In Re Barnett

162 B.R. 535, 1993 Bankr. LEXIS 1982, 1993 WL 547133
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, W.D. Missouri
DecidedDecember 14, 1993
Docket19-40004
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 162 B.R. 535 (In Re Barnett) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, W.D. Missouri primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In Re Barnett, 162 B.R. 535, 1993 Bankr. LEXIS 1982, 1993 WL 547133 (Mo. 1993).

Opinion

FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW

ARTHUR B. FEDERMAN, Bankruptcy Judge.

A. Introduction

This is a Chapter 12 case. Pending is confirmation of debtor’s Plan, and the Objections to Confirmation filed by the Chapter 12 trustee and Citizen’s Bank & Trust Co. (“Citizen’s”) In addition, Citizen’s has filed a Motion for Relief from the Automatic Stay. This is a core proceeding under 28 U.S.C. § 157(b)(2)(A) and (L) over which this Court has jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1334(b) and 157(a) and (b)(1). For the reasons set forth below, I order confirmation of debtor’s proposed plan and deny the motion for relief from the automatic stay.

B. Findings

1. Debtor owns approximately 256.6 acres of real estate located in Livingston County, Missouri.

2. Citizen’s holds three promissory notes, each secured by a deed of trust on such real estate. The balance on the first note, dated June 29, 1979, is $73,142.34. The balance on the second note, dated September 25,1991, is $16,050.93. The balance on the third note, dated October 25, 1991, is $12,165.05. The total due as of November 19, 1993, with attorneys fees of $5,853.84, is $110,868.66.

3. Such obligations are secured by real estate with a value of $110,000 and a trailer with a value of $1,200.

4. Debtor, who is forty-seven years old, has lived on her farm for approximately twenty-seven years. She was divorced in 1989. For ten years prior to 1991, she was employed by the Missouri Department of Corrections. From the time she left the Department of Corrections until the filing of this case, she was unemployed. In 1992, the farm produced gross income of $13,691.00, of which $5,442.00 was from the sale of farm equipment and other personal property, and $1,540.00 was from custom work done for other farmers. That same year, she also received unemployment compensation of $8,050.00.

5. At the Court’s urging, debtor obtained off-farm employment prior to the Confirmation Hearing. She now holds two jobs, and anticipates off-farm income of approximately $20,000 per year from such jobs.

6. Debtor’s plan, as orally amended at the confirmation hearing, provides for Citizen’s claims to be amortized over 20 years, at an interest rate of nine percent. Yearly payments are due on January 1 of each year beginning in 1995, with a default date of January 31. The obligation will balloon on July 1, 2008, which is the same date the balance of the first note was to be paid in full per its original terms. Debtor also proposes to pay $250.00 per month, on the first of each month, commencing January 1, 1994, such monthly payments to be applied to reduce the yearly payment due on January 1 of the following year. Debtor’s plan, as modified, also provides that if any payment due Citi *537 zen’s is not made when due or, as to the yearly payment only, prior to the default date, Citizen’s shall have the right to an Order lifting the automatic stay to exercise any and all rights available to it under Missouri law.

7. Debtor contends that her plan is con-firmable based upon the income from her two jobs and her projected farm earnings. She projects 1994 income and expenses as follows:

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8. A confirmation hearing was held on November 19, 1993. Citizen’s and the trustee contended at the hearing that the plan is not feasible. Citizen’s also contended that the debtor is not eligible for Chapter 12 relief. No other objections were raised at the hearing.

9. The Code provides that “[o]nly a family farmer with regular income may be a debtor under Chapter 12.” 11 U.S.C. § 109(f). In order for an individual to qualify as a “family farmer” she must have, among other things, received more than fifty percent of her gross income in the prior year from her farming operation. 11 U.S.C. § 101(18)(A). Schedule F, filed with debtor’s 1992 tax returns, shows gross income from farming of $13,691.00 and income from other sources of $8,050.00. Included in farm income is $5,442.00 from the sale of farm equipment and other farm-related property and $1,540.00 from custom-hire farm work. Only if both of those items were excluded from farm income would debtor not qualify as a family farmer pursuant to 11 U.S.C. 101(18)(A). I find, however, that both such items do constitute farm income for these purposes. See, e.g. In re Armstrong, 812 F.2d 1024, 1027 (7th Cir.1987); In re Creviston, 157 B.R. 380 (Bankr.S.D.Ohio 1993). In so deciding, I consider the extent to which the income in question bears some relation to debtor’s farming activity. In re Easton, 883 F.2d 630, 633 (8th Cir.1989). The income from both questioned items was available for use in the farming operation, and was reflected as farm income for tax purposes. There is no evidence that such income arose other than out of the farming operation, or was used for any purpose other than the farming operation. Therefore, I find that the debtor is eligible for Chapter 12.

10. Section 1225(a) imposes the following requirements for confirmation of a Chapter 12 plan:

§ 1225. Confirmation of Plan.
(a) Except as provided in subsection (b), the court shall confirm a plan if—
(1) the plan complies with the provisions of this chapter and with the other applicable provisions of this title;
(2) any fee, charge, or amount required under chapter 123 of title 28, or by the plan, to be paid before confirmation, has been paid;
(3) the plan has been proposed in good faith and not by any means forbidden by law;
*538 (4) the value, as of the effective date of the plan, of property to be distributed under the plan on account of each allowed unsecured claim is not less than the amount that would be paid on such claim if the estate of the debtor were liquidated under chapter 7 of this title on such date;
(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

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Bluebook (online)
162 B.R. 535, 1993 Bankr. LEXIS 1982, 1993 WL 547133, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-barnett-mowb-1993.