Eastern Airlines Employees Federal Credit Union v. Kirby (In re Kirby)

8 B.R. 705, 1981 Bankr. LEXIS 4918
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, S.D. Florida.
DecidedFebruary 11, 1981
DocketBankruptcy No. 80-00776-BKC-JAG; Adv. No. 80-0269-JAG-A
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 8 B.R. 705 (Eastern Airlines Employees Federal Credit Union v. Kirby (In re Kirby)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, S.D. Florida. primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Eastern Airlines Employees Federal Credit Union v. Kirby (In re Kirby), 8 B.R. 705, 1981 Bankr. LEXIS 4918 (Fla. 1981).

Opinion

FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS

JOSEPH A. GASSEN, Bankruptcy Judge.

This adversary proceeding was tried before the court on December 3, 1980 upon the three-count complaint of the plaintiff, Eastern Airlines Employees Federal Credit Union. The complaint itself refers only to nondischargeability of the three separate obligations in the three counts of the complaint. However, in its memorandum of law filed post trial, the plaintiff also objects to the discharge of the defendant-debtors under a “disappearance or shortage of assets” theory which could barely be inferred from the complaint if at all. Plaintiff’s complaint refers to 11 U.S.C. § 727 in discussing nondischargeability of debts. However, at trial, plaintiff conceded that the nondischargeability of debt aspects were, in fact, tried under 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(2)(B). As aforesaid, plaintiff renewed its reference to 11 U.S.C. § 727(a)(5) in its memorandum of law on the theory that the debtors were not entitled to discharge.

Each of the obligations of the defendant-debtors to the plaintiff was as a result of a separate transaction. Count I refers to a loan obtained by the debtor, Gail Kirby on March 4, 1980 in the amount of $1,500 (Plaintiff’s Exhibit No. 1). This brought a previously existing indebtedness in the amount of $1,336 up to $2,836.

Defendant Gail Kirby’s stated purpose for the new funds was for “closing costs” in the purchase of a residence. On March 9, 1980, the defendant-debtors did in fact enter into a purchase agreement for a house (Plaintiff’s Exhibit No. 5) which recited that a $300 deposit had been made prior to that time and $1,700 was being additionally deposited at that time. The agreement further required that an additional $4,100 would be paid at time of closing which was estimated to be in June or July, 1980.

[707]*707The defendants were relying on settlement funds from other matters to generate the needed cash at closing. However, it became apparent prior to the closing date that those funds would not be available and that the defendant-debtors would not be able to close on the purchase of the residence. They so informed the seller under the purchase agreement and were refunded their deposit. Instead of repaying any part of their loan to the plaintiff, the defendants utilized the refund of that deposit to pay other bills and to meet current expenses.

In Count I, the plaintiff complains that since these funds were earmarked as “closing costs”, they should have been returned to the plaintiff and the loan cancelled as soon as the debtors knew they could not go forward with the purchase of the home and had their deposit refunded to them. In addition, in and by Count I, the plaintiff alleges that the application for the additional loan was made and the funds obtained when the defendant, Gail Kirby, was insolvent and that she failed to disclose that fact to the plaintiff. Plaintiff also seeks to make a point of the fact that at the time of the advance of the additional $1,500 the real purpose was to complete the deposit on the purchase agreement and not for closing costs as stated on the application.

Technically, the making of a loan at a time that the borrower is insolvent does not make that obligation nondischargeable under any sub-section of 11 U.S.C. § 523. However, the thrust of the plaintiffs contention in that regard is that the defendant, Gail Kirby, did not disclose all of her obligations on the application for the new loan, which failure would except the debt from discharge under 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(2)(B). The defendant, Gail Kirby, testified that the necessity for a detailed listing of prior obligations was discounted by the agents of the plaintiff who processed her application. (The evidence on this as to Count I and Count II will be discussed in greater detail below.) She also testified that she was under the impression that practically all, if not all, of the previous obligations were those of her husband, the defendant, David Charles Kirby.

In Count II, the plaintiff is seeking to have an obligation created on September 13, 1979 declared to be excepted from discharge. The proceeds from that loan in the total amount of $4,770.98 were used to pay a $2,470.98 balance on an automobile and to generate $2,300 in cash funds to the borrower, the defendant-debtor, David C. Kirby. The application and loan information on this obligation is set forth in Plaintiff’s Exhibit No. 2.

David C. Kirby testified that when making the application he told the employee of the plaintiff who took it that he could not remember all of his debts and did not have the details with him. According to David Kirby, that agent of the plaintiff told him to just put down what he could remember and that it was not necessary for him to bring in any additional information the next day as Kirby volunteered to do. The Kirbys do not deny that they did, in fact, owe the amounts alleged by the plaintiff in its complaint at the time of the loan applications.

A witness, Ed Calcagnon, also testified on behalf of the defendants. He is an Eastern Airlines employee who has borrowed fifteen to twenty times from the plaintiff. He confirmed that on many of the occasions, he was told by agents of the plaintiff in taking applications for loans not to worry about listing his other obligations and at least half of the time that he succeeded in getting loans. The loan officers knew of the omissions in his applications and approved the loans notwithstanding. The testimony of the defendants and their witness indicate that the plaintiff did not particularly care whether or not an applicant for loan was completely disclosive of his other obligations on the loan application. This testimony was completely unrebutted by the plaintiff. The plaintiff relied solely on the documents which were admitted into evidence without any other testimony.

In Count III, plaintiff contends that the defendant, David C. Kirby, applied to it for a MasterCharge account through an application and agreement in that regard (Plain[708]*708tiff’s Exhibit No. 3) which was violated by the defendant exceeding the $1,000 limit and continuing to use the card after its termination and after the filing of the chapter 7 petition by the defendants on June 26, 1980. The agreement reflects a limit of $1,000 having been inserted by the plaintiff and there is no evidence to show when that insertion was made. The $1,000 limitation is written below the defendant’s signature and below a space marked “credit union use only”.

The defendants testified that they knew that the MasterCharge account had been terminated only when they attempted to use it and the merchant told them that the card was on a list of unuseable cards. The defendants further testified that they were under the impression that they could continue using the card as long as they made the monthly minimum payments. There is no evidence that they had ever received actual termination notice or that they incurred any further charges after knowing that the card had been put on an unuseable list. The plaintiff offered no evidence of the amount of any charges after the filing of the chapter 7 petition.

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8 B.R. 705, 1981 Bankr. LEXIS 4918, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/eastern-airlines-employees-federal-credit-union-v-kirby-in-re-kirby-flsb-1981.