In re Keokuk

600 B.R. 593
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, E.D. Kentucky
DecidedApril 8, 2019
DocketCASE NO. 17-30370
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 600 B.R. 593 (In re Keokuk) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, E.D. Kentucky primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In re Keokuk, 600 B.R. 593 (Ky. 2019).

Opinion

Gregory R. Schaaf, Bankruptcy Judge

The Debtor seeks confirmation of her Second Amended Chapter 13 Plan. [ECF No. 99.] 21st Mortgage Corporation, a secured creditor, argues that the Second Amended Plan does not comply with 11 U.S.C. § 1325(a)(5)(B).1 [ECF No. 107.] The Objection is sustained, and confirmation of the Second Amended Plan is denied for the reasons set out herein.

I. FACTS.

The Debtor filed for chapter 13 relief and scheduled real property at 1392 Baxter Ridge Road, Lawrenceburg, Kentucky ("Real Estate"), and a 2007 Giles mobile home located thereon ("Mobile Home"). [ECF No. 18.] 21st Mortgage filed Proof of Claim No. 7 for $ 87,531.45 based on a note that is secured by liens on the Real Estate and the Mobile Home. The liens are not disputed, and the Mobile Home is treated as personal property under Kentucky law.

A. The Debtor's Initial Plan.

The Debtor initially proposed a plan that valued 21st Mortgage's secured claim at $ 20,000.00, payable in equal monthly installments at 5.25% interest. [ECF No. 19.] 21st Mortgage objected to the proposed cram down value [ECF No. 30] and a hearing was scheduled to determine the amount of the secured claim pursuant to *596§ 506(a). [ECF Nos. 55 and 59.] The parties agreed before the hearing, and it was therefore ordered, that "the value of the [Mobile Home] is $ 36,000.00 and the value of the [Real Estate] is $ 22,500.00 for a total value of $ 58,500.00." [ECF No. 67 ("Agreed § 506(a) Valuation Order").]

B. The Debtor's First Amended Plan.

The Debtor then filed its First Amended Plan. [ECF No. 72.] Instead of merely adjusting the initial secured value to the agreed secured value, the Debtor proposed to: (i) retain the Real Estate in exchange for equal monthly payments that total the agreed value of the Real Estate pursuant to § 1325(a)(5)(B) ($ 22,500.00); and (ii) surrender the Mobile Home pursuant to § 1325(a)(5)(C). [Id. ] Confirmation was denied because the First Amended Plan did not pay 21st Mortgage the value of its allowed secured claim as required by § 1325(a)(5)(B). [ECF No. 94 at 6-7.]

The proposal did not work because the Debtor was not entitled to immediately reduce the total amount of the allowed secured claim payable in subpart (B)(ii) by the § 506(a) value of surrendered property. Surrender of the Mobile Home pursuant to § 1325(a)(5)(C) is not the equivalent of a distribution of value in payment of the allowed secured claim. [ECF No. 94.] See also In re Tosi , 546 B.R. 487, 492 (Bankr. D. Mass. 2016) (surrender pursuant to § 1325(a)(5)(C) means the debtor will make the collateral available to the secured creditor so the secured creditor can exercise its state law rights); In re Williams , 542 B.R. 514, 518 (Bankr. D. Kan. 2015) (surrender does not transfer ownership); In re Rose , 512 B.R. 790, 793 (Bankr. W.D. N.C. 2014) (surrender does not transfer title or require a lender to foreclose on its mortgage).

The conclusion that the First Amended Plan failed under subpart (B) eliminated the need to decide if a plan could address an allowed secured claim under both subparts (B) and (C). [But see ECF No. 94 at 6 (the plain language of the statute means it is unlikely a debtor may elect both subparts (B) and (C) ).] The order denying confirmation also rejected the Debtor's alternative reading of the Amended Plan to treat surrender of the Mobile Home as a distribution under subpart (B) instead of a surrender under subpart (C). [Id. at 7-8.] The Amended Plan did not reflect this structure and the proposal would require the detailed analysis conducted in this Opinion. The Debtor was ordered to amend her plan to accurately reflect her intention, which she attempted to do in the Second Amended Plan. [Id. ]

C. The Debtor's Second Amended Plan.

The Debtor timely filed a Second Amended Plan on December 31, 2018. [ECF No. 99.] The Second Amended Plan proposes the following for the 21st Mortgage claim:

*597II. SECURED CLAIMS.

A. Secured Claims To Be Paid Through the Plan and Motion to Value Collateral.
2. Secured Claims Valued Under § 506. The Debtor moves the Court to value collateral as follows according to 11 U.S.C. § 506(a). Each of the following secured claims, if allowed, shall be paid through the plan until the secured value or the amount of the claim, whichever is less, has been paid in full. Any remaining portion of the allowed claim shall be treated as a general unsecured claim. Any claim with a secured value of $0 shall be treated as a general unsecured claim.
Estimated Amount Secured Interest Monthly Secured Creditor Collateral Description of Claim Value Rate* Payment 21st Mortgage Corporation (See VII B. Special Provisions) 2007 Giles mobile home $87,500.00 $36,000.00 0.00% $0.00 1392 Baxter Ridge Rd. Lawrenceburg, Kentucky 21st Mortgage Corporation 2 acre lot $87,500.00 $22,500.00 5.25% $471.61

VII. SPECIAL PROVISIONS.

The Debtor's Memorandum attached to the Second Amended Plan explains that the Debtor is modifying 21st Mortgage's rights because the claim is not secured entirely by real estate that is the Debtor's principal residence. [ECF No. 99-1.] See also 11 U.S.C. § 1322(b)(2) (allowing modification). The proposed plan values the Real Estate and Mobile Home at $ 58,500.00 based on two December 2017 appraisals prepared for 21st Mortgage. [See ECF No. 99-1 at 2; see also ECF Nos. 90 and 91.] The appraised values are also the basis for the Agreed § 506(a) Valuation Order.

The Debtor describes the proposed treatment of the 21st Mortgage allowed secured claim as follows:

Specifically, the Debtor's amended chapter 13 plan proposes to pay 21st Mortgage $ 22,500.00 in monthly plan payments at the rate of $ 471.61, plus 5.25% interest. [Docket No. 99]. In addition, in the Special Provisions section of the amended plan the Debtor proposes to transfer to 21st Mortgage possession of the 2007 Giles manufactured home valued by 21st Mortgage's appraiser at $ 36,000.00. [Docket No. 99].

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
600 B.R. 593, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-keokuk-kyeb-2019.