In Re Hernandez

175 B.R. 962, 33 Collier Bankr. Cas. 2d 146, 1994 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 18235, 1994 WL 734800
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Illinois
DecidedDecember 13, 1994
Docket94 C 1009
StatusPublished
Cited by15 cases

This text of 175 B.R. 962 (In Re Hernandez) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In Re Hernandez, 175 B.R. 962, 33 Collier Bankr. Cas. 2d 146, 1994 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 18235, 1994 WL 734800 (N.D. Ill. 1994).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

NORDBERG, District Judge.

This matter is before the Court on the Debtor’s appeal from the bankruptcy court’s order of December 30, 1993. That order provides that Volkswagen Credit Inc.’s (“VCI”) lien on the debtor’s automobile shall survive the completion of debtor’s Chapter 13 plan, despite the fact that the plan calls for the complete payment of the secured portion of VCI’s claim. This Court faces the question of whether a Chapter 13 debtor may strip down a lien on non-residential personal property to the current fair market value of the collateral.

I. 'FACTS

In 1989, Ruth Hernandez, the Debtor, borrowed $13,310.07 from VCI to finance the purchase of a 1988 Volkswagen Jetta GL. On December 18, 1992, the Debtor filed a Chapter 13 petition. VCI filed a secured proof of claim in the amount of $9,422.20, supported by a lien of title on a 1988 Pontiac Grand Prix. On June 8, Debtor filed a motion objecting to the claim of VCI, seeking to bifurcate VCI’s claim between secured and unsecured portions. The parties agree that the fair market value of the collateral is $5,924.50.

Debtor’s Chapter 13 plan provided for 100% payment to all secured creditors and a 10% disbursement to unsecured creditors. The plan also provided, in language mirroring 11 U.S.C. § 1325(a)(5)(B)®, that the holder of each allowed secured claim would retain the lien securing such claim. In re *963 Hernandez, 162 B.R. 160,167 (Bankr.N.D.Ill. 1993).

The Bankruptcy Court issued its order on December 3, 1993. The order sustained Debtor’s objection to the claim filed by VCI, limiting the secured claim to the agreed collateral value of $5,924.50 and treating the remainder owed as unsecured debt. In addition, the Bankruptcy Court provided that VCI’s lien would survive the Chapter 13 plan and remain attached to the collateral until the debtor repaid both the secured and the unsecured portions of its loan. Debtor now appeals that decision.

II. ANALYSIS

This appeal focuses on the Bankruptcy Court’s interpretation of the Supreme Court case of Dewsnup v. Timm, 502 U.S. 410, 112 S.Ct. 773, 116 L.Ed.2d 903 (1992) and its construction of various sections of the Bankruptcy Code. No issues of fact are raised on appeal. This Court will perform a de novo review of the challenged conclusions of law. See In re Longardner & Assoc., Inc., 855 F.2d 455, 459 (7th Cir.1988), cert. denied, 489 U.S. 1015, 109 S.Ct. 1130, 103 L.Ed.2d 191 (1989).

The Debtor challenges the Bankruptcy Court’s decision on two grounds. The Debtor argues both that sections 1325 and 1327 of the Bankruptcy Code mandate that, at the time of the plan’s confirmation, the estate’s property be vested in the debtor free and clear of any creditor’s lien not provided for in the plan itself and that the Bankruptcy Court improperly extended the Supreme Court’s holding in Dewsnup to Chapter 13 debtors. For the reasons discussed in this opinion, the ruling of the Bankruptcy Court is reversed.

A. Section 1325

Debtor challenges the Bankruptcy Court’s interpretation of Section 1325, 1 which provides that:

(a) Except as provided in subsection (b), the court shall confirm a plan if—
(5) with respect to each allowed secured claim provided for by the plan—
(A) the holder of such claim has accepted the plan;
(B)(i) the plan provides that the holder of such claim retain the lien securing such claim; and
(ii) 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; or
(C) the debtor surrenders the property securing such claim to such holder.

11 U.S.C. § 1325. The bankruptcy court interprets this section to require that VCI retain its lien until the entire indebtedness outstanding on VCI’s loan is paid. After suggesting that Section 1325 is evidence of a congressional intent to support the “recognized principle that secured liens survive bankruptcy,” the Bankruptcy Court writes, “Nothing in [Section 1325] says the secured creditor must retain only part of the lien measurable by collateral value.” In re Hernandez, 162 B.R. 160, 165 (Bankr.N.D.Ill. 1993). This Court disagrees.

The phrase “retain the lien securing such claim” in Section 1325(a)(5)(B)(i), through its use of “such claim,” refers back to the phrase “allowed secured claim” in Section 1325(a)(5). If Section 1325(a)(5)(B)® requires only that a secured creditor retain a lien to the extent a claim is allowed and secured, Section 1325 does allow a secured creditor to retain only the part of the lien measurable by collateral value. See 11 U.S.C. § 506(a).

The Bankruptcy Court, as noted earlier, reads Section 1325 to require the retention of a lien in the full amount of the indebtedness. This conclusion forces the Bankruptcy Court to resolve a perceived conflict between Section 1325 and Section 506(a). The Bankruptcy Court writes:

In the face of the plain wording of § 1325(a)(5)(B) and (C), it can hardly be said that Congress intended § 506(a) to trump § 1325(a)(5)(B) and (C) in Chapter 13, and intended that the § 506(a) provision applicable to all chapters would super *964 sede in Chapter 13 the § 1325 provision limited to that Chapter.

Hernandez, 162 B.R. at 165-66. The Bankruptcy Court overlooks the typical statutory construction, in which the term “allowed secured claim” in Section 1325 is defined by the explanation of that term in Section 506(a). However, even if the Bankruptcy Court had recognized the relationship between Section 506(a) and Section 1325, the meaning of “allowed secured claim” in Section 1325 is not clear, due to the holding of Dewsnup v. Timm, 502 U.S. 410, 112 S.Ct. 773, 116 L.Ed.2d 903 (1992).

B. Dewsnup v. Timm

Prior to the Supreme Court’s decision in Dewsnup, the meaning of “allowed secured claim” was informed by Section 506(a), which provides:

An allowed claim of a creditor secured by a lien on property in which the estate has an interest ...

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
175 B.R. 962, 33 Collier Bankr. Cas. 2d 146, 1994 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 18235, 1994 WL 734800, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-hernandez-ilnd-1994.