In Re Brown

226 B.R. 39
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Missouri
DecidedSeptember 15, 1998
DocketBankruptcy No. 97-30903, Adversary No. 98-3014
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 226 B.R. 39 (In Re Brown) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District 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 Brown, 226 B.R. 39 (W.D. Mo. 1998).

Opinion

226 B.R. 39 (1998)

In re Rodney Dewayne BROWN and Debra Elizabeth Brown, Debtors.
Norman ROUSE, Chapter 7 Trustee, Plaintiff,
v.
CHASE MANHATTAN BANK, U.S.A., N.A., Defendant.

Bankruptcy No. 97-30903, Adversary No. 98-3014.

United States District Court, W.D. Missouri.

September 15, 1998.

*40 Norman E. Rouse, Collins, Webster & Rouse, Joplin, MO, for Plaintiff.

Janice Valdez, St. Louis, MO, for Defendant.

MEMORANDUM OPINION

ARTHUR B. FEDERMAN, Bankruptcy Judge.

Chapter 7 trustee Norman Rouse filed a Complaint to avoid the lien of Chase Manhattan Bank (Chase) on a 1995 Stern Manufactured Home, VIN SSLAL28077, (the Mobile Home) on the grounds that the lien was perfected within the 90-day preference period. Following a response by Chase, both parties submitted briefs on the legal issues. The parties agree that there is no factual dispute. They both, therefore, waived a hearing and consented to this Court ruling on the legal issues presented. This is a core proceeding under 28 U.S.C. § 157(b)(2)(F) and (K) over which the Court has jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1334(b), 157(a), and 157(b)(1). The following constitutes my Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law in accordance with Rule 52 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure as made applicable to this proceeding by Rule 7052 of the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure. For the reasons set forth below, I find the lien of Chase was perfected during the preference period. I, therefore, will enter judgment in favor of the trustee.

Factual Background

The basic facts are not in dispute. The debtors Rodney and Debra Brown purchased the Mobile Home on January 30, 1995. Greentree Credit Corporation (Greentree) financed the original transaction and held a perfected purchase money security interest in the Mobile Home. On May 30, 1997, Mr. and Mrs. Brown entered into a refinancing agreement with Chase. The Browns executed *41 a contract and a security agreement giving Chase a security interest in the Mobile Home. In exchange, Chase satisfied in full the lien of Greentree by transferring the sum of $28,784.15 to Greentree on June 16, 1997. Greentree released its lien on the Mobile Home on July 30, 1997. On August 7, 1997, Chase filed its application with the Missouri Department of Revenue for a new title to the Mobile Home listing Chase as the lienholder. The new title was issued on August 8, 1997. On October 20, 1997, 73 days later, the Browns filed a Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition.

The trustee filed this Complaint on June 4, 1998, claiming the lien was perfected during the preference period, therefore, it is subject to avoidance pursuant to section 547(b).

Chase makes three arguments in its defense. First, it claims the trustee failed to prove the debtors were insolvent at the time of the transfer. Second, Chase claims its lien is equitably subrogated to the properly perfected lien of Greentree. And third, Chase claims that Greentree was unjustly enriched by its own negligence, therefore, Chase should be entitled to implead Greentree as a third-party defendant. I will first address the trustee's avoidance power, then I will address each of Chase's arguments in turn.

DISCUSSION

A. Trustee's Avoidance Power

Section 547(b) of the Bankruptcy Code (the Code) allows the bankruptcy trustee to avoid certain transfers that are deemed preferential.[1] As relevant here, a transfer made by an insolvent debtor within 90 days of the bankruptcy petition to a creditor on account of an antecedent debt is preferential:

(B) Except as provided in subsection (c) of this section, the trustee may avoid any transfer of an interest of the debtor in property —
(1) to or for the benefit of a creditor;
(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;
. . . . .
(5) than 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.[2]

There is really no dispute that the lien was perfected within 90 days of the bankruptcy petition, that the perfection benefitted Chase, and that Chase receives more if its lien is perfected, than if not. Therefore, the first issue is whether the debtors were insolvent at the time of the transfer.

B. Solvency

Chase claims that Mr. and Mrs. Brown were solvent at the time of the refinancing and at the time of the transfer. Chase states that the Browns were living together with shared expenses on August 7, 1997, the date of the transfer the trustee is seeking to avoid. They separated prior to filing their bankruptcy petition, and Chase argues that the increased expenses of living separately precipitated both the bankruptcy and their insolvency.

There is a presumption of insolvency within 90 days of filing a bankruptcy petition.[3] However, if a creditor produces evidence of solvency, the trustee has the ultimate burden of proof on the issue.[4] Chase relies solely on Schedule J of Mr. and Mrs. Brown's bankruptcy schedules to show an increase in expenses as a result of the *42 separation. It claims that Mr. and Mrs. Brown presented evidence indicating they were solvent as part of their loan application. But no such evidence was submitted as part of Chase's brief or exhibits attached thereto. To rebut the presumption, a creditor must present competent evidence that a debtor's assets are greater than a debtor's liabilities at the time of the transfer.[5] According to Mr. and Mrs. Brown's bankruptcy schedules, they owned personal property valued at $37,335 at the time they filed their Chapter 7 petition. They also had $72,195.69 in liabilities. A more in-depth look at the schedules indicates the Browns own a 1995 Ford Aspire valued at $4,700 and a 1995 Ford F-150 Pickup valued at $10,000. They also own the Mobile Home at issue here valued at $22,500. For purposes of this analysis, the Court will assume that all of these assets were owned by debtors at the time of the transfer.

Debtor's secured liabilities consist of the claim of Chase in the amount of $29,114.44, the claim of NationsBank in the amount of $6,400.00, incurred on March 15, 1996, and another claim of NationsBank in the amount of $15,100.00, incurred on October 15, 1996. The schedules also indicate a secured claim of American Express in the amount of $950.00 incurred on August 31, 1997.

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Bluebook (online)
226 B.R. 39, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-brown-mowd-1998.