In re Chappell

224 B.R. 507, 1998 Bankr. LEXIS 1109, 1998 WL 564504
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, M.D. Georgia
DecidedAugust 17, 1998
DocketBankruptcy No. 98-10171-JDW
StatusPublished

This text of 224 B.R. 507 (In re Chappell) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, M.D. Georgia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In re Chappell, 224 B.R. 507, 1998 Bankr. LEXIS 1109, 1998 WL 564504 (Ga. 1998).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION

JAMES D. WALKER, Jr., Bankruptcy Judge.

This matter comes before the Court on Objection to Confirmation by Minute Man Finance Co., Inc., d/b/a Leesburg Finance (“Minute Man”). Timothy Hubert Chappell and Brandie L. Chappell (collectively, “Debtors”) filed a Chapter 13 plan which proposes to treat Minute Man as an unsecured creditor. Minute Man objects to confirmation of this plan on the grounds that it should be treated as secured and that, because of alleged conversion of its collateral on the part of Debtors, the plan has not been proposed in good faith as required by 11 U.S.C. § 1325(a)(3). This is a core matter within the meaning of 28 U.S.C. § 157(b)(2)(L). After considering the pleadings, evidence presented and applicable authorities, the Court enters the following findings of fact and conclusions of law in compliance with Federal Rule of Bankruptcy Procedure 7052.

Findings of Fact

On October 3, 1997, Debtors executed a promissoiy note in the amount of $959.53 in favor of Minute Man secured by a 1966 Chevrolet pickup truck, Vehicle Identification Number C1456B142094. The principal amount of this loan was comprised mainly of the balance due on a previous loan plus $331.21 in new money advanced to Debtors. Minute Man had previously filed a UCC-1 [509]*509Financing Statement Numbered 88-1996-187 on March 19, 1996, at 9:30 a.m. in the Lee County Superior Court Clerk’s Office as a means of noticing its security interest in the vehicle. At some point after this UCC-1 filing and before the commencement of Debtors’ bankruptcy case, the 1966 Chevrolet pickup truck was traded-in, without the knowledge of Minute Man, to purchase a 1967 Ford pickup truck.

Debtors filed this Chapter 13 case on February 4, 1998. Minute Man filed a proof of claim alleging secured status. Debtors’ Chapter 13 Plan proposes to treat Minute Man as an unsecured creditor based upon the contention that the security interest was not properly perfected. Accordingly, on March 10, 1998, Minute Man filed the Objection To Confirmation which is the subject matter of this Memorandum Opinion.

Minute Man alleges that it should be treated as a secured creditor in the Chapter 13 Plan as it properly perfected its security interest in the 1966 Chevrolet pickup truck by filing a UCC-1 Financing Statement. If the security interest was properly perfected, the next logical step would be to consider whether Minute Man’s perfected status should continue in the 1967 Ford pickup truck as proceeds of the 1966 Chevrolet pickup truck.1 Alternatively, Minute Man contends that Debtors’ action of trading-in the Chevrolet pickup truck amounts to a conversion of collateral, and that, as a result, confirmation should be denied on the grounds that the plan was not proposed in good faith as required by 11 U.S.C. § 1325(a)(3).

Debtors argue that Minute Man did not properly perfect its security interest in the 1966 Chevrolet pickup truck as Georgia law states that security interests in vehicles can only be perfected through compliance with the relevant provisions of the Georgia Title Act. Therefore, Debtors contend, Minute Man’s filing of a UCC-1 Financing Statement was not sufficient to perfect its security interest in the 1966 Chevrolet pickup truck, and it is proper to treat Minute Man as unsecured through the plan.2

Conclusions of Law

Minute Man argues that it properly perfected its security interest, and, in the alternative, that Debtors engaged in conversion of its collateral by trading-in the 1966 Chevrolet pickup truck in the acquisition of the 1967 Ford pickup truck without notifying Minute Man. For the reasons stated below in this Memorandum Opinion, the Court holds that Minute Man properly perfected its security interest in the 1966 Chevrolet pickup. In addition, the Court holds that Minute Man’s security interest extends to proceeds which, here, are represented by the 1967 Ford pickup truck. Therefore, Minute Man’s Objection To Confirmation will be sustained.

I. Unsecured Status Objection

In Georgia, it is not necessary to obtain a certificate of title for vehicles which are fifteen or more model years old. O.C.G.A. § 4CMMK14). Both pickup trucks previously mentioned fall within this exception. Thus, the exact issue to be decided is whether a creditor can properly perfect a security interest in a vehicle for which no certificate of title is required by filing a UCC-1 Financing Statement rather than recording notice of the lien in accordance with the provisions of the Georgia Title Act.

Georgia cases, both cited by Debtors and discovered in the course of the Court’s own research, consistently hold that security interests in vehicles can only be perfected through compliance with the provisions of the Title Act. A study of these cases reveals that they are rooted in Maley v. National Acceptance Co., 250 F.Supp. 841 (N.D.Ga.1966). Each case which has addressed the issue before the Court in the wake of Maley has, for all practical purposes, adopted its [510]*510holding without much elaboration.3 In ordinary circumstances, the Court would see no fault with this practice. However, since the rendering of Maley, the statutes governing the issue now being discussed have changed dramatically. In fact, the changes have been significant enough to bring into question the continued validity of the Maley holding. Given the apparent blind reliance upon Ma-ley by subsequent cases, neither are they useful precedent. Therefore, this Court will explore the issue anew.

A Historical Overview

At the time Maley was decided, the Uniform Commercial Code (“UCC”) and the Title Act had been recently incorporated into Georgia statutes. From that time to the present, the law regarding security interests in personal property has generally been governed by Article 9 of the Georgia UCC. See O.C.G.A. § 109-9-102. However, Article 9 has also specifically excluded from its reach security interests in certain types of collateral. The Maley decision focused on some of this exclusionary language in support of its holding.

At the time the Maley opinion was handed down, the relevant exclusionary provision of the Georgia UCC stated that the filing provisions of Article 9 did not govern

a security interest in property subject to a statute ... of this State which provides for central filing of, or requires indication on a certificate of title of, such security interests in such property.

Ga.Code Ann. § 109A-9-302(3)(b) (1966).

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Bluebook (online)
224 B.R. 507, 1998 Bankr. LEXIS 1109, 1998 WL 564504, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-chappell-gamb-1998.