In re Efron

495 B.R. 166, 2013 WL 3306140, 2013 Bankr. LEXIS 2668
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, D. Puerto Rico
DecidedJune 28, 2013
DocketNo. 11-02466
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 495 B.R. 166 (In re Efron) 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 Efron, 495 B.R. 166, 2013 WL 3306140, 2013 Bankr. LEXIS 2668 (prb 2013).

Opinion

OPINION AND ORDER

BRIAN K. TESTER, Bankruptcy Judge.

Before this Court is Creditor’s Memorandum on Domestic Support Obligation [Dkt. No. 395]; Creditor’s Motion for Entry of Order on Nature of Domestic Support Obligation Payments [Dkt. No. 404]; Debtor’s Opposition to Creditor’s Motion for Entry of Order on Nature of Domestic Support Obligation Payments [Dkt. No. 440]; Creditor’s Reply to Debtor’s Opposition to Creditor’s Motion for Entry of Order on Nature of Domestic Support Obligation Payments [Dkt. No. 505]; Debtor’s Sur-Reply to Creditor’s Reply Should This Court Grant Leave to Creditor to Pile a Reply or in the alternative Opposition to Creditor’s Leave to Reply and his subsequent filing [Dkt. No. 523], Creditor’s Informative Motion Regarding State Court Judgment on Support Payments Due [Dkt. No. 454], Creditor’s Motion to Submit Certified Translation of State Court Judgment on Support Payments Due and its accompanying translations [Dkt. No. 456, 478], Debtor’s Response to Creditor’s Motion Regarding State Court Judgment on Support Payments Due [Dkt. No. 457], Debt- or’s Informative Motion Regarding State Court Judgment on Divorce Case [Dkt. No. 465], Debtor’s Motion to Compel Production of Documents [Dkt. No. 466], Debtor’s Response to Creditor’s Motion to Submit Certified Translation of Amended Judgment [Dkt. No. 480], Creditor’s Motion Requesting Entry of Order as to Domestic Support Obligation Issue [Dkt. No. 496]; and, Debtor’s Response to Motion Requesting Entry of Order as to Domestic Support Obligation Issue [Dkt. No. 498]. For the reasons set forth below, this Court determines that the $50,000.00 monthly payment in controversy is a “Domestic Support Obligation” as defined in § 101(14A) of the Bankruptcy Code.

I. Factual Background

The procedural history of this case is complex, and this Court acknowledges that facts surrounding domestic relations cases can be distracting in nature because of sensitive facts and contentious nature. Thus, this Court shall only highlight facts that it deems to be relevant to its current [169]*169determination as to whether the $50,000.00 per month payment constitutes a domestic support obligation within the Bankruptcy Code. Accordingly, this Court shall summarize the significant procedural happenings below.

On May 3, 2001, the Court of First Instance of Puerto Rico (“State Court”) issued a divorce judgment in the case of Candelario v. Efron, KDI 1999-1421 (the “Divorce Case”). On the same day, the State Court also issued an order mandating Debtor to pay Madeleine Candelario (“Creditor”) $50,000.00 per month for support until all the marital assets were divided (the “Support Payments”). Debtor subsequently did not make such payments to Creditor. On March 4, 2011, the State Court held a hearing to determine the amount Debtor owed to the Creditor in past due Support Payments. At such hearing, the State Court determined that Debtor owed Creditor a minimum of $3,314,936.40 plus corresponding interest. Subsequently, on March 25, 2011, Debtor David Efron filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy. In Debtor’s Amended Disclosure Statement [Dkt. 129], Debtor specified that the reason for his bankruptcy filing was the Creditor’s pursuit to collect on the past-due Support Payments. On January 18, 2012, Creditor filed her amended proof of claim asserting her claim for conjugal property division and domestic support payments. Debtor filed an objection to Creditor’s amended claim on February 2, 2012. On March 12, 2012, Creditor moved for relief from the automatic stay to continue the State Court proceedings in the Divorce Case. On April 9, 2012, Creditor filed a motion for payment of post-petition Support Payments due. Debtor opposed such motion on April 10, 2012. This Court held a hearing on this issue on April 24, 2012. At the hearing, this Court lifted the stay on both the Divorce Case and the division of conjugal property case, Efron v. Candelario, KAC 2001-4173 (the “Division Case”). On June 8, 2012, Debtor filed a motion requesting clarification of the order lifting the stay in the Divorce Case and a determination that the payments ordered by the Divorce Decision are not support payments. This Court issued such clarifications on the same day clarifying that the stay was modified for both state court cases to allow litigation, including any legal procedural matter necessary in order to obtain a final unappealable judgment in favor of one of the parties. On August 20, 2012, Creditor filed her objections to the first amended plan of reorganization (“Objection to Plan”). In such objection, Creditor argues that Debtor’s first amended plan of reorganization (“First Amended Plan”) could not be confirmed because Debtor was not current on his Support Payment and his plan did not provide for payment to fulfill the State Court order in the Divorce Case. Debtor filed his corresponding response to the objection on August 28, 2012. This Court held a hearing for the confirmation of the First Amended Plan on August 29, 2012. At the hearing, the parties disagreed on the nature of the payments due to the Creditor and thus this Court ordered the parties to ask the State Court to clarify the nature of such payments. In the event the State Court refused to clarify the issue, the parties were to file legal briefs in this Court. On September 21, 2012, parties informed this Court that the State Court declined to clarify the issue [Dkt. 379, 380], The parties filed legal briefs addressing the issue in this Court and their accompanying replies followed.

Upon the filing of the various briefs and motions, the following procedural happenings also occurred: On January 8, 2013, Creditor requested this Court for leave to file its reply to Debtor’s Opposition to Creditor’s Motion for Entry of Order on [170]*170Nature of Domestic Support Obligation Payments [Dkt. No. 441]; this Court granted such Motion on May 7, 2013. On the same day, this Court also granted Debtor’s Request for Leave to File a Sur-Reply to Creditor’s Reply Should This Court Grant Leave to Creditor to File a Reply or in the alternative Opposition to Creditor’s Leave to Reply filed on January 18, 2013 [Dkt. No. 445]; On February 27, 2013, Debtor filed a motion to compel production of documents; the court denied this request on May 7, 2013, based on the reasoning that Creditor’s tax filing obligations were irrelevant to the determination of whether the $50,000.00 monthly payment are a Domestic Support Obligation or an advance of Community Property. On March 26, 2013, Creditor filed a motion for Leave to File Reply to Debtor’s Response to Creditor’s Motion to Submit Certified Translation of Amended Judgment [Dkt. No. 485]; the court denied the request on May 7, 2013.

In Creditor’s initial briefing on the issue, Creditor argues that pursuant to 11 USC § 101(14A), Domestic Support Obligation is defined as having three elements: debts including its corresponding interest that is (1) owed to a former spouse; (2) in the nature of alimony, maintenance, or support of such former spouse without regard to whether such debt is expressly so designated; (3) established by a reason of a divorce decree. Creditor further points out that pursuant to Article 142 of the Civil Code of Puerto Rico, 31 L.P.R.A. § 561, “support” is defined as “... all that is dispensable for maintenance, housing, clothing, medical attention, according to the social position of the family.” Citing Lopez v. Melendez, CC-97-153, 1997 WL 289242 (P.R. May 22, 1997), Creditor argues that in Puerto Rico, absent a prenuptial agreement, marriages are to be governed by the conjugal partnership regime.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
495 B.R. 166, 2013 WL 3306140, 2013 Bankr. LEXIS 2668, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-efron-prb-2013.