In re Jones

583 B.R. 749
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, W.D. Washington
DecidedApril 20, 2018
DocketCase No. 17–12813–CMA
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 583 B.R. 749 (In re Jones) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, W.D. Washington primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In re Jones, 583 B.R. 749 (Wash. 2018).

Opinion

Christopher M. Alston, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge

THIS MATTER came before the Court on the Debtor's Objection to Claim No. 1 *751of Kitsap Credit Union (the "Objection"). The Court considered the Objection, the Response of Kitsap Credit Union ("Kitsap"), and the Debtor's Reply, and has taken judicial notice of all relevant entries on the docket in this case to ascertain facts not reasonably in dispute.1 The Court conducted a hearing on the Objection on February 21, 2018. The Court heard the arguments of counsel and took the matter under advisement.

This claim objection appears to present an issue of first impression to the Court: whether optional contracts for gap insurance and vehicle maintenance should be treated as secured under the "hanging paragraph" of 11 U.S.C. § 1325(a).2 If not, the Court must then determine if and how to apportion prepetition payments on the loan between the secured and unsecured amounts of the debt. For the reasons below, the Court concludes that Kitsap's claim is subject to bifurcation under Bankruptcy Code § 506(a)(1), Kitsap's collateral does not secure the amounts financed to pay for the optional contacts, and the prepetition payments shall be apportioned pro rata between the secured and unsecured portions of the claim in accordance with the "dual status rule." Following are the Court's findings of fact and conclusions of law under Civil Rule 52(a), applicable with respect to this contested matter under Rules 3007, 7052, and 9014.

I. FACTUAL BACKGROUND

The relevant facts are not in dispute. On September 17, 2016, the Debtor entered into a Retail Installment Sale Contract ("Sale Contract") with West Hills Ford Mazda for the purchase of a used 2015 Dodge Ram 2500 (the "Vehicle"). The Sale Contract states the "Total Cash Sale Price" of the Vehicle is $56,589.12.3 The Sale Contract includes additional charges for an "Optional Gap Contract" in the amount of $795.00, a "National Premium Maintenance" contract in the amount of $2,653.00, and a "VIP Maintenance" contract in the amount of $498.00 (collectively, the "Option Contracts"). These items total $3,946.00.4 After taxes, license, and fees, the amount financed totals $61,061.76. The Sale Contract provides the Debtor is conveying a purchase money security interest in the Vehicle. The dealer assigned its interest in the Sale Contract to Kitsap.5

On June 22, 2017, which was less than 910 days after the Debtor incurred the debt secured by the Vehicle, the Debtor filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy relief. Prior to filing his petition, the Debtor paid a total of $2,831.57 on the financed obligation. Kitsap timely filed a proof of claim in which it asserted a secured claim in the amount of $58,230.19. The Debtor scheduled the Vehicle with a value of $40,000, *752and Kitsap does not challenge this valuation.

The Debtor timely objected to Kitsap's claim, arguing the claim is not secured to the extent it seeks repayment of money advanced for the purchase of the Option Contracts. Relying on In re Penrod , 611 F.3d 1158 (9th Cir. 2010) (" Penrod II "), the Debtor argues the claim should be bifurcated and allowed as a secured claim only as to the amounts required to purchase the Vehicle. As a consequence, the amounts financed attributable to the Option Contracts can be allowed only as an unsecured claim. Kitsap responds that Penrod does not apply, as the financed debt at issue in Penrod included "negative equity" from a trade-in rather than option contracts that add value to the collateral. Kitsap contends that the Vehicle secures the entire amount financed by the Debtor. Kitsap further argues that if the Court determines the entire claim is not secured, then any prepetition payments would have been allocated only to the unsecured portion of the debt. The Debtor replies that Penrod should be interpreted broadly to include option contracts, and that the prepetition payments should be applied proportionately between the secured and unsecured portions of the debt, resulting in a smaller secured claim.

II. JURISDICTION

This Court has jurisdiction over this matter pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1334(a) and (b). This is a core proceeding under 28 U.S.C. § 157(b)(2)(A), (B), and (K).

III. ANALYSIS

A. Kitsap Has Standing.

Initially, the Debtor suggests Kitsap lacks standing to assert its claim because Kitsap was not a party to the Sale Contract. The Court rejects this contention. As the assignee of the Sale Contract, Kitsap has standing to enforce the agreement pursuant to Bankruptcy Code § 502 and the Revised Code of Washington (RCW) § 62A.3-301.6 An assignee typically "steps into the shoes" of an assignor. In re Boyajian , 367 B.R. 138, 144-45 (9th Cir. BAP 2007). "Where a secured claim is assigned, the collateral is ordinarily assigned as well." Restatement (Second) of Contracts § 340 cmt. b. The assignment of a security interest does not destroy its purchase money status. In re Trejos , 374 B.R. 210, 215-16 (9th Cir. BAP 2007).

B. The Court May Bifurcate Kitsap's Claim Because the Debtor Was Not Required to Purchase the Option Contracts to Obtain the Vehicle.

The Bankruptcy Code provides that a secured claim may be bifurcated to the extent that the amount exceeding the value of the collateral is treated as unsecured. 11 U.S.C. § 506(a)(1). In other words, when a secured claim exceeds the value of the collateral, the debtor may "cram down" the secured claim to collateral's value, and any shortfall is treated as an unsecured claim.

*753Under the 2005 Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act amendments, Congress added language to section 1325(a) to protect claims of secured creditors who hold a purchase money security interest ("PMSI") in cars.

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Bluebook (online)
583 B.R. 749, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-jones-wawb-2018.