In Re Hamm

157 B.R. 137, 1993 Bankr. LEXIS 1145, 1993 WL 307738
United States Bankruptcy Court, E.D. Missouri·Decided August 9, 1993·No. 17-44496·Published·Cited by 7 cases

Opinion

ORDER

JAMES J. BARTA, Bankruptcy Judge.

At Saint Louis, in this District, this 9th day of August, 1993.

The matter being considered here is the motion of Dealers Acceptance Corporation (“Movant”) for relief from the automatic stay. On the Movant’s oral request an expedited hearing was set for August 5, 1993 at 10:00 a.m. After notice to the Debtor, Debtor’s Counsel and the Chapter 13 Trustee, the Court received testimony and other evidence at the hearing. On the Debtor’s request, the matter was continued to 3:30 p.m. on the same date to allow the parties additional time to obtain more accurate information concerning the Debtor’s monthly income and the amount of prepetition arrearage owed to Morgan Guaranty Trust Company (“Morgan”), the holder of the first deed of trust on Debtor’s personal residence, and to the Movant as the holder of a second deed of trust. On consideration of the record as a whole, the Court announced its determinations and orders from the bench.

The facts are essentially not disputed. This is the third Chapter 13 case filed by this Debtor. All three cases have been assigned to Bankruptcy Judge Barry S. Schermer, who was attending the Eighth Circuit Conference when the request for an expedited hearing was presented in the most recent case. In each case, the petition was filed shortly before a scheduled foreclosure on the Debtor’s real property. In each case, the Debtor scheduled no more than three unsecured creditors, each with a relatively small balance due. In each case, the Debtor’s reason for filing the petition was to obtain a stay of the foreclosure proceedings. Certain facts are unique to each ease.

*139 FIRST CASE

The Debtor filed the first Chapter 13 petition on July 30, 1991. On October 3, 1991, Morgan (the holder of the first deed of trust) filed a motion for relief from the automatic stay. The Bankruptcy Court confirmed the Debtor’s plan shortly thereafter, on October 16, 1991. On October 24, 1991, Morgan Guaranty’s motion for relief from the automatic stay was denied after the parties agreed to a stipulated judgment that included confirmation of the plan.

After confirmation, the Chapter 13 trustee filed two successive motions to dismiss for failure to make plan payments. These motions were denied by the Court on February 5,1992, and on May 8,1992, after the trustee moved to withdraw his requests as having been settled.

On October 28, 1992, the Court entered an order granting relief from the automatic stay to Morgan after the Debtor reportedly failed to make post-petition mortgage payments for the months of May through September, 1992. The Debtor thereafter filed a motion to amend her confirmed plan. This motion was not ruled upon because the Debtor filed a voluntary dismissal of the Chapter 13 case on March 26, 1993, including a withdrawal of the motion to amend. The Court granted the Debtor’s voluntary dismissal on March 30, 1993.

SECOND CASE

While her first case was pending, and before she filed the voluntary dismissal, the Debtor filed a second Chapter 13 petition on March 25, 1993. The holder of the second deed of trust, Dealers Acceptance Corporation, the Movant here, filed a motion for relief from the automatic stay on April 30, 1993. On May 24, 1993, the Debt- or filed a first amended Chapter 13 plan.

On June 10, 1993, the Court orally granted the motion of the Chapter 13 trustee to dismiss this case. The written Order dismissing this case prior to confirmation of a plan was signed on June 23,1993. One day later, on June 24,1993, Dealers Acceptance filed a written “Motion For Section 109(g) Bar Against Refiling”. Dealers Acceptance argued that the Debtor should not be a debtor under Title 11 for 180 days from March 30, 1993, because of her voluntary dismissal of the first case after a request for relief from the automatic stay had been filed. On June 27, 1993, the Bankruptcy Court entered an Order that denied the motion to bar refiling under Section 109(g).

THIRD CASE

On August 3, 1993, the Debtor filed a third Chapter 13 petition. Dealers Acceptance filed its motion for relief from the automatic stay and presented an oral request for an expedited hearing on August 4, 1993. The Chapter 13 petition was filed on the morning of the date set by this Movant for a foreclosure sale. After notice to the Debtor, Debtor’s Counsel and the Chapter 13 trustee, the Court conducted these expedited hearings on August 5, 1993.

Section 109(g)

Section 109(g)(2) states in pertinent part that

(g) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, no individual or family farmer may be a debtor under this title who has been a debtor in a case pending under this title at any time in the preceding 180 days if—
(2) the debtor requested and obtained the voluntary dismissal of the case following the filing of a request for relief from the automatic stay provided by section 362 of this title.

11 U.S.C. § 109(g)(2)

Section 109(g) is applicable to a Chapter 13 case. If all of the requisite conditions of Section 109(g) have been satisfied the prohibition against being a debtor during the 180 day period operates without further action by a court or any other party. Neither the statute nor the Bankruptcy Rules requires that a Court order be entered before an individual or a family farmer is barred from being a debtor in a subsequent case after a voluntary dismissal in the circumstances described at Section 109(g). See In re Bigalk, 813 F.2d 189 (8th Cir.1987); In re Gregory, 110 B.R. 911 *140 (Bankr.E.D.Mo.1989); In re Welling, 102 B.R. 720 (Bankr.S.D.Iowa 1989).

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In Re Hamm, 157 B.R. 137, 1993 Bankr. LEXIS 1145, 1993 WL 307738 (Mo. 1993).

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