In re Castillo

508 B.R. 1, 2014 Bankr. LEXIS 1295, 2014 WL 1276409
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, W.D. Texas
DecidedMarch 27, 2014
DocketNo. 10-54273-CAG
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 508 B.R. 1 (In re Castillo) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, W.D. Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In re Castillo, 508 B.R. 1, 2014 Bankr. LEXIS 1295, 2014 WL 1276409 (Tex. 2014).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER DENYING CHAPTER 7 TRUSTEE’S MOTION TO COMPEL THE DEBTORS TO TURN OYER ASSETS OF THE BANKRUPTCY ESTATE OF DINA YVONNE CUELLAR TO THE CHAPTER 7 TRUSTEE

CRAIG A. GARGOTTA, Bankruptcy Judge.

Came on to be considered the above-numbered bankruptcy case, and, in particular, the Chapter 7 Trustee’s Motion to Compel the Debtors to Turn Over Assets of the Bankruptcy Estate of Dina Yvonne Cuellar to the Chapter 7 Trustee (ECF No. 6S)(the “Motion”), and the Debtors’ Response thereto (ECF No. 66). The Court has jurisdiction over this proceeding under 28 U.S.C. §§ 157 and 1334. Venue is proper under 28 U.S.C. § 1408(1). This matter is referred to this Court under the District’s Standing Order of Reference. This matter is a core proceeding under 28 U.S.C. § 157(b)(2)(A) and (E) in which the Court may enter a final order. See Stern v. Marshall, — U.S. —, 131 S.Ct. 2594, 180 L.Ed.2d 475 (2011). The Court finds that this is a contested matter as defined under Fed. R. Bankr.P. 9013. As such, the Court makes the following findings of fact and conclusions of law pursuant to Fed. R. Bankr.P. 9014. The Court took this matter under advisement on January 6, 2014, and is of the opinion that Chapter 7 Trustee’s (the “Trustee”) Motion should be DENIED.

BACKGROUND

Debtors Jimmy Castillo and Dina Yvonne Cuellar filed Chapter 13 bankruptcy on November 10, 2010 (ECF No. 1). The Court confirmed their Chapter 13 Plan on March 8, 2011 (ECF No. 11). The Debtors converted their case to Chapter 7 on July 31, 2013 (ECF No. 41). Their first meeting of creditors in the Chapter 7 case was concluded on September 3, 2013.

During the pendency of the Debtors’ case, Dina Yvonne Cuellar (“Dina Cuel-lar”) inherited, by intestate succession, fractional interests in her father’s home located at 3227 West Laurel, San Antonio, Texas. She first inherited a one-third fractional interest in the home when her father, Guadalupe Cuellar, Sr., died on August 31, 2012. She received an additional one-sixth fractional interest in the home when her brother, Guadalupe Cuellar, Jr., died on February 10, 2013. Along with her sister Elizabeth Cuellar, Dina Cuellar obtained both these interests through intestate succession. Neither interest was reported in the Debtors’ Chapter 13 case or at the meeting of creditors in their Chapter 7 case. Rather, the Chapter 7 trustee only learned of the inherited interests in the home after the home was listed for sale and upon the Debtors and Elizabeth Cuellar receiving a contract for the purchase of the home on December 2, 2013. (Trustee’s Exhibit 10). The Debt[3]*3ors did not disclose the inherited interest in the home and the contract to purchase the home to the Trustee, creditors, or the Court.

There are some additional facts concerning this case. Elizabeth Cuellar also filed her own Chapter 13 case (Case No. 10-53002-RBK) on August 3, 2010 (ECF No. 1). Elizabeth Cuellar’s Chapter 13 plan was confirmed on October 13, 2010. (ECF No. 9). Elizabeth Cuellar converted her case to Chapter 7 on October 4, 2013. (ECF No. 25). Elizabeth Cuellar received her Chapter 7 discharge on January 2, 2014. (ECF No. 32). Like her sister, Elizabeth Cuellar also received fractional interests in the home located at 3227 West Laurel when her father and brother predeceased her. Like her sister, Elizabeth Cuellar did not tell her Chapter 7 trustee about her inheritance by intestate succession nor did she disclose it to the Court or her creditors. Finally, there is one other aspect of this case that makes it unique: Elizabeth Cuellar lives at 3233 West Laurel; her father and brother lived at 3227 West Laurel; and her sister, Dina Cuellar, lives at 3231 West Laurel. All three homes are located on the same side of the same street with the inherited property situated between the two sisters who filed bankruptcy.

PARTIES’ CONTENTIONS

The Trustee in Dina Cuellar’s case filed this Motion contending that Dina Cuellar had a duty as a debtor to disclose her inherited interest in the home under Fed. R. Bankr.P. 1007(h)1 and 11 U.S.C. § 541(a)(5) (2012)2. The Trustee notes that property acquired after the Chapter 13 petition is filed and that is in the possession of the debtor upon conversion to Chapter 7 would not usually become property of the Chapter 7 estate. That said, the Trustee alleges that, under § 348(f)(2), where a case is converted in bad faith from Chapter 13 to Chapter 7, the property acquired after the filing of the Chapter 13 petition becomes property of the Chapter 7 estate.

Here, the Trustee argues that, when Guadalupe Cuellar, Sr. died and Dina Cu-ellar received a fractional interest in his home, the fractional interest became property of the estate under § 1306(a)(1). Specifically, the Trustee argues that, under § 1306(a)(1), the fractional interest is property of the estate because it is property that the Debtor acquired after the commencement of the Chapter 13 case and before the Debtor converted her case to Chapter 7. The Trustee alleges that the Debtors had a duty under Rule 1007(h) to disclose the inheritance in a supplemental schedule because Dina Cuellar acquired an interest in property of the estate during her Chapter 13 case. Given the non-disclosure, the Trustee argues that it was bad faith to not disclose the inheritance, and the fractional interests become property of the estate under § 348(f)(2).

The Trustee contends that Dina Cuel-lar’s failure to disclose the one-sixth fractional interest in the home that she received upon her brother’s dead is further evidence of bad faith. Dina Cuellar’s nondisclosure in her case is compounded by her sister Elizabeth Cuellar’s failure to disclose her own fractional interests in her bankruptcy case. Moreover, Elizabeth Cuellar filed four affidavits of heirship in the Bexar County records, yet neither Dina nor Elizabeth Cuellar disclosed the [4]*4inheritance in their respective bankruptcies.

The Debtors respond by noting that Dina Cuellar admits she received her interests in 3227 West Laurel but denies that her fractional interests are property of the estate. Moreover, she agrees with the Trustee that generally, under § 348(f)(2), property of the estate does not include property acquired after a Chapter 13 petition is filed and before a case is converted to Chapter 7. Dina Cuellar further agrees that an exception to this statutory provision exists where a debtor acts in bad faith. Nonetheless, the Debtors argue Dina Cuellar did not know that she had acquired an interest by intestate succession because there was no will to probate. Dina Cuellar states that she did not know how the Texas Probate Code operates regarding the disposition of real property upon death. Further, it is uncontro-verted that Dina Cuellar lost her father, brother, and a cousin in a six-month period.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
508 B.R. 1, 2014 Bankr. LEXIS 1295, 2014 WL 1276409, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-castillo-txwb-2014.