In re Jackson

537 B.R. 238, 2015 WL 5307413
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, E.D. North Carolina
DecidedSeptember 10, 2015
DocketCASE NO. 15-01915-5-SWH
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 537 B.R. 238 (In re Jackson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, E.D. North Carolina primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In re Jackson, 537 B.R. 238, 2015 WL 5307413 (N.C. 2015).

Opinion

ORDER DENYING MOTION TO DISMISS

Stephani W. Humrickhouse, United States Bankruptcy Judge

The matter before the court is the Bankruptcy Administrator’s motion to dismiss this chapter 7 case for abuse pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 707(b)(1), which turns on two competing interpretations of § 707(b)(2) and Official Form 22A-2, and the propriety of the debtors’ means test deductions on Lines 9 and 13 of that form. The Bankruptcy Administrator (“BA”) argues that the debtors may deduct only then-actual housing and vehicle expenses or the applicable National or Local Standards, whichever is less. Under this view, the presumption of abuse would arise and require dismissal of the case. The debtors counter that their deduction of the standardized IRS allowances in both categories was appropriate, notwithstanding the fact that their actual costs are lower.

A hearing was held in Raleigh, North Carolina on August 7, 2015. After full consideration, and for the reasons set forth below, the court concludes that the debtors’ use of the IRS Local Standard allowances for their housing and vehicle exemp[240]*240tions on Form 22A-2 comports with both the plain language of and the rationale behind § 707(b). The motion to dismiss will be denied.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

The debtors, Gabriel Levar and Monte Nichole Jackson, filed a petition under chapter 7 of the Bankruptcy Code on April 6, 2015. Because the Jacksons qualify as above-median income debtors (their current monthly income, as calculated and annualized on Form 22A-1, is higher than the median family income for a family of four in North Carolina), they were required to complete the “Chapter 7 Means Test Calculation” set out in Form 22A-2.1 The parties have stipulated that the debtors’ calculation of their current monthly income is correct, and that with the exception of the deductions at issue (claimed on Lines 9c and 13c), all other deductions taken on Form 22A-2 are correct. Further, the BA and debtors agree that the debtors “completed the Amended Means Test according to the instructions contained on Official Form 22A-1 and 22A-2.”2 Joint Stipulations of Fact at ¶ 6 (DE 29).

The debtors were required by Form 22A-2 to take certain standard deductions, according to instructions provided in the form:

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issues National and Local Standards for certain expense amounts. Use these amounts to answer the questions in lines 6-15. To find the IRS standards, go online using the link specified in the separate instructions for this form. This information may also be available at the bankruptcy clerk’s office. Deduct the expense amounts set out in lines 6-15 regardless of your actual expense. In later parts of the form, you will use some of your actual expenses if they are higher than the standards. Do not deduct any amounts that you subtracted from your spouse’s income in line 3 and do not deduct any operating expenses that you subtracted from income in lines 5 and 6 of form 22A-1.

Form 22A-2 at 2 (emphasis by the court).

The form requires deduction of expenses for some categories (food, clothing, and other items; out of pocket health care allowances) according to the IRS National Standards, while other categories reflect IRS Local Standards, including those at issue here. Specifically, Lines 8 and 9 require that debtor deduct the Local Standard amount for a Wake County family of four for insurance and home operating expenses (Line 8) and for mortgage or rent expenses (Line 9). And, Lines 11 through 15 pertain to transportation and vehicle expenses, again requiring use of the Local Standards. Line 13 provides: “Vehicle ownership or lease expense: Using the IRS Local Standards, calculate the net ownership or lease expense for each vehicle below. You may not claim the expense if you do not make any loan or lease payments.”

The debtors complied with these instructions, and completed the form as follows:

Pursuant to § 707(b)(2)(A)(ii)(I), the Jacksons deducted $1,548.00 on Line 9a because that is the mortgage or rent [241]*241expense for a family of four in Wake County, North Carolina and $517.00 on both lines 13a and 13d because the Jack-sons make loan payments for two vehicles. Pursuant to § 707(b)(2)(A)(iii), the Jacksons deducted $870 for their average monthly mortgage payment to Wells Fargo for their home on Line 9b.... Line 9c directs debtors to subtract their average monthly loan payment of $870.00 on Line 9b from the mortgage or rent allowance of $1,548.00 deducted on Line 9a, which results in a net mortgage or rent expense of $678.00.
Pursuant to § 707(b)(2)(A)(iii), the Jack-sons deducted $111.00 on line 13b for the average monthly payment made towards the loan secured by the Jacksons’ 2003 Chevrolet Tahoe and $90.50 on Line 13e for the average monthly payment made towards the loan secured by the Jacksons’ 2008 Dodge Magnum.... Additionally, on Lines 13c and 13f, the Jacksons are instructed to take the net vehicle ownership or lease expense, which results in a deduction of $406.00 on Line 13c and $426.50 on Line 13f.

Debtors’ Mem. of Law in Opp. to BA’s Mot. to Dismiss at 14-15 (DE 32) (hereinafter “Debtors’ Mem.”).

Again, there is no dispute with respect to whether the Jacksons accurately interpreted and complied with the requirements of Form 22A-2; the BA readily agrees that they did so. Nor is there any pending question whether the totality of the debtors’ financial circumstances demonstrate that relief under Chapter 7 would constitute an abuse, the BA having stated that absent the development of unforeseen circumstances, she does not intend to pursue dismissal under § 707(b)(3). The sole question before this court'is whether, as the BA contends, a chapter 7 debtor completing the Means Test is required to deduct the Local Standards or their actual expenses, whichever is less, notwithstanding the form’s instructions to the contrary. In this case, that would require the Jack-sons to replace their housing deduction of $678 with a deduction of $0, and their vehicle deductions of $406.00 and $426.50 with a deduction of $0. This would in turn give rise to a presumption of abuse, necessitating either dismissal of the case or its conversion to a case under chapter 13.

With these established facts in mind, the court turns to the statutory and policy-based underpinnings of both parties’ arguments.

DISCUSSION

The starting point is 11 U.S.C. § 707(b)(1), which provides in relevant part that the court “may dismiss a case filed by an individual debtor under this chapter ... if it finds that the granting of relief would be an abuse of the provisions of this chapter.” The statute goes on to establish the “means test” in § 707(b)(2), which provides, in relevant part, as follows:

(2)(A)(i) In considering under paragraph (1) whether the granting of relief would be an abuse of the provisions of this chapter, the court shall presume abuse exists if the debtor’s current monthly income reduced by the amounts determined under clauses (ii), (iii), and (iv), and multiplied by 60 is not less than the lesser of—

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Related

In re Lopez
574 B.R. 159 (E.D. California, 2017)
Marjorie Lynch v. Gabriel Jackson
845 F.3d 147 (Fourth Circuit, 2017)
In re Brown
546 B.R. 642 (E.D. North Carolina, 2016)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
537 B.R. 238, 2015 WL 5307413, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-jackson-nceb-2015.