Copeland v. Fink (In re Copeland)

483 B.R. 534, 68 Collier Bankr. Cas. 2d 963, 2012 Bankr. LEXIS 5392, 110 A.F.T.R.2d (RIA) 6708, 2012 WL 5846263
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Appellate Panel for the Eighth Circuit
DecidedNovember 20, 2012
DocketBAP No. 12-6034
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 483 B.R. 534 (Copeland v. Fink (In re Copeland)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Appellate Panel for the Eighth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Copeland v. Fink (In re Copeland), 483 B.R. 534, 68 Collier Bankr. Cas. 2d 963, 2012 Bankr. LEXIS 5392, 110 A.F.T.R.2d (RIA) 6708, 2012 WL 5846263 (bap8 2012).

Opinion

SCHERMER, Bankruptcy Judge.

The Debtors, Shawn C. Copeland and Lauren M.K. Copeland (the “Debtors”), appeal from the order of the bankruptcy court1 confirming their amended Chapter 13 plan. We have jurisdiction over this appeal from the final judgment of the bankruptcy court. See 28 U.S.C. § 158(b). For the reasons set forth below, we affirm.

ISSUE

The issue in this appeal is whether the bankruptcy court erred when it confirmed the Debtors’ amended Chapter 13 bankruptcy plan (over the Debtors’ objection) that did not provide for payment of unsecured non-priority tax claims and tax preparation fees ahead of other non-priority unsecured creditors. Because a plan proposed by the Debtors providing for special treatment of the tax claims would unfairly discriminate against other unsecured non-priority creditors, we hold that the bankruptcy court’s confirmation of the Debtors’ plan was proper.

BACKGROUND

On April 22, 2011, the Debtors filed a petition for relief under Chapter 13 of Title 11 of the United States Code (the “Bankruptcy Code”). Taxing authorities hold unsecured non-priority claims in the Debtors’ bankruptcy case.2 Because of the age of the tax debt and the tardy filing of tax returns for pre-petition years, the tax debt is non-priority debt and a substantial portion of it is non-dischargeable.

The Debtors filed a plan that stated that “[t]he general unsecured claims of the United States for the Internal Revenue Tax, the Missouri Department of Revenue, and the Kansas Department of Revenue for income taxes shall be treated as a Special Class to be paid 100 percent.” The plan also provided that “Debtors’ attorney is to be paid for tax return preparation from plan payments.” The tax preparation fees result from counsel’s post-petition preparation of tax returns. The bankruptcy court denied confirmation of the plan.3

In February 2012, the Debtors amended their plan to remove the provisions for special classification of unsecured non-priority tax claims and plan payments to the Debtor’s attorney for tax preparation fees. The Debtors objected to confirmation of their own plan because it did not provide for the special treatment of unsecured non-priority tax creditors and tax preparation fees, as provided in the Debtors’ previous plan.

At a hearing on the Debtors’ objection to confirmation of their February 2012 [537]*537plan, the Debtors stated that they wanted to pay the unsecured non-priority tax claims in full and their tax preparation fees “from the DIP.” Citing to Groves v. LaBarge (In re Groves), 39 F.3d 212 (8th Cir.1994), Richard V. Fink, Chapter 13 trustee (the “Trustee”), argued that it was unfair discrimination under Bankruptcy Code § 1322 for the Debtors to provide special treatment to the tax creditors simply because such creditors’ claims were non-dischargeable. The Debtors argued that it would not be unfair to afford special treatment to the tax creditors because the tax creditors are required to continue performing services for the Debtors. The bankruptcy court stated that the arguments made by the Debtors “don’t provide a basis for treating the taxing authorities different from unsecured creditors” and, basing its decision on Groves, stated that “the plan would provide for unjust discrimination if it allowed the unsecured non-priority tax claims to be paid ahead of the other unsecured creditors, that the pot should be available for all the unsecured creditors.” The bankruptcy court overruled the Debtors’ objection to confirmation. No confirmation order was entered.

In April 2012, the Debtors amended their plan (the “Final Plan”) to make a change to it that is not relevant to this appeal, but they retained the equal treatment of all unsecured creditors from the Debtors’ February 2012 plan including the tax creditors and tax preparation fees. The Debtors objected to confirmation of the Final Plan on the same grounds that they had previously objected to confirmation of the February 2012 plan. At a hearing, the bankruptcy court stated that the issues before it had already been ruled upon at the previous hearing, and it overruled the Debtors’ objection to confirmation of their Final Plan. On May 10, 2012, the bankruptcy court entered its order confirming the Final Plan.

The Debtors’ Chapter 13 Plan is a Disposable Income Pot-60 month plan. The Trustee estimated that, based on claims that had been filed, the Final Plan would provide for a distribution of approximately 78% to all unsecured non-priority creditors.4 The Trustee further submitted that, if the Debtors were permitted to pay the tax claims ahead of other unsecured non-priority creditors, the tax creditors would receive a distribution of approximately 97%.5 The remaining unsecured non-priority creditors would receive nothing.6

STANDARD OF REVIEW

We review findings of fact for clear error and conclusions of law de novo. Lange v. Mutual of Omaha Bank (In re Negus-Sons, Inc.), 460 B.R. 754, 755 (8th Cir. BAP 2011) (citation omitted). The stan[538]*538dard of review on the issue of whether the Debtors’ proposed classification discriminated unfairly is not clear. See Groves, 39 F.3d at 214 (“[Mickelson v. Leser (In re Leser), 939 F.2d 669, 671 (8th Cir.1991) ] treated the issue as ‘solely one of legal interpretation,’ ... [b]ut in Hanson v. First Bank of South Dakota, N.A., 828 F.2d 1310, 1313 (8th Cir.1987), we noted ‘the broad discretion of bankruptcy courts in matters of classification,’ and reviewed a classification issue under the clearly erroneous standard.... ”). In some instances, the inquiry is “primarily one of statutory construction, to be reviewed de novo[, b]ut application of the ‘discriminate unfairly’ standard in other cases may involve little more that exercise of the bankruptcy court’s broad discretion.” Groves, 39 F.3d at 214. Regardless of whether we review the bankruptcy court’s decision de novo or for an abuse of discretion, our conclusion is the same.

DISCUSSION

The Debtors had standing to bring this appeal from an order confirming their Chapter 13 Final Plan. See Zahn v. Fink (In re Zahn), 526 F.3d 1140, 1141 (8th Cir.2008) (debtor had standing to appeal from an order confirming her own plan).

A. 11 U.S.C. § 1322(b)(1)

Section 1322(b)(1) of Title 11 of the United States Code (the “Bankruptcy Code”) permits a Chapter 13 plan to “designate a class or classes of unsecured claims, as provided in section 1122 of [the Bankruptcy Code], but [it] may not discriminate unfairly against any class so designated .... ” “A Chapter 13 ...

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Related

Copeland v. Fink (In Re Copeland)
742 F.3d 811 (Eighth Circuit, 2014)
In re Knowles
501 B.R. 409 (D. Kansas, 2013)

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Bluebook (online)
483 B.R. 534, 68 Collier Bankr. Cas. 2d 963, 2012 Bankr. LEXIS 5392, 110 A.F.T.R.2d (RIA) 6708, 2012 WL 5846263, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/copeland-v-fink-in-re-copeland-bap8-2012.