In re Muller

479 B.R. 508, 2012 WL 4738298
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, W.D. Arkansas
DecidedOctober 2, 2012
DocketNos. 5:10-bk-73265, 5:11-bk-74650, 5:11-bk-74941
StatusPublished
Cited by12 cases

This text of 479 B.R. 508 (In re Muller) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, W.D. Arkansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In re Muller, 479 B.R. 508, 2012 WL 4738298 (Ark. 2012).

Opinion

OPINION AND ORDER

BEN BARRY, Bankruptcy Judge.

Before the Court are six objections to claims that exhibit the most common maladies in this area of bankruptcy law. Because the same law applies to each of these objections, the Court will conjoin the objections for its order. The Court has jurisdiction over these objections under 28 U.S.C. § 1334 and 28 U.S.C. § 157, and the resolution of the objections is a core proceeding under 28 U.S.C. § 157(b)(2)(B). The following opinion constitutes findings of fact and conclusions of law in accordance with Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure 7052 and 9014.

Although each of the objections before the Court exhibit common problems, each [512]*512claim is unique within the debtors’ or trustee’s respective objections. In the Muller case, the chapter 7 trustee objected to the claim of GMAC for two reasons: first, because GMAC filed its claim as a secured claim; second, because the debtors did not identify the subject vehicle or list GMAC as a creditor in their schedules. In the Kim/Park case, the debtors objected to and disputed the claim of Bank of America, N.A. because the asserted debt by Bank of America was not substantiated. And last, in the Ralston case, the debtor objected to three separate claims: (1) Kansas City Water Services Dept. [Kansas City Water], (2) Advanta Bank Corporation [Advanta Bank], and (3) Portfolio Recovery Associates [PRA]. The debtor objected to Kansas City Water’s claim because the debt apparently related to an unpaid water bill of one of the debtor’s tenants, not the debtor. The debtor objected to and disputed Advanta Bank’s claim alleging that Advanta Bank was not the party with the legal right to enforce the claim. Finally, the debtor objected to PRA’s claim because the debtor did not recognize or schedule a debt to THD Consumer, the account listed on the proof of claim form. Before analyzing each claim, the Court will review the respective burdens of proof that are applicable in claims litigation.

Claims, generally

Under the bankruptcy code, a claim is defined as any right to payment. 11 U.S.C. § 101(5); Dove-Nation v. eCast Settlement Corp. (In re Dove-Nation), 318 B.R. 147, 150 (8th Cir. BAP 2004). A creditor, the debtor, or the trustee may file a proof of claim against a debtor. 11 U.S.C. § 501. In the event the creditor does not file a proof of claim, an entity that is liable with the debtor to the creditor may. Id. According to the code, a claim, “proof of which is filed under section 501 of this title, is deemed allowed, unless a party in interest ... objects.” 11 U.S.C. § 502(a). If a party in interest objects to a claim, then the court shall determine the amount of such claim as of the date of the filing of the petition, unless one of nine enumerated exceptions apply. 11 U.S.C. § 502(b)(1) — (9); In re Dove-Nation, 318 B.R. at 150. The nine exceptions found in § 502(b) are “the sole grounds for objecting to a claim and [§ 502(b) ] directs the court to allow the claim unless one of the exceptions applies.” Id.; see also In re Cluff, 313 B.R. 323, 331 (Bankr.D.Utah 2004) (“Courts have no discretion to disallow claims for reasons beyond those stated in the statute.”); In re Todd Michael Taylor, 289 B.R. 379, 384 (Bankr.N.D.Ind.2003) (“a claim may not be denied for just any reason, but only for one of the reasons Congress has included in § 502(b).”).

Under the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure, a proof of claim is a written statement that sets forth a creditor’s claim and shall conform substantially to the Official Form. Fed. R. Bankr.P. 3001(a)., Further, when the claim is based on a writing, the original or a duplicate shall be filed with the claim. Fed. R. Bankr.P. 3001(c). If the writing has been lost or destroyed, a supporting statement must be filed with the claim. Id. According to the rules, “[a] proof of claim executed and filed in accordance with these rules shall constitute prima facie evidence of the validity and amount of the claim.” Fed. R. Bankr.P. 3001(f). Prima facie validity

simply means that all the facts in the claim are presumed to be true unless disproved by some evidence to the contrary. If a claim’s prima facie validity is lost, then the creditor has the initial burden of proving that the claim exists and the amount of that claim. Failure to fulfill this burden results in the disal-lowance of a creditor’s claim.

[513]*513In re Cluff, 313 B.R. at 337 (footnotes omitted).

Prima facie validity is established by substantial compliance with “the spirit of the applicable rules.... ” In re Dove-Nation, 318 B.R. at 152. When complied with, the bankruptcy rules and Official Form are evidence of the claim, not simply “a pleading containing arguments and assertions.” In re Cluff, 313 B.R. at 330. When the claim is based on a writing, additional support for the creditor’s claim is required to establish prima facie validity of the claim. The evidentiary support for a claim based on a writing includes, for example, a business record admissible under Federal Rule of Evidence 803(6), a promissory note, a contract, or a negotiable instrument. Id. at 332.

Ultimately, the court must balance “the need to provide debtors with sufficient information to assess claims against the goal of not unduly burdening claimants.” In re Marcita Taylor, 363 B.R. 303, 310 (Bankr.M.D.Fla.2007). In considering the documentation required for a credit card company to meet its evidentia-ry burden, one court recognized that to require the company

to come forward with the original credit card agreement and a manifestation of each electronic recording of a transaction, whether it be in the form of the signed receipt the debtor retains for his or her personal records or the electronic transmission of each use that the credit card issuer records, would unduly burden the parties and would inundate the Court with documents. Such a compilation of information would be lengthy and overly burdensome for all concerned.

In re Cluff, 313 B.R. at 334-35. As a result, the court concluded that a summary of the transactions would be sufficient to meet the requirements of the bankruptcy rule.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

John A. Little, III
E.D. Arkansas, 2021
PW Enterprises, Inc. v. Kaler
D. North Dakota, 2020
Kelly Ann Stephenson
W.D. Louisiana, 2019
Korley Sears v. Rhett Sears
863 F.3d 973 (Eighth Circuit, 2017)
In re Richardson
557 B.R. 686 (E.D. Arkansas, 2016)
Mayne v. eCast Settlement Corp. (In re Mayne)
556 B.R. 651 (M.D. Pennsylvania, 2016)
In re F-Squared Investment Management, LLC
546 B.R. 538 (D. Delaware, 2016)
In re Clark
530 B.R. 439 (W.D. Wisconsin, 2015)
In re Walker
526 B.R. 187 (E.D. Louisiana, 2015)
In re Morales
506 B.R. 213 (S.D. New York, 2014)
In re Crutchfield
492 B.R. 60 (M.D. Georgia, 2013)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
479 B.R. 508, 2012 WL 4738298, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-muller-arwb-2012.