In re Haskins

563 B.R. 177, 2017 Bankr. LEXIS 234
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, W.D. Virginia
DecidedJanuary 27, 2017
DocketCase No. 15-60644
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 563 B.R. 177 (In re Haskins) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, W.D. Virginia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In re Haskins, 563 B.R. 177, 2017 Bankr. LEXIS 234 (Va. 2017).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM DECISION

Rebecca B, Connelly, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge

Lillian M. Haskins is a debtor in this Court. Ms. Haskins filed an objection to LVNV Funding, LLC (“LVNV”)’s unsecured proof of claim. Both Ms. Haskins and LVNV agree that the claim is barred by the statute of limitations. The only reason LVNV contests Ms. Haskins’s objection is because she filed her objection to claim after this Court entered an order confirming her chapter 13 plan. According to LVNV, the objection is barred by res judicata. The debtor disagrees. So, the question is whether the debtor’s objection to LVNVs unsecured claim is barred by res judicata when she filed the objection after confirmation of her chapter 13 plan yet LVNV filed its unsecured proof of claim before plan confirmation.

FINDINGS OF FACT

The facts are not in dispute. Tr. 23:5-14.

On April 9, 2015, the debtor filed a voluntary chapter 13 petition in this Court. ECF Doc. No. 1. On April 20, 2015, the debtor filed her chapter 13 plan. ECF Doc. No. 11. The plan disclosed that estimated non-priority unsecured debt amounted to $21,253.87. The plan provided for payments to the chapter 13 trustee for a period of 36 months. It further provided that out of the payments to the chapter 13 trustee, all allowed priority claims would be paid in full, and secured claims would be paid the full value of the allowed amount of such claims. See 11 U.S.C. § 1322(a)(2) (requiring full payment of priority claims); id. § 1325(a)(5) (describing possible treatment of secured claims). The plan, therefore, estimated the amounts of the priority and secured claims and specified payment terms for each of these claims. By contrast, as to general unsecured claims, the plan provided that unsecured claims would be paid collectively.1 • The plan proposed to treat unsecured creditors as a class and did not provide estimates of the amounts of specific individual unsecured claims. See ECF Doc. No. 11 at 3 (“Allowed non-priority unsecured claims shall be paid pro rata from any distribution remaining after disbursement to allowed secured and priority claims. Estimated distribution is approximately 33%.”).

The deadline to object to confirmation of the plan was June 18, 2015, seven days prior to the scheduled confirmation hearing. See Fed. R. Bankr. P. 2002(b); ECF Doc. Nos. 5,11. The deadline to file a proof of claim, however, did not pass for another two months. See ECF Doc. Nos. 5, 8; see also Fed. R. Bankr. P. 3002(c).2

[182]*182No creditors objected to confirmation of the plan.

On June 10, 2015, before the bar date and prior to confirmation, LVNV, through Resurgent Capital Services, filed an unsecured, non-priority proof of claim for $2,111.76. Claim 10-1. The proof of claim states that LVNV purchased the debt from FNBM, LLC. The proof of claim also provides that the last payment date and the last transaction date on the underlying debt was June 4, 2009, approximately six years prior to the filing of this bankruptcy case. Two weeks later, on June 24, 2015, the Court confirmed the debtor’s plan upon the chapter 13 trustee’s recommendation. ECF Doc. No. 17. The confirmation order recited that the plan meets the requirements of section 1325 of the Bankruptcy Code.

Thirteen months later, the debtor objected to LVNVs proof of claim, asserting that the claim was, among other bases, barred by the statute of limitations and should be disallowed. ECF Doc. No. 19. LVNV filed a response to the debtor’s objection requesting that the objection be overruled because the objection was barred by res judicata. ECF Doc. No. 21.

The Court held a hearing on the objection and response on September 29, 2016. Counsel for the debtor, counsel for LVNV, and the chapter 13 trustee appeared and presented argument. Counsel for the debt- or insisted that the debtor had met the burden on her objection and that the unsecured claim was barred by the three-year statute of limitations. Tr. at 3:22-5:12; 18:23-19:4. He urged the Court to sustain the objection. Id. at 5:12-13. The chapter 13 trustee agreed with the debtor. The chapter 13 trustee stressed the importance of the statutory claims allowance process and asked the Court to find res judicata did not bar the debtor’s objection in this case. Id. at 20:14-21:9.

Counsel for LVNV agreed the underlying debt would be barred by the statute of limitations. Id. at 6:10-18.3 All the same, LVNVs “argument is simple, that a claim filed before confirmation, as this claim was, that was not addressed in any material way, the confirmation order has res judica-ta effect on the disposition of that claim.” Id. at 5:16-21.

Following argument, the Court took the matter under advisement and requested the parties to file briefs in support of their respective positions, with an opportunity to reply to the initial briefs if desired. Both the debtor and LVNV filed briefs. ECF Doc. Nos. 28, 29. LVNV filed a reply brief. ECF Doc. No. 30.

JURISDICTION

The Court has jurisdiction over this bankruptcy case by virtue of the provisions of 28 U.S.C. §§ 1334(a) and 157(a), the delegation made to this Court by Order of Reference from the District Court entered on December 6, 1994, and Rule 3 of the Local Rules of the United States District [183]*183Court for the Western District of Virginia. The allowance or disallowance of claims against the estate is a “core” proceeding within the meaning of 28 U.S.C. § 157(b)(2)(B).

ANALYSIS

I. Res Judicata

A Prior Judgment May Preclude Subsequent Litigation

“Under res judicata principles, a prior judgment between the same parties can preclude subsequent litigation on those matters actually and necessarily resolved in the first adjudication.” First Union Commercial Corp. v. Nelson, Mullins, Riley & Scarborough (In re Varat Enters., Inc.), 81 F.3d 1310, 1314-15 (4th Cir. 1996). “The preclusive effect of a judgment is defined by claim preclusion and issue preclusion, which are collectively referred to as ‘res judicata.’” Taylor v. Sturgell, 553 U.S. 880, 892, 128 S.Ct. 2161, 171 L.Ed.2d 155 (2008). The Supreme Court explained the purpose of these doctrines: “[b]y ‘preelud[ing] parties from contesting matters that they have had a full and fair opportunity to litigate,’ these two doctrines protect against ‘the expense and vexation attending multiple lawsuits, eonserv[e] judicial resources, and foste[r] reliance on judicial action by minimizing the possibility of inconsistent decisions.’ ” Id. (quoting Montana v. United States,

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

Related

Craig M Manderson
N.D. New York, 2023
Katherine J Morris
E.D. Virginia, 2023
Thomas Rusnack v. Cardinal Bank, N.A.
695 F. App'x 704 (Fourth Circuit, 2017)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
563 B.R. 177, 2017 Bankr. LEXIS 234, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-haskins-vawb-2017.