General Motors Acceptance Corp. v. Miller (In Re Miller)

13 B.R. 110, 1981 Bankr. LEXIS 3310
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, S.D. Indiana
DecidedJuly 23, 1981
Docket69-RLM-13
StatusPublished
Cited by12 cases

This text of 13 B.R. 110 (General Motors Acceptance Corp. v. Miller (In Re Miller)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, S.D. Indiana primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
General Motors Acceptance Corp. v. Miller (In Re Miller), 13 B.R. 110, 1981 Bankr. LEXIS 3310 (Ind. 1981).

Opinion

FINDINGS OF FACT, CONCLUSIONS OF LAW AND ORDER

MICHAEL H. KEARNS, Bankruptcy Judge.

This matter came on for hearing before the court for confirmation of a Chapter 13 Wage Earner Plan and the Rejection of Plan by General Motors Acceptance Corporation therein and upon the Complaint for Relief from Automatic Stay filed by plaintiff. Debtors appeared in person and by John Jewell with the law firm of Trimble, Jewell, White and Wever of Evansville, Indiana. General Motors Acceptance Corp. appeared by counsel George C. Barnett, Jr., with Barnett and Barnett, P.C., of Evansville, Indiana.

The Court having heard the evidence and the arguments thereon, having observed the demeanor of the witnesses and weighed their credibility, and being duly advised in the premises now enters the following Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law and Order with respect to said y claim and objection thereto.

FINDINGS OF FACT

That on or about July 30, 1979, Kenneth Ray Miller and Patricia Ann Miller, debtors herein, entered into an Installment Sale Contract for the purchase of one (1) 1979 model six (6) cylinder Chevrolet half-ton pickup truck, bearing Identification No. CCD149F441548; that said Chevrolet half-ton truck was fully equipped with automatic transmission, air conditioning, power steering, power brakes, AM/FM radio, along with the deluxe Bonanza and Scottsdale Packages; that under the terms of the Installment Sale Contract dated July 30, 1979, made and entered into by and between debtors as “Buyer” and “Co-Buyer” and Henrickson & Sons Motor Company, Inc., as “Seller”, debtors agreed to make payment of the deferred payment price of Nine Thousand Nine Hundred Ninety-one Dollars and Eleven Cents ($9,991.11) financed at an annual percentage rate of 13.51% payable in forty-eight (48) monthly installments of One Hundred Seventy-six Dollars and Five Cents ($178.05) each, commencing September 10, 1979, and on the same day of each successive month thereafter; and that the plaintiff herein is the owner and holder by assignment of the aforesaid Installment Sale Contract.

*112 Plaintiff retained a security interest in said vehicle and its lien is properly perfected by being endorsed as a lien upon the Certificate of Title to said motor vehicle pursuant to IC 1971 26-l-9-302(3)(b).

On or about January 5, 1981, debtors herein filed their Petition for Relief under 11 U.S.C., Chapter 13; that at the time of filing said Chapter 13 Petition, debtors were three (3) payments in arrears under the terms of the original Installment Sale Contract, on their monthly payments due plaintiff in a total amount of Five Hundred Twenty-eight Dollars and Fifteen Cents ($528.15); and that as of June 9, 1981, debtors are eight (8) payments in arrears in the total amount of One Thousand Four Hundred Eight Dollars and Forty Cents ($1,408.40).

That the Court has preliminarily determined that the value of the aforesaid motor vehicle is Four Thousand Nine Hundred Dollars ($4,900.00), and allowed plaintiff’s claim as secured in that amount, and debtors by counsel have accepted the Court’s valuation as a fair and accurate appraisal.

ISSUES

1. Does debtors’ proposed Chapter 13 Plan satisfy the provisions of 11 U.S.C., Section 1325(a)(5), as required for Confirmation of Debtors’ Plan by the Court over this rejecting secured creditor.

2. Is plaintiff entitled to relief from automatic stay under the provisions of 11 U.S.C. § 362(d).

CONCLUSIONS OF LAW

11 U.S.C. Section 1325(a)(5), provides as follows:

(a) The Court shall confirm a plan if—
(5) with respect to each allowed secured claim provided for by the plan—
(A) the holder of such claim has accepted the plan;
(B)(i) the plan provides that the holder of such claim retain the lien securing such claim; and
(ii) The value, as of the effective date of the plan, of property to be distributed under the plan on account of such claim was not less than the allowed amount of such claim; or
(C)The debtor surrenders the property securing such claim to such holder;

The plaintiff herein as the holder of an allowed secured claim on the aforesaid motor vehicle has rejected debtors’ proposed Chapter 13 Plan, and debtors have not surrendered the aforesaid motor vehicle. Therefore, under the provisions of 11 U.S.C., Section 1325(a)(5), to obtain the Court’s confirmation of their plan, debtors must qualify their plan under the so-called “cram down” provisions of Section 1325(a)(5)(B). Debtors’ proposed plan fails to satisfy either requirement of the “cram down” provisions of Section 1325(a)(5)(B)— both of which are necessary for confirmation herein.

Under Section 1325(a)(5)(B)(i) the plan must provide that the plaintiff, GMAC, as a holder of an allowed secured claim retains the lien securing such claim. Debtors’ Plan as presently submitted and amended does not so provide.

More importantly, under Section 1325(a)(5)(B)(ii) the value of the property to be distributed under Debtors’ Plan on account of plaintiff’s allowed secured claim cannot be less than the allowed amount of such claim (Four Thousand Nine Hundred Dollars ($4,900.00), as determined by the Court and agreed to by debtors herein). Debtors’ Plan contemplates payments to plaintiff over a three (3) year period in a total amount of Four Thousand Nine Hundred Dollars ($4,900.00), but it makes no provision for the payment of reasonable interest to assure that plaintiff actually obtains the designated value of its collateral— and clearly Four Thousand Nine Hundred Dollars ($4,900.00) paid over time is not equal in value to Four Thousand Nine Hundred Dollars ($4,900.00) “as of the effective date of the plan.” As such, the value of the property to be distributed under the plan on account of plaintiff’s allowed secured claim is less than the allowed amount of such claim, whereby Debtors’ Plan falls short of *113 the requirement contained in Section 1325(a)(5)(B)(ii).

In In re Lum, 1 B.R. 186 (Bkrtcy.E.D.Tenn.1979), the Court addressed the issues raised by Section 1325(a)(5)(B) and held that a Chapter 13 plan must provide a secured creditor with sufficient interest so that payments received over time reflect the present value of the collateral. The Court cited the following language from House Report No. 95-595 discussing similar “cram down” provisions under Chapter 11 of the Code:

Specifically, the Court may confirm a plan over the objection of a class of secured claims if the members of that class are unimpaired or if they are to receive under the plan property of a value equal to the allowed amount of their secured claims... The property is to be valued as of the effective date of the plan, thus recognizing the time value of money, (at page 413, U.S.Code Cong. & Admin.News 1978, pages 5787, 6369). (emphasis added)

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Bluebook (online)
13 B.R. 110, 1981 Bankr. LEXIS 3310, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/general-motors-acceptance-corp-v-miller-in-re-miller-insb-1981.