In Re Johnson

238 B.R. 462, 1999 Bankr. LEXIS 1170, 1999 WL 705554
United States Bankruptcy Court, W.D. Missouri·Decided August 25, 1999·No. 19-40189·Published·Cited by 3 cases

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION

ARTHUR B. FEDERMAN, Bankruptcy Judge.

Creditor Debbie Rieke, formerly known as Debbie Sharp (Rieke), filed a motion to reopen this Chapter 11 bankruptcy case, and a • motion to compel the disbursing agent to pay her unsecured claim, or alternatively to allow her to file a proof of claim out of time. This is a core proceeding under 28 U.S.C. § 157(b)(2)(B) over which the Court has jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1334(b), 157(a), and 157(b)(1). The following constitutes my Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law in accordance with Rule 52 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure as made applicable to this proceeding by Rule 7052 of the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure.

ISSUES PRESENTED

(1) Rieke is listed on Johnson’s bankruptcy schedules as an unsecured creditor whose claim is fixed and liquidated. The Disclosure Statement also lists Rieke as a creditor. The Plan of Reorganization (the Plan) states that all filed and allowed unsecured claims will be paid in full with interest. The Plan also provides that all claims not filed and allowed will be discharged. The Bankruptcy Code (the Code) provides that a proof of claim is deemed filed if the debt is listed on the schedules and is not disputed, contingent, or unliquidated. A filed claim is allowed if no one objects to it. The Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure (the Rules) provide that a creditor listed on the schedules does not have to file a proof of claim if the claim is not disputed. Is Rieke’s claim deemed filed and allowed and, therefore, provided for in the Plan?

(2) Rieke loaned debtor Daniel Lewis Johnson (Johnson) $22,700.00 over a period of several months pre-petition. There is no written documentation of these trans *464 actions. The last loan was made on or before April 8, 1993. Johnson filed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition on April 9, 1993. The case was closed and a discharge was entered on June 10, 1996, but disbursements were made pursuant to the Plan of Reorganization (the Plan) through June of 1999. Missouri law provides that one must commence collection efforts on an oral contract or obligation within five years of the transaction. The automatic stay tolls the statute of limitations as to debt collection. Is Rieke barred by the statute of limitations from collecting this debt?

DECISION

(1) Johnson acknowledged the validity and amount of Rieke’s claim when he listed it on his bankruptcy schedules as fixed and liquidated. The listing of a fixed and liquidated debt on the schedules is the same as if the creditor filed a proof of claim. The Plan provides for the payment of all filed and allowed claims. Rieke’s claim has not been paid, therefore, Rieke’s motion to compel the disbursing agent to pay the full amount of claim with interest will be granted.

(2) The Missouri statute of limitations on an action to collect on an oral contract was tolled during the pendency of this Chapter 11 case. Rieke’s right to collect under the Plan is, therefore, not barred by section 516.120 of Missouri’s Revised Statutes.

FACTUAL BACKGROUND

This is a rather unusual Chapter 11 bankruptcy case. Some background is informative before discussing the issues presented here. Daniel Johnson is a lottery winner, and is entitled to receive gross annual payments of $183,000 from the Illinois State Lottery through May of 2000. He is also incarcerated for the second degree murder of one Olen O’Neal in January of 1992. While in prison he became friendly with Debbie Rieke, and between December 11, 1992, and April 7, 1993, Rieke loaned Johnson $22,700. Rieke stated that she and Johnson executed no loan documents as to these transactions. She testified that she and Johnson developed a close personal relationship after she began corresponding with him in prison. She said that she held his power of attorney, and that she was appointed as a trustee of Johnson’s estate. She also stated that she and Johnson had a joint checking account for a while and that the portion of Johnson’s annual lottery payment allocated to his living expenses was deposited into that account on July 23, 1993. Johnson filed this Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition on April 9, 1993, and Rieke was aware of the bankruptcy fifing. His bankruptcy schedules duly noted the loan to Rieke and fisted her as an unsecured creditor with a fixed and liquidated debt. On July 12, 1993, Johnson filed his Disclosure Statement and Plan. On August 23, 1993, the Plan was confirmed by Order of this Court. The Plan provides for the appointment of a disbursing agent to disburse the annual lottery winnings until such time as all administrative, priority, secured, and unsecured claims are paid. The Plan states that claims which are filed and allowed shall be paid in full. 1

On May 25, 1994, Judge Karen M. See of this Court entered an Order setting July 25, 1994, as the bar date for the filing of claims in this case. 2 It is undisputed that Rieke did not herself file a claim. On May 30, 1996, counsel for debtor filed the Final Report and Application for Final Decree, and on June 10, 1996, this Court entered its Final Decree and closed the case. The Court did, however retain jurisdiction to determine any and all claims made against the estate. After receiving the annual lottery payment in May of 1999, the disbursing agent prepared to make the final disbursement pursuant to the terms *465 of the Plan 1 and in accordance with the claims filed in the case. Rieke testified that she contacted the disbursing agent at that time and was informed for the first time that she was not scheduled to receive any disbursements. She filed a motion to reopen the Chapter 11 case and to either compel the disbursing agent to pay her claim, or, alternatively, to allow her to file a proof of claim out of time. Johnson’s attorney objected to both motions on the grounds that her claim was now barred by both the Bankruptcy Code (the Code) and Missouri’s statute of limitations. On July 14, 1999, a hearing was held. At the hearing this Court took judicial notice of the bankruptcy schedules, the Disclosure Statement, the Plan, the Order setting the Bar Date, and a letter written by Rieke and received by the Court on November 23,1994.

DISCUSSION

The Code provides that a creditor does not need to file a proof of claim if the debtor has scheduled its debt as fixed and liquidated:

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In Re Johnson, 238 B.R. 462, 1999 Bankr. LEXIS 1170, 1999 WL 705554 (Mo. 1999).

238 B.R. 462 (In Re Johnson) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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