In Re Parrish

326 B.R. 708, 2005 Bankr. LEXIS 1274, 2005 WL 1634513
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, N.D. Ohio
DecidedJuly 6, 2005
Docket19-60185
StatusPublished
Cited by50 cases

This text of 326 B.R. 708 (In Re Parrish) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, N.D. Ohio primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In Re Parrish, 326 B.R. 708, 2005 Bankr. LEXIS 1274, 2005 WL 1634513 (Ohio 2005).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OF OPINION

PAT E. MORGENSTERN-CLARREN, Bankruptcy Judge.

Beneficial Ohio Inc. d/b/a Beneficial Mortgage Co. of Ohio (Beneficial) filed a proof of claim alleging the debtor Melvin Parrish owes it a secured debt totaling $37,343.62 for money loaned. The debtor filed an amended objection to the claim and the creditor responded. 1 For the reasons stated below, the debtor’s amended objection is sustained.

JURISDICTION

Jurisdiction exists under 28 U.S.C. § 1334 and General Order No. 84 entered on July 16, 1984 by the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio. This is a core proceeding under 28 U.S.C. § 157(b)(2)(B).

THE EVIDENTIARY HEARING

The court held an evidentiary hearing on June 1, 2005. 2 These findings of fact reflect the court’s weighing of the evidence, including determining the credibility of the witnesses. In doing so, the court considered the witnesses’ demeanor, the substance of the testimony, and the context in which the statements were made, recognizing that a transcript does not convey tone, attitude, body language or nuance of expression. See Fed. R. BanKR. P. 7052, incorporating Fed. R. Civ. P. 52 (applied to contested matters under Fed. R. BaNKR. P. 9014). When the court finds that a witness’s explanation was satisfactory or unsatisfactory, it is using this definition:

The word satisfactory ‘may mean reasonable, or it may mean that the Court, after having heard the excuse, the explanation, has that mental attitude which finds contentment in saying that he believes the explanation-he believes what the [witness] says with reference to the [issue at hand]. He is satisfied. He no longer wonders. He is contented.’

United States v. Trogdon (In re Trogdon), 111 B.R. 655, 659 (Bankr.N.D.Ohio 1990) (discussing the issue in context of bankruptcy code § 727) (quoting First Texas Savings Assoc., Inc. v. Reed, 700 F.2d 986, 993 (5th Cir.1983)).

ISSUE

Should Beneficial’s proof of claim be allowed as filed?

THE POSITIONS OF THE PARTIES

Beneficial argues that its proof of claim is prima facie evidence of the validity and *712 amount of the debt, which it further established through the evidence. The debtor contends that Beneficial (1) does not get the benefit of having the claim viewed as prima facie correct because it is deficient on its face; and (2) Beneficial did not prove the claim amount is correct because Beneficial has taken inconsistent positions as to the amount that is due, the records relied on by Beneficial are incomplete and incorrect, and the claim includes fees that are not recoverable.

FACTS

I. Beneficial’s proof of claim and interrogatory answers

In 1992, the debtor Melvin Parish signed a note for $40,177.30 payable to Trans-America Financial Services, which note was secured by a mortgage on property at 14704 Alder Road, East Cleveland, Ohio. The note called for monthly payments of $616.00 at 15.5% interest with the note to be paid in full in November 2004.

The debtor filed his chapter 13 case on August 23, 2002. The official proof of claim form instructs that any proof of claim should state the: “Name of Creditor (The person or entity to whom the debtor owes money or property).” On September 10, 2002, “Beneficial Ohio Inc. d/b/a Beneficial Mortgage Co. of Ohio” filed a proof of claim alleging it has a claim secured by real estate in the total amount of $37,343.62. The form also requires a secured creditor to state the “[a]mount of arrearage and other charges at time case filed include [sic] in secured claim, if any” to which Beneficial responded “$3,080.00 arrears[;] $4,824.56 fees.” The form further instructs the creditor to attach (1) an itemized statement of all interest or additional charges; and (2) copies of supporting documents, such as promissory notes, security agreements, and evidence of perfection of lien. The only documents attached to Beneficial’s proof of claim are a 1991 note and mortgage from the debtor to ITT Financial Services. The note, in the principal amount of $13,345.47, purports to be secured by a mortgage on real estate at 1840 Van Burén, East Cleveland, Ohio. Beneficial admits the attachments have nothing to do with the debtor’s account at issue in this case. 3

The debtor attempted several times in the course of his case to obtain accurate information as to the amount due on his loan. He eventually filed an objection to Beneficial’s claim and requested an accounting. On November 26, 2004 (about two years after Beneficial filed its claim), Beneficial responded:

Creditor states that Debtor’s mortgage is a 12 year mortgage which would have been paid off in 2004 if Debtors [sic] remained current on their payments. The balance on said mortgage as of November 2, 2004 is $30,749.18. Interest continued to accrue due to the Debtor’s delinquency on payments. Attached is a copy of the payment history for the Debtor’s review. 4

The document attached does not have entries for 1992 through August 1995 and is not entirely self-explanatory.

The parties conducted discovery before the evidentiary hearing. As part of that process, the debtor posed interrogatories to Beneficial, including questions designed *713 to establish (1) Beneficial’s relationship to this claim; and (2) the amount of the claim and the manner in which it was calculated. 5 Beneficial provided three sets of answers to the interrogatories.

These are the original answers Beneficial provided on March 25, 2005: 6

Interrogatory 2: Provide the date on which Beneficial purchased the subject mortgage.
Answer: Approximate date was October 6, 1999, the date of the assignment of the mortgage.
Interrogatory 3: Provide the amount of the principal balance due on the loan at the time Beneficial purchased the mortgage and the amount of any alleged arrears on said mortgage loan.
Answer: $37[,]36S.91, arrearage unknown at this time. We are waiting to receive the payment histories.
Interrogatory 4' Provide an itemized loan pay off amount for said mortgage as of the date of the filing of the Bankruptcy Petition.
Answer: Information is attached.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
326 B.R. 708, 2005 Bankr. LEXIS 1274, 2005 WL 1634513, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-parrish-ohnb-2005.