Davidson v. Insurance Co. of North America (In re BSC Audio, Inc.)

35 B.R. 722, 1983 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 17818
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Arkansas
DecidedApril 11, 1983
DocketCiv. No. 82-5178
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 35 B.R. 722 (Davidson v. Insurance Co. of North America (In re BSC Audio, Inc.)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. Arkansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Davidson v. Insurance Co. of North America (In re BSC Audio, Inc.), 35 B.R. 722, 1983 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 17818 (W.D. Ark. 1983).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION

H. FRANKLIN WATERS, Chief Judge.

I. Introduction

BSC Audio, Inc., is a bankrupt retailer of audio equipment in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The Trustee in Bankruptcy, Charles Darwin Davidson, filed a complaint at law on a contract in Bankruptcy Court to recover the proceeds of an insurance policy issued by the Insurance Company of North America to BSC Audio, Inc. As the bankruptcy proceeding was commenced prior to October 1,1979, the Bankruptcy Reform Act of 1978 does not apply, but rather, the substantive and procedural rights governing this cause arise under the Bankruptcy Act of 1898, as amended.1

Before answering the complaint, appellant-insurer filed a motion to dismiss or transfer to the United States District Court on the basis that the Bankruptcy Court lacked subject-matter jurisdiction over such cases under the 1898 Act, since the case involved only questions of insurance law to be tried by a jury, with no issues of bankruptcy law presented. The Bankruptcy Judge2 denied the motion to dismiss, holding that such cases fall within its summary jurisdiction conferred by the 1898 Act.

Following the denial of its motion, the insurer answered the complaint setting up three policy exclusions as affirmative defenses.

The case was then tried to a jury in bankruptcy court. The jury returned a verdict against the insurance company.

The insurer appeals the judgment entered on the verdict, raising three main arguments: (1) that the Bankruptcy Court erred in denying the insurer’s motion to dismiss on jurisdictional grounds; (2) that the jury was incorrectly instructed; (3) that the Bankruptcy Court correctly found respondent trustee not entitled to pre-judgment interest.

Because of our resolution of the first issue, we need not reach the other two, for the reasons set forth herein.

II. Discussion

The jurisdiction of the district courts and the bankruptcy courts under the Bankrupt-, cy Act of 1898 is set forth in Section 23 of the Act, formerly codified as 11 U.S.C. § 46:

§ 23. Jurisdiction of United States and State Courts, (a) The United States District Courts shall, have jurisdiction of all [724]*724controversies at law and in equity, as distinguished from proceedings under this title, between receivers and trustees as such and adverse claimants concerning the property acquired or claimed by the receivers or trustees, in the same manner and to the same extent as though such proceedings had not been instituted and such controversies had been between the bankrupts and such adverse claimants.
(b) Suits by the receiver and the trustee shall be brought or prosecuted only in the courts where the bankrupt might have brought or prosecuted them if proceedings under this title had not been instituted, unless by consent of the defendant, except as provided in sections 96, 107 and 110 of this title.

Under the language of this statute, the Bankruptcy Court has no jurisdiction over a case at law involving a trustee’s claim to or acquisition of property from an adverse party, as distinguished from a case arising solely under rights created by Title 11, without the consent of the adverse party.

Nonetheless, it was well settled that bankruptcy courts have “summary” jurisdiction to adjudicate controversies relating to property over which they have actual or constructive “possession”; and the test of this jurisdiction is possession by the bankrupt at the time of the filing of the petition. South Central Bell Telephone Co. v. Simon, 508 F.2d 1056 (5th Cir.1975).

There has long been a distinction between the “summary” jurisdiction of the bankruptcy court and the bankruptcy referee over “proceedings in bankruptcy,” and the “plenary” jurisdiction of the United States District Courts over “independent suits.” Morrison v. Rocco Ferrera & Co., 554 F.2d 290 (6th Cir.1977).

Where an action is within the “summary” jurisdiction of the bankruptcy court, the action can be referred to the bankruptcy referee for adjudication. Morrison, supra; 2A Collier ¶ 38.09[2] (14th ed.). Where, however, an independent or plenary action must be maintained, reference of such an action to the bankruptcy judge “raises substantial jurisdictional problems.” Morrison, supra, at 296; 2 Collier ¶ 23.15[7] (14th ed.).

Therefore, the Trustee quite naturally asserts that the claim against appellants falls within the “summary” jurisdiction of the bankruptcy court. However, to sustain this thesis, the Trustee must show that the bankrupt was in actual or constructive possession of the “property” at issue, at the time of the filing of the petition. As, obviously, the bankrupt was not in possession of the insurance proceeds at the time the petition was filed, the Trustee contends that nonetheless the bankrupt was in “possession” of the “property” because the bankrupt “possessed” a chose in action, i.e., the bankrupt’s “right to pursue his contractual rights.”

The Trustee argues that the substantiality of such a claim is irrelevant, the issue being solely that of “possession.”

A “chose in action” is synonymous with a “debt.” The terms or phrases, “chose in action” and “debt,” are used by courts to represent the same thing when viewed from opposite sides. The chose in action is the right of the creditor to be paid, while the debt is the obligation of the debtor to pay. Smead v. Chandler, 71 Ark. 505, 76 S.W. 1066 (1903).

The Court in Morrison, in discussing the summary jurisdictional aspects of litigating adverse claims with respect to choses in action, declared:

The question, thus, is why a court in bankruptcy may not enforce a chose in action against the obligor thereon where such is within the court’s constructive possession. The answer traditionally given is that the procedure in bankruptcy is primarily summary, as opposed to an adversary procedure, in that it requires a plenary action with adversarial procedures to enforce a chose in action .. . This distinction between property claims which may be enforced summarily and those which require resort to an adversarial procedure is no longer a viable basis on which to determine whether the bankruptcy court may exercise its jurisdiction. [725]*725The new Bankruptcy Rules, in Part VII, make complete provisions for adversary proceedings. Rule 701, in particular, states that these rules govern any proceeding instituted by a party before a bankruptcy judge to recover money or property. Rule 102 states that all proceedings in the case, implicitly including adversary proceedings, ought to be before the referee except as specifically provided. Given the clear intent of the new rules that adversary proceedings be conducted before the referee, and these rules having made ample provision for adversary proceedings, there no longer remains any reason to deny the bankruptcy court this aspect of the jurisdiction conferred upon it....

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35 B.R. 722, 1983 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 17818, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/davidson-v-insurance-co-of-north-america-in-re-bsc-audio-inc-arwd-1983.