In Re Green

348 B.R. 601, 2006 Bankr. LEXIS 2792, 2006 WL 2531531
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, M.D. Georgia
DecidedAugust 30, 2006
Docket19-70140
StatusPublished
Cited by14 cases

This text of 348 B.R. 601 (In Re Green) 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 Green, 348 B.R. 601, 2006 Bankr. LEXIS 2792, 2006 WL 2531531 (Ga. 2006).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION

JAMES D. WALKER, JR., Bankruptcy Judge.

This matter comes before the Court on the objection of Wells Fargo Financial Georgia, Inc. to confirmation of Debtor’s Chapter 13 plan. This is a core matter within the meaning of 28 U.S.C. § 157(b)(2)(L). After considering the pleadings, the evidence, and the applicable authorities, the Court enters the following findings of fact and conclusions of law in conformance with Federal Rule of Bankruptcy Procedure 7052.

Findings of Fact

Debtor Gail Green filed a Chapter 13 petition on March 14, 2006. On the petition date, Debtor owed Wells Fargo Financial Georgia, Inc. $14,513.27 for a 2002 Mercury Sable that she valued at $10,000. The contract rate for the purchase of the vehicle was 15.39%. In her modified Chapter 13 plan, Debtor proposed to pay Wells Fargo the full amount of its claim with no interest. Wells Fargo objected to confirmation of the plan, arguing that it was entitled to interest on the full amount of the claim. The parties stipulate that the amount of the claim is greater than the fair market value of the car plus interest calculated at the prime rate plus a risk factor. The parties further stipulate that Wells Fargo holds a purchase money security interest in the car and that the car was purchased within 910 days prior to the bankruptcy filing. The Court held a confirmation hearing on June 6, 2006, and for the following reasons, overrules Wells Fargo’s objection.

Conclusions of Law

Relevant Statutes

At issue in this case is whether a debtor must pay interest to a creditor whose collateral is a motor vehicle purchased by the debtor for personal use within 910 days prior to filing a bankruptcy petition. Pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 1325(a)(5), a Chapter 13 plan must make the following provision for an “allowed secured claim” when the debtor retains the property securing the claim: “the value, as of the effective date of the plan, of property to be distributed under the plan on account of such claim is not less than the allowed amount of such claim[.]” 11 U.S.C. § 1326(a)(5)(B)®. The payment of interest ensures that the *603 creditor receives the present value of his claim.

Generally, the extent to which a claim is a secured claim, and thus entitled to interest in a Chapter 13 plan, is determined by 11 U.S.C. § 506, which is headed as “Determination of secured status,” and provides in relevant part as follows:

(a)(1) An allowed claim of a creditor secured by a lien on property in which the estate has an interest, or that is subject to setoff under section 553 of this title, is a secured claim to the extent of the value of such creditor’s interest in the estate’s interest in such property, or to the extent of the amount subject to set-off, as the case may be, and is an unsecured claim to the extent that the value of such creditor’s interest or the amount so subject to setoff is less than the amount of such allowed claim.

11 U.S.C. § 506(a)(1).

However, a new provision of 11 U.S.C. § 1325(a), which was added as part of the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 (“BAPC-PA”), prevents application of § 506 to certain claims. Congress inserted the language as an unnumbered or “hanging” paragraph following § 1325(a)(9), providing as follows:

For purposes of paragraph (5), section 506 shall not apply to a claim described in that paragraph if the creditor has a purchase money security interest securing the debt that is the subject of the claim, the debt was incurred within the 910-day [sic] preceding the date of the filing of the petition, and the collateral for that debt consists of a motor vehicle (as defined in section 30102 of title 49) acquired for the personal use of the debtor, or if collateral for that debt consists of any other thing of value, if the debt was incurred during the 1-year period preceding that filing.

11 U.S.C. § 1325(a), hanging paragraph.

Case Law

Majority View. The hanging paragraph has been the subject of numerous published opinions, with a majority view emerging as to its interpretation. The majority holds that a claim of the type described in the hanging paragraph (a “910 claim”) is deemed secured in the full amount of the claim. 1 Further, under § 1325(a)(5), the creditor is entitled to interest as calculated in accordance with Till v. SCS Credit Corp., 541 U.S. 465, 124 S.Ct. 1951, 158 L.Ed.2d 787 (2004), 2 on the full amount of *604 the claim. Courts reaching this conclusion reason that nonbankruptcy law determines whether a claim is secured while bankruptcy law determines the value of the secured claim. In re Brown, 339 B.R. 818, 821 (Bankr.S.D.Ga.2006) (Dalis, J.); In re Murray, 346 B.R. 237, 243-44 (Bankr.M.D.Ga.2006) (Laney, J.); In re Brown, No 06-50193-RFH, 346 B.R. 246, 248-49 (Bankr.M.D.Ga.2006) (Hershner, C.J.) (adopting the legal conclusions set forth in Murray).

In Brown, Judge Dalis rejected the debtors’ argument that § 506 defines secured claims. 339 B.R. at 821. In doing so, he relied on Dewsnup v. Timm, 502 U.S. 410, 112 S.Ct. 773, 116 L.Ed.2d 903 (1992)-which considered the relationship between § 506(a) and the term “allowed secured claim” in § 506(d). 339 B.R. at 821. In Dewsnup, the Court, summarizing one party’s argument, said:

[T]he words “allowed secured claim” in § 506(d) need not be read as an indivisible term of art defined by reference to § 506(a), which by its terms is not a definitional provision. Rather, the words should be read term-by-term to refer to any claim that is, first, allowed, and, second, secured.

502 U.S. at 415, 112 S.Ct. at 777. Judge Dalis drew upon this passage to conclude that the function of § 506(a), is the “bifurcation of an allowed claim ... into secured and unsecured portions in contravention of nonbankruptcy law, nothing more.” 339 B.R. at 821. If a claim is subject to a lien as defined by § 101(37), then it is secured, according to Judge Dalis. Id.

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

Related

In Re Dean
537 F.3d 1315 (Eleventh Circuit, 2008)
Nuvell Financial Services Corp. v. Dean
537 F.3d 1315 (Eleventh Circuit, 2008)
Trejos v. VW Credit, Inc. (In Re Trejos)
374 B.R. 210 (Ninth Circuit, 2007)
In Re Murphy
375 B.R. 919 (M.D. Georgia, 2007)
Citifinancial Auto v. Hernandez-Simpson
369 B.R. 36 (D. Kansas, 2007)
In Re Lorenz
368 B.R. 476 (E.D. Virginia, 2007)
In re: Mark Taranto v.
Sixth Circuit, 2007
In Re Phillips
362 B.R. 284 (E.D. Virginia, 2007)
In Re Ellegood
362 B.R. 696 (E.D. Virginia, 2007)
In Re Sorrell
359 B.R. 167 (S.D. Ohio, 2007)
In Re Zachary D.
355 B.R. 920 (M.D. Georgia, 2006)
In Re Trejos
352 B.R. 249 (D. Nevada, 2006)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
348 B.R. 601, 2006 Bankr. LEXIS 2792, 2006 WL 2531531, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-green-gamb-2006.