 5, 2006, and the Debtor to file and serve a response by May 19, 2006. Upon receipt of the post-trial memoranda, this matter was deemed under advisement. This Decision shall constitute the Court’s findings of fact and conclusions of law pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 52, Bankruptcy Rule 7052. The Court has jurisdiction over this matter, and this is a core proceeding. 28 U.S.C. §§ 1334 and 157 (West 2006).

II.FACTUAL DISCUSSION

The Debtor opened up two charge accounts with the Plaintiff; an account ending in 0113, and another account ending in 3702. In August 2004, the Debtor made a payment on the 0113 account, and the account had a zero balance until January 2005. 1 In January 2005, the Debtor made a number of charges on the account. By the closing date of January 24, 2004, on *509 the 0113 account, the Debtor had incurred aggregate charges of $858.21. 2 By the closing date of February 22, 2005, the Debtor had a balance of $3879.66, including a balance transfer of $2,500. The Debtor only made a payment on the account of $100.00. 3 The Debtor continued to use the account in March and April 2005, making payments of $100 on March 14, and $170 on April 7, 2005. 4 Finance charges and late fees continued to accrue on the account. At the time the Debtor filed his bankruptcy petition on June 21, 2005, the Plaintiff was owed $7,575.67. 5

In August 2004, the Debtor had a zero balance on the account ending 3702. 6 On December 28, 2004, the Debtor made a purchase in the aggregate amount of $2,433.18. 7 On January 28, the Debtor made payment of $100 on the account, and on February 21, 2005, the Debtor made a payment of $2,353.14 from his checking account. 8 On March 19, 2005, the Debtor obtained $951 at a Las Vegas casino, and on April 26, the Debtor made a payment of $40 on the 3702 account. 9 With late charges and other fees on the account, the Debtor owed the Plaintiff the aggregate amount of $975.69 at the time that he filed his bankruptcy petition.

The Court’s review of the charges on the two accounts reflects that the Debtor made numerous purchases at Best Buy and Fry’s Electronics, obtained cash advances or balance transfers, and obtained funds at a casino in Las Vegas. 10 The Court’s review of the Debtor’s checking account statements reflects that he was receiving a salary from his employer through Mid-March 2005, and that he had a balance in his deposit account of $5,369.97 on February 14, 2005, and a balance of $2,755.08 on March 14, 2005. 11 The Debtor testified that he was either current on the accounts or making the minimum payments required by the Plaintiff on the accounts until he lost his job on March 8, 2005. The Court’s review reflects that the Debtor did pay the 0113 account in full or make minimum payments until the April 18, 2005 statement, with a closing date of March 24, 2005. 12 On the 3702 account, the Debtor either paid the account in full or made minimum payments on the account through the May 31, 2005 statement, with a closing date of May 11, 2005. 13 The Debtor testified that at the time that he lost his job, he had funds in a 401(k) account, which he utilized to pay his living expenses, hoping to acquire another position within a short period of time. The Debtor also testified that he contacted the Plaintiff at the time that he lost his job to advise the company as to his change in circumstances. The Plaintiff did not have one of its representatives testify, so the *510 Debtor’s testimony as to contacting the Plaintiff was not controverted.

The Debtor did concede various inaccuracies in his schedules filed with his petition. For instance, he conceded that his truck was not listed on his Schedules, nor was his extensive computer equipment. 14 The Debtor’s Schedules also reflected that he earned $38,316 in 2003 and $37,961 in 2004 from his employment, yet he had incurred $44,000 in credit card debt by the time he filed his bankruptcy petition in June 2005. 15 To the extent that the Debt- or had a 401(k) account at the time that he filed his petition or that he utilized said account to pay his prepetition living expenses, that asset and those transfers were not listed on his Schedules. 16 The Debtor also did not disclose various pre-petition payments to his unsecured creditors. 17 The Debtor further conceded that he opened a checking account at Chase Bank in 2005 which he did not disclose to the Plaintiff, and that although he provided a declaration to the Plaintiff noting that his “spouse” had a job and was providing income to him, he was not married. The Debtor did testify that he had resided with the same woman for a period of 16 years and that she had required him to move out of her home at the time that he lost his job.

III. LEGAL DISCUSSION

Pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(2)(A), a monetary debt is nondis-chargeable “to the extent obtained by false pretenses, a false representation, or actual fraud.” In the Ninth Circuit, to prove nondischargeability under § 523(a)(2)(A), the Plaintiff needs to show that “(1) that the debtor made the representations; (2) that at the time he knew they were false; (3) that he made them with the intention and purpose of deceiving the creditor; (4) that the creditor justifiably relied on such representations; and (5) that the creditor sustained alleged loss and damage as the proximate result of such representations.” In re Diamond,

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348 B.R. 507, 2006 Bankr. LEXIS 2752, 2006 WL 2419126, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/citibank-south-dakota-na-v-brower-in-re-brower-arb-2006.