In Re Ogle

261 B.R. 22, 46 Collier Bankr. Cas. 2d 628, 2001 Bankr. LEXIS 625, 2001 WL 357455
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, D. Idaho
DecidedFebruary 20, 2001
Docket19-00238
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 261 B.R. 22 (In Re Ogle) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, D. Idaho primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In Re Ogle, 261 B.R. 22, 46 Collier Bankr. Cas. 2d 628, 2001 Bankr. LEXIS 625, 2001 WL 357455 (Idaho 2001).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OF DECISION

JIM D. PAPPAS, Chief Judge.

I. Background.

In this Chapter 12 case, Creditors Tom and Irene Ogle (“Creditors”) filed a Motion to Obtain Interest on Claim (Docket No. 192). Debtors Delbert and Marion Ogle objected (Docket Nó. 198). A hearing on the motion was held on January 24, 2001, after which this matter was taken under advisement. This Memorandum constitutes the Court’s findings of fact and conclusions of law and disposition concerning that motion. Fed.R.Bankr.P. 7052; 9014.

II. Facts

Debtors filed a petition for relief under Chapter 12 of the Bankruptcy Code on March 3,1995. The filing was precipitated by the actions of Creditors, who are Delbert Ogle’s parents, to foreclose a mortgage they held on real property sold to Debtors in 1981. During the bankruptcy ease, Debtors objected to Creditors’ proof of claim, asserting that enforcement of their mortgage was prohibited by the applicable state statute of limitations, and because the Idaho “one-action rule” prohibited an independent action on the note. On December 14, 1995, this Court issued its decision sustaining Debtors’ objection on both grounds and disallowing Creditors’ Claim (Docket No. 46). Creditors appealed this decision to the District Court, which reversed this Court’s decision on November 25, 1996 (Docket No. 105, Case No. CV 96-022-S-EJL). Debtors then appealed the District Court’s decision to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

In the meantime, Debtors proposed several Chapter 12 plans, culminating in the Third Amended Chapter 12 Plan of Reorganization filed on November 27, 1996 (Docket No. 106). After negotiations, Debtors were able to obtain the consent of Creditors to confirmation of their plan, and an Order Confirming Third Amended Chapter 12 Plan, incorporating certain changes to the terms of the plan, was finally entered on February 6, 1997 (Docket No. 121). In that Order, prepared by Chapter 12 Trustee, Ronald D. Schoen, the parties acknowledged that Creditors’ claim was currently on appeal to the Ninth Circuit. Among other things, the Order provided that all of Debtors’ real and personal property would, upon confirmation of the plan, vest in the Trustee, and not revest in the Debtors as provided by the Code, and as is the common practice in this District. See 11 U.S.C. § 1228(b); Order Confirm *24 ing Third Amended Chapter 12 Plan, ¶ 2(C)(2), (Docket No. 121). The Order further provided that:

In the event a final order on the appeal is rendered in favor of Tom and Irene Ogle in the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, which appeal is currently pending before that Court, the trustee shall sell all real and personal property vested in the trustee sufficient to pay all allowed secured and unsecured claims in full.

Order, ¶ 2(C)(3)(c). The Order also provided that if there were any inconsistencies between the plan and the Order, the Order would control. Order, ¶ 2(D)(1). Additionally, the Order recited that “[t]he Plan and all amendments thereto meet the requirements of 11 U.S.C. § 1225....” Order, ¶ 1.

Thereafter, on March 25, 1997, the parties also entered into an agreement for entry of an order allowing Creditors’ claim in the amount of $545,300, part of which was deemed secured, and part unsecured. Order Allowing Claim of Thomas and Irene Ogle (Docket No. 127). The effect of this agreement was also made subject to the determination of the rights of the parties in connection with the appeal to the Ninth Circuit. Importantly, however, this agreement and order contained a provision which gives rise to the current dispute. It provides, in part, that “[e]ach party is hereby authorized to reserve their rights and defenses concerning Creditors’ entitlement to interest accruing postpetition on their claim.... ” Order Allowing Claim of Thomas and Irene Ogle, pp. 2-3 (Docket No. 127).

On July 31, 1998, the Ninth Circuit issued its opinion affirming the District Court’s decision and allowing Creditors’ claim. The Court decided that even if the statute of limitations barred Creditors’ right to enforce the mortgage, they were still entitled to enforce the underlying promissory note as an unsecured claim. Ogle v. Ogle, 156 F.3d 1238, 1998 WL 466686 (9th Cir.1998) (unpublished disposition). While this decision determined Creditors held an enforceable claim against Debtors for purposes of the Chapter 12 case, it did not decide whether Creditors were entitled to collect postpetition interest on that claim under Debtors’ confirmed plan, an issue which the parties had expressly reserved in the Bankruptcy Court.

Following confirmation, Trustee worked diligently and liquidated several parcels of Debtors’ property in order to pay the secured and unsecured claims as provided by the plan. The issue of whether Creditors are entitled to postpetition interest on their claim arises because the bankruptcy estate has proven to be solvent. In other words, from the property sale proceeds, Trustee has paid all creditors’ claims other than Creditors. The parties agree the balance due on Creditors’ prepetition claim is $90,718.37. However, if Creditors are entitled to postpetition interest, Trustee calculates the amount due on their claim to be $200,607.46. 1 Substantial property remains to be liquidated by the Trustee, if necessary. "While the liquidation value of this property is of course uncertain, all seem to agree that a sale of these remaining properties would generate more than enough to pay whatever amounts may be *25 due to Creditors. 2 Under these circumstances, Trustee requested that Creditors file the instant motion to guide his future liquidation efforts. Creditors concurred, and filed their motion on December 22, 2000. Debtors objected to the motion on January 22, 2001.

III. Discussion

A. Are Creditors Entitled to Postpe-tition Interest?

Creditors assert that they are entitled to postpetition interest under the Bankruptcy Code. They first point to Section 1225(a)(4), the so-called “best interests of creditors test” for confirmation of a Chapter 12 plan, which provides:

Except as provided in subsection (b), the court shall confirm a plan if—

(4) the value, as of the effective date of the plan, of property to be distributed under the plan on account of each allowed unsecured claim is not less than the amount that would be paid on such claim if the estate of the debtor were liquidated under chapter 7 of this title on such date.

11 U.S.C. § 1225(a)(4). Creditors then refer the Court to Section 726(a), which prescribes the priorities of distributions in a Chapter 7 case. While Section 726 is not technically applicable in Chapter 12 cases, see 11 U.S.C.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
261 B.R. 22, 46 Collier Bankr. Cas. 2d 628, 2001 Bankr. LEXIS 625, 2001 WL 357455, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-ogle-idb-2001.