In Re Tomasini

339 B.R. 773, 55 Collier Bankr. Cas. 2d 1750, 2006 Bankr. LEXIS 431, 2006 WL 688003
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, D. Utah
DecidedMarch 8, 2006
Docket05-80115
StatusPublished
Cited by20 cases

This text of 339 B.R. 773 (In Re Tomasini) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, D. Utah primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In Re Tomasini, 339 B.R. 773, 55 Collier Bankr. Cas. 2d 1750, 2006 Bankr. LEXIS 431, 2006 WL 688003 (Utah 2006).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION

The matter before the Court is the Court’s consideration of confirmation of the Debtor’s proposed chapter 13 plan. The precise issue before the Court is whether a Debtor who failed to carry his burden of showing that this case was filed in good faith under 11 U.S.C. § 362(c)(3) can obtain confirmation of a chapter 13 plan by showing good faith under 11 U.S.C. § 1325(a)(7). As this matter presents an issue of first impression in light of the Bankruptcy Abuse Protection and Consumer Protection Act (“BAPCPA”), the Court elects to issue this Memorandum Opinion which will constitute the Court’s findings and conclusions for purposes of Bankruptcy Rule 7052.

Section 362(c)(3) requires a debtor who is a repeat-filer to show that he or she *776 filed the present case in good faith “as to the creditors to be stayed.” Likewise, § 1325(a)(7) requires a debtor seeking confirmation of his or her chapter 13 plan to show that he or she filed the present case in good faith. Are these standards the same? Does a finding under § 362(c)(3) bind the debtor’s confirmation? The Court concludes that the standards are similar but not identical. Thus, a debtor may obtain confirmation of his or her chapter 13 plan even though the Court previously denied a motion to extend the automatic stay under § 362(c)(3).

I.FACTUAL BACKGROUND

On November 17, 2005, Justin Tomasini filed the present chapter 13 bankruptcy case. This was his second bankruptcy filing within one (1) year. The prior case was dismissed on August 31, 2005. After filing the present case, Tomasini filed a Motion to Extend the Automatic Stay (“Motion to Extend”). 1 This Court considered and denied that motion on December 12, 2005. In ruling on Tomasini’s Motion to Extend, the Court applied a totality of the circumstances analysis as more fully outlined in this Court’s decision in In re Galcmis. 2

At the hearing on the Motion to Extend, the Court first determined that under 11 U.S.C. § 362(c)(3)(C)(i)(II)(cc), 3 Tomasini was required to carry his burden under § 362(c)(3)(B) by clear and convincing evidence. In analyzing Tomasini’s Motion to Extend, the Court considered the totality of the circumstances by looking to, among other things, seven factors discussed in Galanis 4 The Court held that Tomasini failed to carry his burden to show that he filed the present ease in good faith as to all creditors by clear and convincing evidence as required by § 362(c)(3)(B). Accordingly, the Court denied Tomasini’s Motion to Extend, and the automatic stay in this case ended on December 17, 2005.

On January 31, 2006, Tomasini’s chapter 13 plan came before the Court for an initial hearing on confirmation. The chapter 13 Trustee objected to confirmation of Tomasini’s plan, arguing that the Court had already determined, in considering the Motion to Extend, that Tomasini did not file this case in good faith. Tomasini argued that the Court’s ruling on a Motion to Extend is wholly unrelated to a determination of good faith for purposes of confirmation.

II. JURISDICTION AND VENUE

Jurisdiction over this matter is proper under 28 U.S.C. § 157(b)(2)(L). Venue is appropriate under 28 U.S.C. § 1409(a).

III. THE STANDARD APPLICABLE TO § 1325(a)(7)

Section 362(c)(3)(B) requires a party advocating a Motion to Extend to show *777 that the debtor filed the present case “in good faith as to the creditors to be stayed.” Similarly, § 1325(a)(7) requires that a court may confirm a chapter 13 plan only if the court finds that “the action of the debtor in filing the petition was in good faith.” In both a Motion to Extend and a Motion to Confirm a Chapter 13 Plan, the burden to show good faith is on the debtor. The Court is faced with the question of whether the Court’s denial of a Motion to Extend constitutes a determination that the debtor is not entitled to confirmation under § 1325. The Court determines that the inquiry underlying a Motion to Extend is different from that of confirmation.

A Under The Clear Language of the Code, a Good Faith Decision on a Motion to Extend is not equivalent to a Discussion at Confirmation:

In the Tenth Circuit, questions of good faith are governed by a totality of the circumstances test. 5 Often, courts look to specific factors in determining good faith under the totality of the circumstances. 6 Recently, in Galanis, this Court discussed seven (7) non-exhaustive factors for determining, for purposes of a Motion to Extend, whether a debtor filed a bankruptcy ease in good faith. 7 As the inquiry under § 1325(a)(7) also requires a determination of good faith at the time of filing, it seems clear that this inquiry is also governed by a totality of the circumstances test. The real question is whether the Court’s analysis under this totality of the circumstances test is the same as that under a Motion to Extend. To answer this question, the Court must apply traditional tools of statutory interpretation.

In interpreting a statute, the Court must first look to the language of the statute, considering the context of that language. 8 “It is generally presumed that Congress acts intentionally and purposefully when it includes particular language in one section of a statute but omits it in another.” 9 Although the language of § 362(c) is similar to § 1325(a)(7), these provisions are not identical. Section 362(c)(3)(B) requires a showing that the debtor filed “in good faith as to the creditors to be stayed.” (emphasis added). Section 1325(a)(7) requires a showing that the debtor filed “in good faith.” Missing from the latter provision is any mention of creditors. General notions of statutory interpretation lead the Court to conclude that Congress intentionally' omitted any reference to creditors from the good faith analysis of § 1325(a)(7). Thus, the clear language of the Code infers that the standards under these two provisions differ.

*778 This conclusion is supported by an analysis of the framework of these two provisions. In looking at the clear language of a statute, a court interpreting a statute should also consider the “language and design of the statute as a whole.” 10

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Bluebook (online)
339 B.R. 773, 55 Collier Bankr. Cas. 2d 1750, 2006 Bankr. LEXIS 431, 2006 WL 688003, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-tomasini-utb-2006.