In re Lemming

532 B.R. 398, 2015 WL 3797500
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, N.D. Georgia
DecidedJune 18, 2015
DocketCASE NUMBER 14-43080-MGD
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 532 B.R. 398 (In re Lemming) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, N.D. Georgia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In re Lemming, 532 B.R. 398, 2015 WL 3797500 (Ga. 2015).

Opinion

ORDER DENYING CONFIRMATION

Mary Grace Diehl, U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge

A trial on confirmation of Larry Ray Lemming’s (“Debtor”) Fifth Amended Chapter 13 Plan (Doc. 41) was held on June 10, 2015. Creditor Dwayne L. Richardson (“Richardson”) and .the Chapter 13 Trustee filed objections to confirmation. (Docs. 21, 44). Brian R. Cahn appeared for the Debtor, K. Edward Safir appeared for the Chapter 13 Trustee, and Richardson appeared pro se. The Court heard testimony from Charles E. Griffin, Debtor, and Richardson. After the trial, the Court denied confirmation. This Order memorializes the Court’s decision and constitutes findings of fact and conclusions of law pursuant to Federal Rule of Bankruptcy Procedure 7052(a). This matter is a core proceeding under 11 U.S.C. § 157(b)(2)(L) and venue is proper.

I. Findings of Fact

Debtor and Richardson were engaged in an oral partnership agreement. (Verdict and Judgment, Lemming v. Richardson, No. 2009CA35,343 (Ga. Super. Ct. Apr. 13, 2011), Claim 1-2 at 3). In litigation arising from a partnership dispute, the Superi- or Court of Chattooga County, Georgia awarded Richardson a judgment of $144,895.64 against Debtor on April 8, 2011. (Id. at 5). The judgment included a $10,000 award of attorney’s fees based on Debtor’s “willful” conduct. (Id. at 4). A Writ of Fi. Fa. was recorded against Debt- or on June 10, 2011. (Claim 1-2 at 6).

[400]*400Debtor filed his first Chapter 13 case on September 27, 2013. (Voluntary Petition (Chapter 13), In re Lemming, No. 13-42802-mgd (Bankr. N.D. Ga. Sept. 27, 2013), Doc. 1) [hereinafter Lemming I]. Debtor filed his Seventh Amended Chapter 13 Plan in that case on September 23, 2014, which proposed a “sale cascade” to satisfy the claim of Richardson. (Seventh Am. Chapter 13 Plan, Lemming I, Doc. 58). The cascade plan essentially provided for Debtor to sequentially liquidate three of the properties to which Richardson’s judgment lien attached, until Richardson’s claim was paid in full. The liquidation of each property was to be by private sale within a set time. If a private sale could not be accomplished within that time, the plan provided for an auction to take place. (Id.). The plan was confirmed on October 6, 2014. (Order Confirming Plan, Lemming I, Doc. 63).

The first property the cascade plan proposed to sell was located at 691 County Road 642, Cedar Bluff, AL, also known as the “Lake House.”1 The cascade plan provided that if Debtor failed to procure a purchaser, the Lake House was to be sold at auction on or before November 1, 2014. (Seventh Am. Chapter 13 Plan, Lemming I, Doc. 58). Debtor failed to auction the property and the first case was dismissed for failure to comply on November 17, 2014. (Order of Dismissal, Lemming I, Doc 70).

Debtor initiated the present case by filing his second Chapter 13 petition on December 17, 2014. (Voluntary Petition (Chapter 13), In re Lemming, No. 14-43080-mgd (Bankr. N.D. Ga. Dec. 17, 2014), Doe. 1) [hereinafter Lemming //]. On that same date, Debtor filed a Chapter 13 plan which provided for another sale cascade. (Lemming II, Doc. 2) The dismissal of Debtor’s prior case within the preceding 1-year period subjected Debtor to the automatic stay limits of 11 U.S.C § 362(c)(3). Debtor filed a Motion to Extend Stay, and that motion was heard on January 14, 2015. (Lemming II, Doc. 7). The Court heard argument that the cascade plan in Lemming II was ostensibly filed in error, and that Debtor had intended to file a different plan. (Transcript of Jan. 14, 2015 Hrg. at 5:14-7:11, Lemming II, Doc. 20). However, with no new plan or evidence of changed circumstances, the Court denied Debtor’s Motion to Extend Stay on the grounds that Debtor had failed to overcome the presumption that Lemming II was not filed in good faith by clear and convincing evidence. (Lemming II, Doc. 17).

Debtor persisted and filed a first Amended Chapter 13 plan, which provided for payment of Richardson’s secured claim2 as follows:

the Debtor hereby pays creditor Dwayne Richardson by surrendering the lake house in full satisfaction of his underlying claim. Title to the lake house shall vest in Dwayne Richardson upon confirmation, and the Confirmation Order shall constitute a deed of conveyance of the lake house when recorded at on the deed books of Cherokee County, Alabama. In the alternative, upon request of Dwayne Richardson, the Debtor shall execute any deeds necessary to accomplish the conveyance.

(Lemming II, Doc. 15, at 8). That plan provoked an objection and a motion to [401]*401dismiss with prejudice from the Trustee based on, among other reasons, Debtor’s lack of disclosure, incomplete schedules, and failure to fund the plan. {Lemming II, Doc. 21). A preliminary hearing on confirmation was held on March 11, 2015. At that time, the Court ordered briefing on whether a Chapter 13 plan may be confirmed over the objection of a secured creditor where the plan only provides that some of the collateral securing the creditor’s claim be surrendered in full satisfaction of the claim and where the plan provides for a non-consensual vesting of the property.

Debtor subsequently filed his second through fourth amended Chapter 13 plans (Lemming II, Docs. 23, 27, 36). Richardson filed objections to the plans {Lemming II, Docs. 28, 40) and the Trustee filed a second Motion to Dismiss based on lack of funding and good faith. {Lemming II, Doc. 35). Debtor filed his opening brief on April 14, 2015 along with a Motion to Determine Value of Property. {Lemming II, Docs. 38, 39). Debtor filed a Fifth Amended Chapter 13 Plan along with a Supplemental Brief in Support of Confirmation on April 29, 2015, acknowledging that one of the authorities allowing non-consensual vesting that he had relied upon in his opening brief had been reversed on appeal but asserting that his latest amended plan was confirmable notwithstanding. Bank of New York Mellon v. Watt, No. 3:14-CV-02051-AA, 2015 WL 1879680 (D.Or. Apr. 22, 2015); {Lemming II, Docs. 41, 42). The Fifth Amended Chapter 13 Plan essentially provided for the same treatment of Richardson’s claim, but removed the vesting language as follows:

Debtor owns a lake house located 691 County Road 642, Cedar Bluff, Alabama (“the lake house”), with a value of $244,000. Pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 1322(b)(8), the Debtor hereby pays creditor Dwayne Richardson by surrendering the lake house to Dwayne Richardson ....

{Lemming II, Doc. 41). The plan provided that any deficiency resulting from a judicial valuation would be funded through the plan at 4.25% interest. {Id.) Richardson filed a further objection. {Lemming II, Doc. 44).

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
532 B.R. 398, 2015 WL 3797500, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-lemming-ganb-2015.