In re Linsenmeyer

280 B.R. 828, 48 Collier Bankr. Cas. 2d 1593, 89 A.F.T.R.2d (RIA) 1687, 2002 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 7624, 2002 WL 535827
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Michigan
DecidedMarch 6, 2002
DocketNo. 01-CV-73810-DT; Bankruptcy No. 89-00691-R
StatusPublished

This text of 280 B.R. 828 (In re Linsenmeyer) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Michigan primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In re Linsenmeyer, 280 B.R. 828, 48 Collier Bankr. Cas. 2d 1593, 89 A.F.T.R.2d (RIA) 1687, 2002 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 7624, 2002 WL 535827 (E.D. Mich. 2002).

Opinion

OPINION AND ORDER AFFIRMING BANKRUPTCY COURT’S ORDER

FRIEDMAN, District Judge.

This is an appeal from an order of Bankruptcy Judge Steven W. Rhodes, denying the debtors’ motion for reconsideration. The debtors’ motion for reconsideration asked Judge Rhodes to change his earlier ruling denying their motion to appoint a trustee to file an amended tax return to indicate that the gain from a sale of the debtors’ stock was property of the bankruptcy estate. The effect of this ruling is that the debtors themselves, and not the bankruptcy estate, are responsible for paying the federal tax on the gain. This appeal is brought by the debtors, Stephen and Jan Linsenmeyer; the appellee is the United States. Pursuant to E.D. Mich. LR 7.1(e)(2), the court shall decide this matter without oral argument.

This case began as a Chapter 11 bankruptcy matter in January 1989. Shortly thereafter, the Linsenmeyers commenced an adversary proceeding against the Monroe Bank and Trust and Ohio Citizens Bank (“MBT”). In March. 1989, the Lin-senmeyers and MBT entered into a settlement agreement, which the Bankruptcy Court approved, that resolved the adversary proceeding. Under this agreement, MBT loaned the Linsenmeyers approximately $1.8 million, which was to be used to fund their Chapter 11 reorganization plan. The Bankruptcy Court approved the reorganization plan in August 1989. The [830]*830$1.8 million loan was due in October 1989 and it was secured with various collateral, including shares of MBT stock owned by the Linsenmeyers. Under the settlement agreement, MBT could sell the stock if the Linsenmeyers failed to pay off the note on time. The Linsenmeyers missed the October 1989 deadline, but under the terms of the settlement agreement they requested and were granted a two-month extension by the Bankruptcy Court. When they also missed the December 1989 deadline, the bank sold the stock in January 1990.

In July 1990, the bankruptcy proceeding was converted from Chapter 11 to Chapter 7. The Chapter 7 trustee filed an income tax return on behalf of the bankruptcy estate for the period of July through December 1990. The gain from the stock was not reported on this return because the sale had occurred earlier in the year. Apparently, no one at that time complained to the Bankruptcy Court that the tax return filed by the trustee was incorrect. When the bankruptcy case was closed in January 1994, the trustee distributed the assets. The IRS was not paid any taxes on the gain from the sale of the stock.

In May 2000 the Linsenmeyers filed a motion to reopen the case to appoint a trustee to file an amended tax return for 1990. The Linsenmeyers sought the amended tax return to indicate that the gain was attributable to the estate, which may have enabled them to avoid any personal liability for the tax obligation. The United States opposed the motion on the grounds that the gain should be attributed to the Linsenmeyers themselves. The Bankruptcy Court did appoint a trustee. However, after conducting a hearing as to whether the gain was the estate’s property or the debtors’ property, the Bankruptcy Court denied the debtors’ request to have the trustee file an amended tax return for the estate. The Bankruptcy Court subsequently denied the Linsenmeyers’ motion for reconsideration.

Analysis

The only issue in this appeal is whether the Bankruptcy Court erred in determining that no trustee should be appointed to file an amended tax return because the gain from the sale of stock is not property of the bankruptcy estate. In other words, is it the Linsenmeyers or their bankruptcy estate that is responsible for reporting this gain? Since the Bankruptcy Court made a legal ruling, not a factual finding, the parties agree that this court’s review is de novo.

The starting point is 11 U.S.C. § 1141(b), which states: “Except as otherwise provided in the plan or the order confirming the plan, the confirmation of a plan vests all of the property of the estate in the debtor.” The Sixth Circuit has noted that under § 1141(b), “upon confirmation of a Chapter 11 plan, unless there are contrary provisions, the property of the estate revests in the debtor along with normal ownership rights.” In re Chattanooga Wholesale Antiques, Inc., 930 F.2d 458, 462 (6th Cir.1991). In the present case, the debtors’ Chapter 11 reorganization plan was confirmed by the Bankruptcy Court on August 28, 1989. Therefore, as of that date all of the property of the estate vested in the Linsenmeyers — “except as otherwise provided in the plan or the order confirming the plan.”

Nothing in the second amended plan of reorganization indicates that the shares of stock at issue did not “vest” in the Linsen-meyers. The following provisions of the plan are relevant, but none are contrary to the general rule from 11 U.S.C. § 1141(b) that all property of the estate vests in the debtors upon confirmation.

Paragraph 11(C) of the plan states:

[831]*831The secured claim of Monroe Bank & Trust shall be paid according to the terms set forth with particularity in this Court’s March 24,1988 [sic: 1989] Order Approving Compromise of Adversary Proceeding, a copy of which is attached to this Plan and incorporated by reference as Exhibit “A.”
Paragraph 11(F) states:
All unsecured claims against the Debtors ... are as follows:
(i) Contingent claims of Monroe Bank & Trust, Ameritrust Company, NA., and Bruce D. and Julie M. Linsenmeyer-Dunbar: These claims are secured by collateral of the Debtors. The Debtors believe that in the event of a default in payment by them that the creditors would be fully paid by liquidating the collateral....
And Article VII states:
All property of the Debtors shall revert to the Debtors upon the effective date of this Plan, and their business shall thereafter be conducted by the Debtors, and not be Debtors-In-Possession.

Since there is nothing in the plan indicating that the property did not vest in the debtors, § 1141(b) directs that the property did vest in the debtors upon confirmation of the plan. This being the case, the Bankruptcy Court clearly was correct in concluding that the shares of stock belonged to the Linsenmeyers when they were sold in January 1990. The sale occurred after confirmation of the Chapter 11 plan but before the bankruptcy proceeding was converted from Chapter 11 to Chapter 7. Therefore, the Bankruptcy Court was also correct in denying the Lin-senmeyers’ motion to appoint a trustee to file an amended 1990 tax return for the estate, since the gain from the stock sale was not attributable to the estate, but rather to the Linsenmeyers themselves.

The Linsenmeyers make several arguments in an effort to avoid this conclusion, but none of them are persuasive. First, they note that the plan states “[a]ll property of the Debtors shall revert to the Debtors upon the effective date of this Plan,” whereas the statute uses the term “vest.” This slight difference in terminology is insignificant. The fact of the matter is that by statute the property vests in the debtor upon confirmation of the plan, “[e]xeept as otherwise provided in the plan or the order confirming

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Related

Power of court
11 U.S.C. § 105(a)
Conversion or dismissal
11 U.S.C. § 1112
Effect of confirmation
11 U.S.C. § 1141(b)
Implementation of plan
11 U.S.C. § 1142(b)
Automatic stay
11 U.S.C. § 362(c)(1)

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Bluebook (online)
280 B.R. 828, 48 Collier Bankr. Cas. 2d 1593, 89 A.F.T.R.2d (RIA) 1687, 2002 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 7624, 2002 WL 535827, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-linsenmeyer-mied-2002.