In Re Campo

418 B.R. 221, 2009 Bankr. LEXIS 3434, 2009 WL 3378601
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, W.D. Kentucky
DecidedOctober 16, 2009
Docket19-10018
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 418 B.R. 221 (In Re Campo) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, W.D. Kentucky primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In Re Campo, 418 B.R. 221, 2009 Bankr. LEXIS 3434, 2009 WL 3378601 (Ky. 2009).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM

DAVID T. STOSBERG, Bankruptcy Judge.

These cases come before the Court on the Trustee’s Renewed Motions to Set Aside the Order Granting Bank of America, N.A.’s Motion for Relief from the Automatic Stay and for Abandonment of Property filed by Roberta S. Dunlap, the Chapter 7 Trustee. Bank of America, N.A. (“BoA”), objected to each motion. At the last hearing on the motion held August 11, 2009, the parties waived a formal evi-dentiary hearing in this matter and agreed that the Court could render its decision based upon the record before it. The Court enters the following Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law pursuant to Fed. R. Bank. P. 7052.

FINDINGS OF FACT

First, with respect to the John Campo bankruptcy case, John Campo commenced his Chapter 7 bankruptcy case on December 23, 2008, and on December 24, 2008, the Court appointed Roberta S. Dunlap as Chapter 7 Trustee (“Trustee”). In Schedule A of the debtor’s sworn schedules, he listed an interest in real property located at 4365 Saddlebrooke Trail, Owensboro, Kentucky. While on Schedule A John Campo did not list any co-owners with respect to this property, he did list Melanie Campo as a co-debtor in Schedule H. In Schedule D, he listed BoA and Old National Bank (“ONB”) as creditors holding security interests in the Saddlebrooke property.

On January 7, 2009, BoA moved for stay relief and abandonment with respect to the real property mentioned above. On January 8, 2009, the clerk of court noticed this *223 motion out for objections to all parties in interest, including the Trustee. On February 5, 2009, in the absence of an objection by any party in interest, the Court granted BoA’s motion for stay relief and abandonment. On April 7, 2009, John Campo received his Chapter 7 discharge.

With respect to the Melanie Campo case, Melanie Campo commenced her Chapter 7 bankruptcy case on February 9, 2009, and on February 10, 2009, the Court appointed Roberta S. Dunlap as Chapter 7 Trustee. In Schedule A, Melanie Campo listed a tenancy in the entirety interest in real property located at 4365 Saddlebrooke Trail, Owensboro Kentucky. In Schedule H, she listed John Campo as a co-debtor. In Schedule D, she listed both BoA and ONB as creditors holding security interests in the Saddlebrooke property.

On February 24, 2009, ONB moved for stay relief and abandonment with respect to the Saddlebrooke property. On March 3, 2009, BoA also moved for stay relief and abandonment on the Saddlebrooke property. The clerk of court noticed both of these stay relief and abandonment motions out for objections to all parties in interest, including the Trustee. The Court, in the absence of any objection, granted ONB’s motion for stay relief and abandonment on March 16, 2009, and granted BoA’s motion for stay relief and abandonment on March 20, 2009.

On May 15, 2009, the Trustee filed a motion in the John Campo case to set aside the January 26, 2009 order granting BoA stay relief and abandonment. On that same date, the Trustee moved in the Melanie Campo case to set aside the March 20, 2009 order granting BoA stay relief and abandonment. The Trustee alleged that in a foreclosure action in Da-viess Circuit Court, ONB, the second mortgage holder on Saddlebrooke property, prevailed by default judgment in a foreclosure action against BoA. The Daviess Circuit Court granted ONB a judgment and order of sale on February 4, 2009, and foreclosed BoA’s mortgage lien. The Da-viess Circuit Court later denied BoA’s motion for relief from judgment. The Trustee alleged that with BoA’s mortgage lien foreclosed, significant equity in the Saddle-brooke property exists for the bankruptcy estate, subject to the debtors’ claimed exemption.

On June 2, 2009, BoA objected to the Trustee’s motion to vacate. BoA asserted that the Daviess Circuit Court foreclosure ease was dismissed, prior to a final judgment on the merits. Dismissal put the parties back in the same position as existed prior to the filing of the case. Thus, BoA still retains a valid first mortgage on the Saddlebrooke property. BoA argued the Trustee presented insufficient grounds to vacate the January 26, 2009 order granting stay relief and abandonment.

At a hearing held on June 9, 2009, the Court concluded that since ONB did not receive relief from the automatic stay imposed by 11 U.S.C. § 362, its foreclosure action violated the automatic stay in the John Campo case, and thus the ONB judgment was void. Consequently, the Court denied the Trustee’s motions to vacate.

On June 22, 2009, the Trustee filed a Renewed Motion to Set Aside the Order Granting Bank of America, N.A.’s Motion for Relief from the Automatic Stay and for Abandonment of Property. With respect to the Court’s previous ruling regarding ONB’s void judgment, the Trustee stated that John D. Campo conveyed the Saddle-brooke property to Melanie Campo on March 16, 2007. Therefore, the property was not property of John Campo’s estate, and was not subject to the automatic stay provisions of § 362. As before, BoA objected to the Trustee’s motions.

*224 According to the exhibits filed by the parties, ONB commenced its foreclosure action on November 17, 2008, prior to the December 23, 2008 filing of John Campo’s Chapter 7 bankruptcy case. The Daviess Circuit Court entered default judgment against BoA on February 4, 2009. The default judgment entered by the Daviess Circuit Court does not extinguish BoA’s lien, but only held that ONB held a first priority lien against the Saddlebrooke property. Before the foreclosure sale was conducted, on May 18, 2009, the Daviess Circuit Court, on motion of ONB, dismissed the foreclosure action. ONB had been paid in full by BoA and assigned its interest to BoA. Apparently, rather than pursuing an appeal of the default judgment, BoA chose to purchase ONB’s interest in the property. ONB assigned its interest to BoA by assignment recorded May 18, 2009.

DISCUSSION

There are several different reasons why the Court must rule against the Trustee in these motions. First, with respect to the Court’s previous ruling that ONB violated the automatic stay, it is certainly arguable that ONB’s default judgment against BoA did not violate the automatic stay. While it is true that there existed an automatic stay in the John Campo case at the time of the default judgment, the default judgment entered against BoA did not address the Campos and the Judgment and Order of Sale granted only an in rem judgment against the Campos.

More importantly, as BoA points out in its brief, the default judgment merely awarded ONB first priority over BoA. It did not extinguish BoA’s lien. Neither the default judgment nor the order of sale contain any language to the effect that BoA’s mortgage lien is voided or extinguished. Indeed, paragraph 14(d) of the order of sale provides that proceeds of the sale of property shall be payable to BoA, after the payment of ONB lien and other assorted costs. This Court is at a loss to understand how the Trustee can read these orders and conclude that BoA’s lien was extinguished. Before the Daviess Circuit Court entered the default judgment, BoA possessed a valid lien against this property and after the entry of the default judgment, BoA still possessed a valid lien against the property.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
418 B.R. 221, 2009 Bankr. LEXIS 3434, 2009 WL 3378601, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-campo-kywb-2009.