In re Schumacher

495 B.R. 735, 2013 WL 2178097, 2013 Bankr. LEXIS 2052
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, W.D. Texas
DecidedMay 20, 2013
DocketNo. 12-12215-CAG
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 495 B.R. 735 (In re Schumacher) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, W.D. Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In re Schumacher, 495 B.R. 735, 2013 WL 2178097, 2013 Bankr. LEXIS 2052 (Tex. 2013).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER DENYING MOTION OF THE UNITED STATES TRUSTEE TO DISMISS CASE PURSUANT TO 11 U.S.C. § 707(b)

CRAIG A. GARGOTTA, Bankruptcy Judge.

Came on to be considered the United States Trustee’s (“UST”) Motion to Dismiss Case for Abuse Pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 707(b) (ECF No. 20) (“Motion to Dismiss for Abuse”). The Court has jurisdiction over this matter pursuant to 28 U.S.C. [738]*738§§ 157 and 1334. This is a core proceeding under 28 U.S.C. § 157(b)(2)(A). Venue is proper under 28 U.S.C. § 1408(1). The Court held a hearing on this motion on February 27, 2013, and took the matter under advisement. For reasons discussed below, the Court finds that the UST’s motion should be DENIED.

Factual and Procedural Background

Prior to moving to Austin, Texas, Debt- or lived outside of Texas with his ex-wife. They have two adult children together, both of whom are pursuing undergraduate degrees. It appears that Debtor’s move to Austin was at least partially motivated by the loss of a lucrative job in New York City. He has found stable alternative employment in Austin, reporting a yearly salary of $51,399.96 in his schedules. This is substantially less than his previous salary. Debtor’s ex-wife did not move to Austin with him. Although the record is unclear, they may have been separated for some time before his move.

Debtor filed his Chapter 7 Petition on September 28, 2012 (ECF No. 1) (“Original Schedules”). In his Original Schedules, he listed himself as single and did not account for his ex-wife’s income, although they were still married at that time. Debtor listed his ex-wife as a co-debtor on only one claim — an unsecured debt of $38,517.00. Debtor also included a monthly expense of $1,700 for “college tuition” in schedule J and a $55,000.00 unsecured priority federal tax claim in Schedule E. He did not list any sort of retirement savings or pension plan.

Debtor amended his Original Schedules (ECF No. 9) (“Amended Schedules”) on November 16, 2012, changing the federal tax claim to $64,127.63 and adding a New York state priority, unsecured tax claim of an unknown amount. Debtor also added several unsecured, non-priority claims totaling $66,189.47.' The summary of schedules in the Amended Schedules listed monthly expenditures of $6,413.51, as opposed to the $5,875.67 monthly expenditures listed in the Original Schedules. However, they do not contain an amended Schedule J to explain this increase in expenditures. Both the Original Schedules and the Amended Schedules list a piece of real property in Connecticut valued at $650.00.

On November 21, 2012, Debtor filed an Amended Motion for Relief from Stay (ECF No. 12) for the purpose of divorcing his ex-wife, which the Court granted on December 11, 2012 (ECF No. 18). According to Debtor, he moved to lift the automatic stay at the UST’s behest in order to settle property and support issues affecting the bankruptcy. The UST filed her Motion to Dismiss for Abuse (ECF No. 20) on December 21, 2012. In the Motion to Dismiss for Abuse motion, the UST argued that the totality of the circumstances merit dismissal per 11 U.S.C. § 707(b)(3)(B) because Debtor’s schedules were inaccurate, Debtor was paying for his adult children’s college tuition, Debtor had a significant income, and Debtor had the ability to pay a significant portion of his unsecured debts from future income.

Debtor filed for divorce in Travis County, Texas, obtaining a Final Divorce Decree on January 9, 2013. The Final Divorce Decree orders Debtor “to pay a total amount of $2,000/month towards,” his children’s “college tuition, books, room & board, travel expenses for visitation, etc. until June 2015 or until the last child has received his/her undergraduate degree, whichever occurs first.” Both the “Property to Wife” section and the “Debts to Husband” section of the Final Divorce Decree require Debtor to pay $625.00 from his retirement benefits to his wife each month starting when their first child obtains his or her degree and an additional $625 each month once their second child [739]*739obtains his or her degree. The Final Divorce Decree also makes Debtor responsible for half of the former couple’s New York state tax liability through 2010 and all of their federal tax liability through 2011. Debtor admitted that he had not yet filed his New York state tax returns for 2009 or 2010 at the February 27, 2013, hearing. The UST alleges that Debtor has failed to file his federal tax returns since 2008, which Debtor denies.

Debtor filed a response to the Motion to Dismiss for Abuse (ECF No. 21) (“Response to Motion to Dismiss”) and again amended his schedules (ECF No. 22) (“Final Amended Schedules”) on January 9, 2013, the same day he obtained his divorce decree. The Final Amended Schedules include a $2,000 monthly expense for “court ordered school support” in place of the $1,700 “college tuition” payment. They list real property valued at $650,000, as opposed to the $650 listed in the prior versions. Debtor added a $2,550.04 monthly draw from a retirement plan to his personal property under Schedule B. He also added his ex-wife as a co-debtor on the federal and state tax liabilities and increased the tax-related expenses in his monthly budget from $600.00 to $913.00, among other changes.

The Court held a hearing on the Motion to Dismiss for Abuse on February 27, 2013, and took the matter under advisement. At the Court’s invitation, the UST filed her Brief in Support of Motion of the United States Trustee to Dismiss Case Pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 707(b) (ECF No. 27) (“UST’s Brief’) on March 13, 2013. Debtor filed his Response to the United States Trustee’s Brief (ECF No. 28) (“Response to UST’s Brief’) on March 19, 2013.

Legal Standard

The United States Trustee seeks dismissal for abuse under 11 U.S.C. § 707(b)(3)(B).1 Dismissal for abuse is warranted when “the totality of the circumstances ... of the debtor’s financial situation demonstrates abuse.” 11 U.S.C. § 707(b)(3)(B).2 As the moving party, the UST carries the burden of demonstrating abuse by a preponderance of the evidence. Dumas, 419 B.R. at 707-08.

Courts have identified a number of factors that are relevant to this fact intensive, case specific determination. The factors include, but are not limited to, the following:

1) Whether the Debtors could pay a substantial portion of their debts from future income in a hypothetical Chapter 13 case;
2) Whether the bankruptcy petition was filed due to sudden illness, calamity, disability or unemployment;
3) Whether the Debtors incurred cash advances and made consumer purchases far in excess of their ability to repay;

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
495 B.R. 735, 2013 WL 2178097, 2013 Bankr. LEXIS 2052, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-schumacher-txwb-2013.