Foluke v. Peoples Gas Light & Coke Co. (In Re Foluke)

38 B.R. 298, 1984 Bankr. LEXIS 5919
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, N.D. Illinois
DecidedApril 9, 1984
Docket16-23344
StatusPublished
Cited by19 cases

This text of 38 B.R. 298 (Foluke v. Peoples Gas Light & Coke Co. (In Re Foluke)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, N.D. Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Foluke v. Peoples Gas Light & Coke Co. (In Re Foluke), 38 B.R. 298, 1984 Bankr. LEXIS 5919 (Ill. 1984).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION

FREDERICK J. HERTZ, Bankruptcy Judge.

I

The issue presented to this Court ultimately concerns the question of when does a creditor’s judgment attach to intangible personal property of a debtor. The resolution of this issue will determine whether the defendant herein, Peoples Gas Light and Coke Company (the “defendant”), received a preferential transfer pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 547 (Supp. V 1981).

II

The defendant obtained a judgment in the Circuit Court of Cook County against Kamau Foluke (the "debtor”) on March 10, 1983. The judgment award was $3,646.98 plus costs. Thereafter, on April 11, 1983, the defendant initiated a citation proceeding to discover assets. Through the citation proceeding, the defendant discovered that the debtor held $864.91 in an account at the Independence Bank of Chicago. The funds held at the Independence Bank were turned over to the defendant pursuant to an order entered on June 14, 1983. Subsequently, on September 7, 1983, the debtor filed for relief under Chapter 7 of the Bankruptcy Code. 11 U.S.C. § 101 et seq. (Supp. V 1981). Shortly thereafter, the debtor initiated the instant adversary action seeking return of the bank account funds.

The debtor argues that the defendant’s judgment did not attach until the date of the turnover order, which was June 14, 1983. Consequently, since that date was within 90 days from the filing of the bankruptcy petition, it is argued that a Section 547 preference occurred. The defendant, in response, argues that the judicial lien attached on the day that the citation proceeding was initiated, April 11, 1983, outside of the 90 day period necessary for the finding of a preferential transfer. Consequently, this court must determine when the “transfer” of the funds occurred for purposes of determining whether the defendant received a preference.

III

Section 547 of the Bankruptcy Code provides in relevant part:

(b) ... The trustee may avoid any transfer of property of the debtor—
(1) to or for the benefit of a creditor;
*300 (2) for or on account of an antecedent debt owed by the debtor before such transfer was made;
(3) made while the debtor was insolvent;
(4) made—
(A)on or within 90 days before the date of the filing of the petition; ... and
[[Image here]]
(5) that enables such creditor to receive more than such creditor would receive if—
(A) the case were a case under Chapter 7 of this title;
(B) the transfer had not been made; and
(C) such creditor received payment of such debt to the extent provided by the provisions of this title. [Emphasis supplied]

11 U.S.C. § 547 (Supp. V 1981).

The dispositive inquiry in this proceeding is whether the “transfer” of the debtor’s assets occurred on or within 90 days before the filing of the petition. The parties have agreed that all other elements of a preferential transfer are present. Accordingly, it must be determined whether the “transfer” occurred on April 11, 1983, the date of the issuance of the citation, or on June 14, 1983, the date of the turnover of the assets.

A “transfer” within the meaning of the Bankruptcy Code, is defined as:

“every mode, direct or indirect, absolute or conditional, voluntary or involuntary of disposing of or parting with property or with an interest in property, including retention of title as a security interest.” [11 U.S.C. § 101(40) (Supp. V 1981)].

This definition has been held to include any judicial proceeding that fixes a lien upon property of the debtor. In re Burnham, 12 B.R. 286 (Bkrtcy.Ga.1981); 4 Collier on Bankruptcy ¶ 547-12, at 547.41-43 (15th Edition 1983). In determining whether a judicial lien is avoidable as a preferential transfer, a transfer is deemed to have been made when the judicial lien attached to the debtor’s property, a question controlled by state law. In re Vero Cooking & Heating, Inc., 11 B.R. 359 (Bkrtcy.Fla.,1981). Therefore, it must be determined whether the initiation of a citation proceeding creates a judicial lien on a debt- or’s intangible personal property. It is undisputed that bank funds in question constitute intangible personal property under Illinois law. See General Telephone Company of Illinois v. Robinson, 545 F.Supp. 788, 794 (C.D.Ill.,1982).

In Illinois, a citation to discover assets is a supplementary proceeding designed to aid a judgment creditor to discover a debtor’s property for the purpose of applying the property in satisfaction of a judgment. In re Stoner Investments, Inc., 7 B.R. 240 (Bkrtcy.N.D.Ill.,1980), aff'd. 80 C 6226 (N.D.Ill., Aug. 6, 1981). The statutory authority governing the citation process is contained in Section 2-1402 of the Illinois Code of Civil Procedure. Ill.Rev. Stat.Ch. 110, § 2-1402 (1983). 1 Whether the initiation of a citation proceeding creates a judicial lien upon intangible personal property has been somewhat unclear under past Illinois case law. See for eq. Asher v. United States, 570 F.2d 682 (7th Cir.1978) (a judicial lien is created as to intangible personal property upon either the initiation of a citation or a writ of execution); In re Marriage of Rockford, 91 Ill.App.3d 769, 46 Ill.Dec. 943, 414 N.E.2d 1096 (1st Dist. 1980) (the initiation of a citation proceeding creates a judicial lien upon intangible personal property); Kaiser-Ducett Corp. v. Chicago-Joliet Livestock Marketing Center, Inc., 86 Ill.App.3d 216, 41 Ill.Dec. 651, 407 N.E.2d 1149 (3d Dist.1980) (judicial lien is created upon intangible personal property upon the issuance of a writ of execution).

The conflicting case law addressing the issue before this court was summarized in the two recent cases of Robinson 545 F.Supp. at 792-797, and In re Lapiana, 31 *301 B.R. 738 (Bkrtcy.N.D.Ill.,1983). In Lapia-na,

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

In re Quade
482 B.R. 217 (N.D. Illinois, 2012)
Dominick's Finer Foods, Inc. v. Makula
217 B.R. 550 (N.D. Illinois, 1997)
Marino v. Chrysler Credit Corp. (In Re Marino)
201 B.R. 234 (N.D. Illinois, 1996)
Prior v. Farm Bureau Oil Co. (In Re Prior)
176 B.R. 485 (S.D. Illinois, 1995)
Farm Credit Bank of St. Louis
18 F.3d 413 (Seventh Circuit, 1994)
Peterson v. Chas. Bender Co. (In Re Lifchitz)
131 B.R. 827 (N.D. Illinois, 1991)
Water Technologies Corp. v. Calco, Ltd.
132 F.R.D. 670 (N.D. Illinois, 1990)
Matter of US Marketing Concepts, Inc.
113 B.R. 487 (N.D. Indiana, 1990)
In Re Weatherspoon
101 B.R. 533 (N.D. Illinois, 1989)
Barnett v. Stern
93 B.R. 962 (N.D. Illinois, 1988)
In Re Fowler
90 B.R. 375 (N.D. Illinois, 1988)
In Re D'Ambrosia
61 B.R. 588 (N.D. Illinois, 1986)
Einoder v. Mount Greenwood Bank (In Re Einoder)
55 B.R. 319 (N.D. Illinois, 1985)
Nealis v. Ford Motor Credit Co. (In Re Nealis)
52 B.R. 329 (N.D. Illinois, 1985)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
38 B.R. 298, 1984 Bankr. LEXIS 5919, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/foluke-v-peoples-gas-light-coke-co-in-re-foluke-ilnb-1984.