In Re Hageman

108 B.R. 1016, 1989 Bankr. LEXIS 2321, 1989 WL 160170
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, N.D. Iowa
DecidedFebruary 17, 1989
Docket19-00068
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 108 B.R. 1016 (In Re Hageman) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, N.D. Iowa primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In Re Hageman, 108 B.R. 1016, 1989 Bankr. LEXIS 2321, 1989 WL 160170 (Iowa 1989).

Opinion

MICHAEL J. MELLOY, Chief Judge.

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

Re: Confirmation of Plan

The matter before the Court is the Internal Revenue Service’s objection to the confirmation of the Debtor’s Chapter 13 Plan. The Internal Revenue Service is requesting this Court to determine that a Chapter 13 debtor must pay interest on claims allowed as unsecured priority claims under 11 U.S.C. § 507(a)(7), when the Plan provides for deferred payments on these claims. The Chapter 13 Trustee recommends that the plan be confirmed. No other objections to the plan were filed.

BACKGROUND

Roger Joseph Hageman (“Hageman”) filed a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Petition and Notice to Begin Payments on August 11, 1988. On October 3, 1988, the Internal Revenue Service filed an objection to confirmation of the Debtor’s Plan on the grounds that the Plan did not provide for post-petition interest payments on its unsecured priority tax claim. The Internal Revenue Service filed a tax lien against the Debtor in Blackhawk County, Iowa. The parties stipulated that the prior liens against Debtor’s real estate more than extinguished any equity that may have been in the real estate and that no equity remained for the Internal Revenue Service lien. Therefore, the Internal Revenue Service claim is unsecured pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 506(d). However, in accordance with 11 U.S.C. § 507(a)(7), which gives priority to taxes assessed within three years of filing bankruptcy, part of the unsecured claim is a priority claim that is to be paid in full in deferred cash payments.

The exact amount of the IRS’s claim, both the priority and non-priority unsecured portions, is still in dispute.

DISCUSSION

The Debtor’s Plan provides that all claims entitled to priority under 11 U.S.C. § 507 shall be paid in full in deferred cash payments as required by 11 U.S.C. § 1322(a)(2). 1 The Internal Revenue Service contends that it is entitled to interest on its priority claim based upon 11 U.S.C. § 1325(a)(4). 2

*1018 The applicable law in the given situation is 11 U.S.C. § 1322(a)(2). That section requires priority claim holders in Chapter 13 to be paid in full in deferred cash payments. With respect to § 1322(a)(2), Collier states:

It is also important to note that while section 1322(a)(2) requires payment in full of priority claims, it does not provide for payment of their present value as of the effective date of the plan. Therefore, the payment of interest on priority claims is not required unless the court finds it necessary to satisfy the best interests of creditors test.

5 Collier on Bankruptcy, ¶ 1322.03 at 1322-7 — 1322-8 (15th ed. 1988).

A comparison of priority claims under both Chapter 11 and Chapter 13 reveals the different treatment required under each chapter. Section 1129(a)(9), like § 1322(a)(2), provides for the treatment of priority claims under § 507(a), but unlike its Chapter 13 counterpart, § 1129(a)(9) divides those claims into three categories. The categories relevant to this discussion are 11 U.S.C. §§ 1129(a)(9)(A) and (C) 3 . Subsection (C) provides that the holders of claims under § 507(a)(7) “will receive on account of such claim deferred cash payments ... of a value, as, of the effective date of the plan, equal to the allowed amount of such claim.” Subsection (A) provides for a cash payment in full on the effective date of the plan of the allowed amount of § 507(a)(1) claims.

“The distinction between subsections (a)(9)(C) and (a)(9)(A) is intentional.” In re Kingsley, 86 B.R. 17, 19 (Bankr.D.Conn.1988) (citing legislative history to determine Congress’ intention when using “present value” language). The language of subsection (a)(9)(C) entitles claimholders to interest to preserve the present value of their claims. In contrast, subsection (a)(9)(A) provides for claims to be paid in full on the effective date of the plan. The language and legislative history 4 of § 1129(a)(9)(C) reveal that “the debtor’s right to defer payments is not to be at the expense of the claimant’s right to receive the full amount of her allowed claim.” Kingsley, 86 B.R. at 17. Thus, under subsection (a)(9)(C), interest must be paid on “the Government’s claim to assure that it receives the value equal to the allowed amount of its claim despite the deferred payments.” Kingsley, 86 B.R. at 19 (citations omitted). “[W]hen Congress intended to provide a claimholder with interest to compensate for the present value of a claim, it expressly provided for that treatment by the use of specific words, such as ‘value, as of the effective date of the plan equal to the allowed amount of such claim.’ ” Kingsley, 86 B.R. at 20 (quoting 11 U.S.C. § 1129(a)(9)(C)). As the Kingsley court noted “the Supreme Court has recognized that ‘[w]here Congress includes particular language in one section of a statute but omits it in another section of the same Act, it is generally presumed that Congress acts intentionally and purposely in the disparate inclusion or exclusion.’ ” Kingsley, *1019 86 B.R. at 20 (citing Russello v. United States, 464 U.S. 16, 23, 104 S.Ct. 296, 300, 78 L.Ed.2d 17 (1983)).

Had Congress intended that unsecured priority claimholders receive interest under Chapter 13 plans by virtue of § 1322(a)(2), it could have added the traditional “present value” language to the provision. This Court must assume the difference in statutory language was intentional. Thus, the Court finds that interest is not payable on deferred cash payments under 11 U.S.C. § 1322(a)(2). This decision is in accord with other courts which have considered the issue. See e.g. Kingsley, 86 B.R. at 20 (interest is not payable on deferred cash payments under 11 U.S.C. § 1322(a)(2)); In re Ridgley, 81 B.R. 65, 69-70 (Bankr.D.Or.1987) (same); In re Reich, 66 B.R.

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Bluebook (online)
108 B.R. 1016, 1989 Bankr. LEXIS 2321, 1989 WL 160170, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-hageman-ianb-1989.