In re Smith

594 B.R. 376
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, W.D. Louisiana
DecidedDecember 3, 2018
DocketCase Number: 18-10836
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 594 B.R. 376 (In re Smith) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, W.D. Louisiana primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In re Smith, 594 B.R. 376 (La. 2018).

Opinion

JOHN S. HODGE, UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY JUDGE

Before the Court is the confirmation of Debtor's Chapter 13 Plan (Doc. No. 28) and the objection thereto (Doc. No. 29) filed by the holder of a secured claim. For the following reasons, confirmation of the Plan is DENIED .

I. Jurisdiction, Core Status and Judicial Power to Enter this Order

This Court has jurisdiction over this matter pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1334 and by virtue of the reference by the district court pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 157(a) and LR 83.4.1. All claims presented to this Court are "core" pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 157 (b)(2)(A), (L) and (O).

The Supreme Court's ruling in Stern v. Marshall, 564 U.S. 462, 131 S.Ct. 2594, 180 L.Ed.2d 475 (2011), sets forth certain limitations on the constitutional authority of bankruptcy courts to enter final orders. BP RE, L.P. v. RML Waxahachie Dodge, L.L.C., 735 F.3d 279, 286 (5th Cir. 2013) (" 'the question is whether the action at issue stems from the bankruptcy itself or would necessarily be resolved in the claims allowance process.' ") (quoting Stern, 131 S.Ct. at 2618 ); Thus, under Stern , in addition to determining whether each claim is core or non-core, this Court must also determine whether the underlying issue "stems from the bankruptcy itself or it would necessarily be resolved in the claims allowance process." BP RE, 735 F.3d at 286. Absent both statutory and constitutional authority, this Court may not enter a final order, and instead must issue proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law to be considered by the district court.

The Supreme Court has made clear that an order denying confirmation of *378a proposed Chapter 13 plan is not a final order. Bullard v. Blue Hills Bank, --- U.S. ----, 135 S.Ct. 1686, 1690, 191 L.Ed.2d 621 (2015) ("The question presented is whether such an order denying confirmation is a 'final' order that the debtor can immediately appeal. We hold that it is not."). Moreover, even if this Order could be construed to constitute a final order, the issues presented in this case stem from the bankruptcy itself as a dispute over the confirmation of a plan can only arise in a bankruptcy case. Therefore, there are no Stern issues in this case.

II. Procedural Background

On May 31, 2018 (the "Petition Date "), James Smith, Jr. ("Debtor ") filed a voluntary petition for relief under Chapter 13 of the Bankruptcy Code (Doc. 1). On June 12, 2018, Debtor filed his Chapter 13 plan (Doc. 9). After objections were raised by the Trustee (Docs. 19, 20), Debtor filed an Amended Plan (Doc. 23). After subsequent objections by both the Trustee (Doc. 27) and JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association ("Creditor ") (Doc. 26), Debtor filed a second Amended Plan (Document No. 28). Creditor once again objected (Doc. 29) to confirmation of the Plan because it provided for an interest rate (6.75%) less than the contractual rate (9.25%) on Debtor's principal residence and the proposed interest rate is less than the presumptive rate contemplated by the Supreme Court's holding in Till v. SCS Credit Corp., 541 U.S. 465, 124 S.Ct. 1951, 158 L.Ed.2d 787 (2004).

Creditor's claim of approximately $11,000 (Claim No. 6) is secured by a first-priority mortgage on Debtor's principal residence valued at approximately $95,000 as evidenced by Debtor's schedules. (Doc. No. 8). Debtor's loan is scheduled to mature on May 1, 2022, and the final payment under Debtor's sixty (60) month Plan is scheduled for May 1, 2023. (Doc. 32). As a result, it is undisputed that: (1) Creditor is the holder of over-secured claim because the value of the collateral far exceeds the amount of the debt; and (2) Debtor's last payment on the original payment schedule is due to Creditor before the due date of the last payment under the Plan.

Creditor objected to the confirmation of the Plan on two grounds. First, Creditor argued it is entitled to its contractual interest rate (9.25%) from the Petition Date through the confirmation date pursuant to the provisions of § 506(b) of the Bankruptcy Code. Second, Creditor argued it is entitled to the Till interest rate as calculated on the confirmation date rather than the Petition Date. Importantly, Creditor did not challenge Debtor's "prime plus" formula used to calculate the Till rate (national prime rate plus 2%). Instead, with respect to the calculation of the Till rate, Creditor's sole objection was that Debtor used the wrong date. In this case, the date used for calculating the Till rate is significant because the prime rate increased after the Petition Date. Because the prime rate as of the Petition Date and the prime rate as of the confirmation date are different, the Court must determine which of these two dates to use-or whether to use some other date to calculate the cramdown interest rate under Till .

III. Analysis

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

Related

James Anthony Narcise
M.D. Florida, 2022
Cella III, LLC
E.D. Louisiana, 2021

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
594 B.R. 376, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-smith-lawb-2018.