In re Cintron

499 B.R. 209, 2013 WL 5310849, 2013 Bankr. LEXIS 3944
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, D. Puerto Rico
DecidedSeptember 18, 2013
DocketNo. 13-02862 ESL
StatusPublished

This text of 499 B.R. 209 (In re Cintron) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, D. Puerto Rico primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In re Cintron, 499 B.R. 209, 2013 WL 5310849, 2013 Bankr. LEXIS 3944 (prb 2013).

Opinion

OPINION AND ORDER

ENRIQUE S. LAMOUTTE, Bankruptcy Judge.

This case is before the court upon the Chapter 13 Trustee’s Objection to Debtor’s [sic] Claimed Exemption (the “Objection”, Docket No. 24) over the Debtors’ stove under 32 L.P.R.A. § 1130(14), and their jewelry under 32 L.P.R.A. § 1130(2). The Debtors filed a Reply to Trustee [sic] Objection (Docket No. 38) sustaining that the exemptions were properly made. For the reasons stated below, the Chapter 13 Trustee’s Objection (Docket No. 24) is hereby denied.

Procedural Background

The Debtors filed their Chapter 13 bankruptcy petition on April, 15, 2013 along with the corresponding schedules (Docket No. 1). In Schedule C, the Debtors claimed a $100.00 exemption under 32 L.P.R.A. § 1130(2) for fantasy wedding gold bands and a $75.00 exemption under 32 L.P.R.A. § 1130(14) for a 15 year old stove (Docket No. 1, p. 15).

On June 17, 2013, the Chapter 13 Trustee filed the Objection (Docket No. 24) to the Debtors’ claimed exemptions on a stove and a ring alleging that they were improperly made under 32 L.P.R.A. [211]*211§§ 1130(14) and 1130(2). The Chapter 13 Trustee sustains that the Debtors incorrectly claimed an exemption on the stove under 32 L.P.R.A. § 1130(14) instead of 32 L.P.R.A. § 1130(2), which expressly provides the exemption for stoves. In addition, the Chapter 13 Trustee argues that 32 L.P.R.A. § 1130(2) does not exempt jewelry.

On July 9, 2013, the Debtors filed a Motion Requesting Extension of Time to File Answer to Trustee’s Objection To Debtor’s Claimed Exemptions (Docket No. 28) requesting an granted the extension of time (Docket No. 29). On July 29, 2013, the Debtors filed another Motion Requesting Extension of Time to File Answer to Trustee’s Objection To Debtor’s Claimed Exemptions (Docket No. 33) requesting an additional five (5) days, which the court granted on July 30, 2013 (Docket No. 35).

On August 6, 2013, the Debtors filed Amended Schedules B & C claiming the same exemptions for the stove and wedding bands under the same legal provisions stated in former Schedule C (Docket No. 37, p. 5). Also on August 6, 2013, the Debtors filed a Reply to Trustee [sic] Objection to Debtor’s [sic] Claimed Exemption [sic] (Docket No. 38) sustaining that the claimed exemption under 32 L.P.R.A. § 1130(14) is proper.

Jurisdiction

The court has jurisdiction over this contested matter and the parties pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 157(a) and 1334. This is a core proceeding under 28 U.S.C. § 157(b)(2)(B).

Legal Analysis and Discussion

(A) Exemptions in General

When a debtor files a bankruptcy petition, all of his/her/its assets become property of the bankruptcy estate [11 U.S.C. § 541] subject to the debtor’s right to reclaim certain property as exempt under 11 U.S.C. § 522. See Taylor v. Freeland & Kronz, 503 U.S. 638, 642, 112 S.Ct. 1644, 118 L.Ed.2d 280 (1992). Property becomes exempt by operation of law when no objections are filed. See 11 U.S.C. § 522(1). Exemptions should be liberally construed in furtherance of the debtor’s right to a “fresh start”. In re Gutierrez Hernandez, 2012 Bankr.LEXIS 2735 at *5, 2012 WL 2202931 at *2; In re Newton, 2002 Bankr.LEXIS 2089 at *7, 2002 WL 34694092 at *3 (1st Cir. BAP 2002); Christo v. Yellin (In re Christo), 228 B.R. 48, 50 (1st Cir. BAP 1999). A “fresh start”, however, does not translate to a “head start”. In re Goldberg, 59 B.R. 201, 208 (Bankr. N.D.Okla.1986). “The basis for exemption laws is that by providing a debtor to retain a minimum level of property, the debtor and his or her family will not be completely destitute and thus a burden to society.” Id. at 208.

(B) How to Claim Exemptions under 11 U.S.C. § 522

“In order to be effective, a debt- or must specifically describe the property claimed as exempt and inform the value.” In re Gutierrez Hernandez, 2012 Bankr.LEXIS 2735 at *5, 2012 WL 2202931 at *2. Also see Nancy C. Dreher and Joan N. Feeney, Bankruptcy Law Manual, Volume 1 § 5:43 (2012-2), p. 1015. Thus, a debtor is required to list the property claimed as exempt on the schedule of assets that must be filed with the bankruptcy petition. See 11 U.S.C. § 522(Z); Fed. Rs. Bankr.P. 1007(b), 1007(I)(b) and 4003. A party in interest or the trustee may file an objection to the list of property claimed as exempt within 30 days after the meeting of creditors held under 11 U.S.C. § 341(a) is concluded or within 30 days after any amendment to the list or supplemental schedules is filed, whichever is later. Fed. R. Bank. P. [212]*2124003(b)(1). If an interested party fails to object to a claimed exemption within the time allowed, the subject property will be excluded from the bankruptcy estate even if the exemption’s value exceeds the statutory limits. 11 U.S.C. § 522(Z); Taylor v. Freeland & Kronz, 503 U.S. 638, 643-644, 112 S.Ct. 1644, 118 L.Ed.2d 280 (1992). In the instant case, there is no dispute that the Chapter 13 Trustee’s Objection (Docket No. 24) is timely.

(C) Exemptions when Co-Debtors File a Joint Bankruptcy Petition

“In joint cases, Section 522 [of the Bankruptcy Code] applies separately to each debtor pursuant to subsection (m), subject to the limitation set forth in subsection (b), which was added by the 1984 amendments to the Code.” Allan N. Res-nick and Henry J. Sommer, 4 Collier on Bankruptcy, ¶ 522.04[5] (16th ed. 2013). Also see In re Gentile, 483 B.R. 50, 54 (Bankr.D.Mass.2012). Notwithstanding, “[wjhenever a husband and wife both become debtors under the Code through voluntary or involuntary proceedings, and their cases are jointly filed and jointly administered, they must both elect the same ‘slate’ of exemptions”, meaning that “if one spouse elects the federal Code exemptions, the other spouse must also elect federal exemptions”. Allan N. Resnick and Henry J. Sommes, 4 Collier on Bankruptcy, ¶ 522.04[6] (16th ed. 2013).

In the instant case, both Debtors opted to claim the exemptions under Puerto Rico law. Thus, each co-debtor is entitled to claim the values established in the Puerto Rico exemption scheme under 11 U.S.C.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Taylor v. Freeland & Kronz
503 U.S. 638 (Supreme Court, 1992)
Christo v. Yellin (In Re Christo)
228 B.R. 48 (First Circuit, 1999)
In Re Goldberg
59 B.R. 201 (N.D. Oklahoma, 1986)
In Re Estate of Millington
218 P. 1022 (California Court of Appeal, 1923)
In re Gentile
483 B.R. 50 (D. Massachusetts, 2012)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
499 B.R. 209, 2013 WL 5310849, 2013 Bankr. LEXIS 3944, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-cintron-prb-2013.