Hollywood Casino v. Hill (In re Hill)

251 B.R. 816, 44 Collier Bankr. Cas. 2d 1142, 2000 Bankr. LEXIS 908
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, N.D. Mississippi
DecidedAugust 4, 2000
DocketBankruptcy No. 93-31143; Adversary No. 00-1003
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 251 B.R. 816 (Hollywood Casino v. Hill (In re Hill)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, N.D. Mississippi primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hollywood Casino v. Hill (In re Hill), 251 B.R. 816, 44 Collier Bankr. Cas. 2d 1142, 2000 Bankr. LEXIS 908 (Miss. 2000).

Opinion

OPINION

DAVID W. HOUSTON, III, Bankruptcy Judge.

On consideration before the court is a complaint filed by the plaintiff, Hollywood Casino, seeking a declaratory judgment that a certain indebtedness owed by the debtors/defendants, Donny and Paula Hill, is not subject to the discharge order previously entered in this converted Chapter 7 ease; answer having been filed by the defendants; the parties having agreed that no genuine issues of material fact remain in dispute and having further agreed to submit this matter to the court for an adjudication based on memorandum briefs; and the court, having considered same, hereby finds as follows, to-wit:

[818]*818I

The court has jurisdiction of the parties to and the subject matter of this proceeding pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1334 and 28 U.S.C. § 157. This is a core proceeding as defined in 28 U.S.C. § 157(b)(2)(I).

II.

The following factual allegations, set forth in the complaint filed by Hollywood Casino (“Hollywood”), were admitted by the debtors in their answer and are therefore undisputed:

1. This case was originally filed on March 27, 1996, as a Chapter 12 Family Farmer Debt Adjustment case.
2. On May 12, 14, 29, and 31, 1999, the debtors incurred approximately $35,000.00 with Hollywood Casino. This debt was incurred by obtaining credit (in the form of “markers”) at Hollywood Casino in May, 1999. However, the debtors either stopped payment on the checks tendered to pay for these markers, or the checks were returned due to insufficient funds.
3. On or about June 1, 1999, an order was entered by this court converting this case to a Chapter 7 proceeding.
4. The $35,000.00 in cash referred to in paragraph 2 hereinabove, was obtained from Hollywood Casino less than thirty days before this case was converted to a Chapter 7 proceeding.
5. On October 14, 1999, a discharge order was entered in this case granting the debtors a general discharge under § 727 of Title 11, United States Code (the Bankruptcy Code).

In the complaint, Hollywood seeks an adjudication that the indebtedness owed by the debtors is not covered by the discharge order entered on October 14, 1999, because the total amount of the debt arose after the filing of the original Chapter 12 case, but before the case was converted to Chapter 7. Hollywood asserts that the conversion of the case from Chapter 12 to Chapter 7 does not change the date of the filing of the original petition, because once converted, the case is deemed to have been filed as a Chapter 7 case from the date of the originally filed Chapter 12 petition. A Chapter 7' discharge relieves the debtor from personal liability only as to pre-petition debts. Since the debtors’ obligation to Hollywood arose after the filing date of the original Chapter 12 proceeding, Hollywood argues that the indebtedness is merely a post-petition debt which is not affected by the discharge order.

In their answer, the debtors assert, as an affirmative defense, that § 348(d)1 provides that pre-conversion claims are treated the same as pre-petition claims with the exception of administrative expense claims allowed by § 503(b). The debtors contend that because the debt owed to Hollywood is not an administrative expense, § 348(d) provides that the debt must be treated as if it arose immediately before the filing of the Chapter 12 case. As such, the debtors argue that the indebtedness owed to Hollywood was discharged by the entry of the Chapter 7 discharge order.

III.

For reference purposes, § 348(d) is set forth in its entirety as follows:

§ 348. Effect of conversion
(d) A claim against the estate or the debtor that arises after the order for relief but before conversion in a case that is converted under section 1112, 1208, or 1307 of this title, other than a claim specified in section 503(b) of this title, shall be treated for all purposes as if such claim had arisen immediately [819]*819before the date of the filing of the- petition.

Section 1208, referred to in § 348(d), provides in part as follows: “The debtor may convert a case under [Chapter 12] to a case under Chapter 7 of this title at any time.” Section 503(b), referred to in § 348(d), sets forth the types of administrative expense claims and the manner in which they may be asserted against an estate. In effect, § 348(d) indicates that a claim which arose against either the estate or the debtors after the order for relief in a Chapter 12 case, but before the case was converted to Chapter 7, must be treated as if the claim arose immediately before the Chapter 12 case was filed. For obvious reasons, the provision excepts administrative expense claims. Based on a review of the complaint, answer and the memoranda, the court finds that the subject indebtedness is not in the nature of an administrative expense claim.

Although not admitted by the parties, the court has reviewed the file and takes judicial notice that a Chapter 12 plan had been confirmed in this case approximately two years before the case was converted to Chapter 7. Although § 348(d) makes no distinction as to whether a plan was confirmed or not confirmed at the time of conversion, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has had the opportunity to examine such a situation in a Chapter 11 context.

In Bank of Louisiana v. Pavlovich (In re Pavlovich), 952 F.2d 114 (5th Cir.1992), the Bank of Louisiana loaned funds to the debtor, Pavlovich, pre-petition, as well as, post-petition following confirmation of a Chapter 11 plan. After confirmation, the debtor converted the case to Chapter 7. Bank of Louisiana then filed a complaint challenging the debtor’s discharge and seeking a determination of the discharge-ability of the debt pursuant to § 727(a) and § 523(a), respectively. The alleged improper conduct on the part of the debtor occurred both before and after the original petition date, as well as, both before and after confirmation of the Chapter 11 plan. The bankruptcy court, upon the debtor’s motion, dismissed the bank’s adversary proceeding, concluding that the confirmation process discharged the debtor from any dischargeable debts arising pre-confir-mation, and that the res judicata effect of confirmation now prevented the bank from raising any discharge and/or dischargeability issues which had not been timely raised before confirmation. After expressing “some trepidation,” Circuit Judge Edith A. Jones, writing for the court, analyzed the impact of a confirmed plan of reorganization on a subsequent conversion to Chapter 7, as follows:

[Creditors of the putatively reorganized debtor who find themselves victimized by post-confirmation acts that would justify revocation of the debtor’s discharge are not prevented by § 348(d) from asserting such a claim upon conversion to Chapter 7.

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Bluebook (online)
251 B.R. 816, 44 Collier Bankr. Cas. 2d 1142, 2000 Bankr. LEXIS 908, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hollywood-casino-v-hill-in-re-hill-msnb-2000.