Crawford v. Chatterton (In re Crawford)

268 B.R. 832, 2001 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 17473, 2001 WL 1148132
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Wisconsin
DecidedJuly 27, 2001
DocketNo. 01-C-147-C
StatusPublished

This text of 268 B.R. 832 (Crawford v. Chatterton (In re Crawford)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. Wisconsin primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Crawford v. Chatterton (In re Crawford), 268 B.R. 832, 2001 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 17473, 2001 WL 1148132 (W.D. Wis. 2001).

Opinion

OPINION AND ORDER

CRABB, District Judge.

This is an appeal brought pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 158(a). Debtor Wayne K. Crawford contends that the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Wisconsin erred when it denied confirmation of his proposed Chapter 13 plan and dismissed his Chapter 13 petition. Debtor contends that the Bankruptcy Code allows a debtor to treat some unsecured claims more favorably than others, so long as the debtor does not discriminate “unfairly” against any class of unsecured claims. 11 U.S.C. §§ 1122 and 1322. Un[834]*834der debtor’s proposed plan, his general unsecured non-dischargeable claim for child support assigned to a government entity would be paid before the other unsecured claims. Debtor maintains that the bankruptcy court should have approved this plan, following the lead of other courts that have held that such discrimination between classes of claims is not unfair but rather promotes the public policies of encouraging the payment of child support obligations and giving debtors a fresh start after bankruptcy. I conclude that the bankruptcy court made the correct decision. Congress gives priority status to child support payments owed to spouses, former spouses or children but excludes from priority child support payments made to governments, although both kinds of debt are non-dischargeable. Giving preferential status to child support debts to governments seems to contradict the congressional decision not to give priority to governmental claims for child support and would require other holders of unsecured claims to subsidize the debtor’s child support obligation. I am not persuaded that such discrimination between claims is fair. The decision of the bankruptcy court dismissing debtor’s Chapter 13 petition will be affirmed.

From the briefs submitted by the parties and the record on appeal, I find the following facts solely for the purpose of deciding debtor’s appeal.

FACTS

On September 17, 2000; debtor Wayne A. Crawford filed a Chapter 13 bankruptcy petition. Debtor’s filing included a Chapter 13 plan in which he proposed to pay a small secured claim to Blackhawk Credit Union first, followed by payment in full of the Internal Revenue Service’s unsecured priority loans in an amount to be determined by the bankruptcy court. He then proposed placing creditors with general unsecured loans into two tiers, with the first tier consisting of a claim for child support assigned to Rock County, Wisconsin. (Debtor had accumulated $18,208.06 in child support arrears owed to Rock County, Wisconsin for repayment of Aid to Families with Dependent Children expenditures by the county to support his son, Sharom Crawford. Debtor is current on child support payments to Sharom’s mother and to the mother of his other child.) The second tier consisted of all remaining general unsecured claims. The proposed plan provided that the trustee make payments to Rock County to the maximum extent plan funding would permit before making payments to the other general unsecured creditors on a prorated basis.

Five proofs of claim were filed with the bankruptcy court prior to the Section 341 meeting of creditors as follows:

(1) a $174.00 secured claim filed by Blackhawk Credit Union;
(2) a $30,263.77 claim filed by the Internal Revenue Service ($10,925.56 as an unsecured priority claim and $19,338.21 as a general unsecured claim);
(3) an $18,208.06 general unsecured claim for assigned child support;
(4) a $141.20 general unsecured claim filed by Beloit Clinic; and
(5) a $367.14 general unsecured claim filed by Alliant Utilities.

After some other skirmishes in the bankruptcy court not relevant to the issue on appeal, the bankruptcy trustee filed objections to debtor’s Chapter 13 plan, for two reasons, only one of which is relevant to this appeal. The trustee objected to the plan’s provision for separate classification and favored treatment of a non-discharge-able child support obligation assigned to Rock County’s child support enforcement department.

[835]*835On January 22, 2000, the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Wisconsin held a confirmation hearing, ruling that debtor’s plan could not be confirmed as a matter of law because of its treatment of the assigned child support claim. The court dismissed debtor’s Chapter 13 bankruptcy, staying the dismissal for fourteen days to allow debtor to amend the plan by eliminating the separate classification for the assigned child support claim. On February 1, 2001, debtor filed an appeal pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 158(a).

OPINION

A. Standard of Review

Rule 8013 of the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure states: “On an appeal, the district court ... may affirm, modify, or reverse a bankruptcy judge’s judgment, order, or decree or remand with instructions for further proceedings.” A bankruptcy court’s factual findings are reviewed for clear error; its conclusions of law are reviewed de novo. In re Thirtyacre, 36 F.3d 697, 700 (7th Cir.1994). In this case, there are no factual disputes; the question is solely one of legal interpretation.

B. Order Dismissing Debtor’s Chapter IS Plan

Debtor argues that the Bankruptcy Code permits him to classify the child support claim, a general unsecured non-dischargeable claim assigned to a government entity, separately from other general unsecured claims, with the result of treating the child support claim preferentially. He says that when 11 U.S.C. §§ 1322(b)(1) and 1122(a) are read together, they permit separate classification and favored treatment of general unsecured child support claims to government entities over other general unsecured creditors.

Debtor is correct in asserting that unsecured claims may be subdivided into separate classes in a Chapter 13 plan. In pertinent part, 11 U.S.C. § 1322 provides that

(a) The plan shall—
(1) provide for the submission of all or such portion of future earnings or other future income of the debtor to the supervision and control of the trustee as is necessary for the execution of the plan;

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
268 B.R. 832, 2001 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 17473, 2001 WL 1148132, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/crawford-v-chatterton-in-re-crawford-wiwd-2001.