In Re Westbrook

246 B.R. 412, 43 Collier Bankr. Cas. 2d 1593, 1999 Bankr. LEXIS 1785, 1999 WL 1566631
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, N.D. Alabama
DecidedSeptember 29, 1999
Docket19-40156
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 246 B.R. 412 (In Re Westbrook) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, N.D. Alabama primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In Re Westbrook, 246 B.R. 412, 43 Collier Bankr. Cas. 2d 1593, 1999 Bankr. LEXIS 1785, 1999 WL 1566631 (Ala. 1999).

Opinion

ORDER SUSTAINING DEBTOR’S OBJECTION TO CLAIM AND DISALLOWING THE AMENDED CLAIM OF GENERAL MOTORS ACCEPTANCE CORPORATION FOR POST-PETITION INTEREST

BENJAMIN COHEN, Bankruptcy Judge.

The matter before the Court is an Objection to Claim filed on June 8, 1999 by the debtor, Kimberly Y. Westbrook. A hearing was held on July 13, 1999. The debtor and her attorney, Earl J. Reuther, appeared, along with Charles King, the Assistant Chapter 13 Trustee and Paul Spina, the attorney for the claimant General Motors Acceptance Corporation (GMAC). The matter was submitted on the representations and arguments of counsel and on the record in this case. No evidence was offered.

I. Background

GMAC, a secured creditor of the debtor, filed an initial claim in this case on August 23, 1996. It filed an amended claim on April 19, 1999, some 30 months after confirmation of the debtor’s plan of reorganization. The initial claim did not include interest on the debtor’s debt to GMAC, but the amended claim did. That claim to interest prompted the debtor’s objection to the amended claim.

II. Findings of Facts

The debtor filed the present Chapter 13 case on July 31, 1996. At the time, GMAC held a purchase money security interest in the debtor’s automobile. To pay GMAC and other creditors, the debtor proposed to fund her Chapter 13 plan with payments to the Chapter 13 trustee of $75.00 weekly for a period of 60 months. In regards to GMAC’s interest, the debtor’s plan specifically provided in Paragraph II.B. that:

The holder of each SECURED claim shall retain the lien securing such claim until a discharge is granted and such claim shall be paid in full with interest at the rate of 0.00% per annum in deferred cash payments as follows ...

Debtor’s Total Amount Description of Interest fixed Name of Creditor of debt Debtor’s Value collateral factor payments General Motors Acceptance Corporation 16,000 16,000 1994 Honda 0.00 0.00 Accord

Clearly, the debtor considered her debt to GMAC to be $16,000, the collateral securing GMAC’s interest to be a 1994 Honda Accord, her value in the automobile to be $16,000, the interest amount to be paid as zero, and the amount of fixed payments to GMAC to be zero.

On August 8, 1996, a copy of the debt- or’s plan was mailed to GMAC, along with a notice of the confirmation hearing. 1 On September 11, 1996, prior to the scheduled date of the confirmation hearing, GMAC filed a proof of claim. In paragraph 5 of the proof of claim, GMAC indicated that the amount of its claim, as of the date of the bankruptcy filing, was $18,494.06.

*415 GMAC Proof of Claim, filed August 23, 1996 (Claim No. 3).

In the same paragraph, where a space is provided for a claimant to indicate that more information is provided, there is the explanation:

Check this box if claim includes charges in addition to the principal amount of the claim. Attach itemized statement of all additional charges.

GMAC did not check the box provided and did not attach any statement itemizing charges in addition to the principal amount claimed; however, at the bottom of the proof of claim, in bold letters and quotation marks, GMAC included:

“The finance charges will continue to accrue daily at a rate permitted by contract.”

Along with that information, GMAC attached a copy of the finance agreement signed by the debtor. That agreement provided for interest at the rate of 12.50% per annum on the amount borrowed by the debtor.

GMAC Proof of Claim, filed August 23, 1996 (Claim No. 3). 2

A confirmation hearing was held on September 11, 1996, as specified in the notice to GMAC mailed along with the debtor’s plan. No written objection to confirmation was filed by GMAC or any other entity and no one appeared at the hearing in opposition to confirmation.

On September 12, 1996, the Court entered an order confirming the debtor’s plan. That order required the debtor to pay $86.00 per week to the Chapter 13 trustee for 60 months, required payment by the trustee of administrative expenses from the first monies received by him, and provided for the payment of the GMAC claim. In that regard, the confirmation order specifically provided that after administrative costs were satisfied:

the following fixed payment(s) shall be paid when a secured proof of claim is properly filed: GENERAL MOTORS ACCEPTANCE CORP. ($18,494.00) $320.00 PER MONTH

Order of Confirmation, Order for Payment of Filing Fees in Installments, Payment Order entered September 12, 1996 (Proceeding No. 6).

The payment records of the Standing Chapter 13 Trustee indicate that GMAC was paid all of the $320 fixed monthly payments that came due following entry of the confirmation order. However, on April 19, 1999, GMAC filed an “Amended Proof of Claim” regarding the same debt. In contrast to its initial proof of claim for $18,494.00, GMAC claimed $23,430.68. The reason or basis for the increase is not specified in the information provided on the claim form; however, in the space provided on the form for “CALCULATION OF BALANCE DUE,” there appears:

Principal Amount $23430.68 Interest or Finance Charge Additional Charges

TOTAL $23430.68

GMAC Amended Proof of Claim, filed April 19,1999, (Claim No. 3).

III. Contentions

At the hearing on the objection, GMAC explained: (1) that the amount in the original proof of claim reflected the “pay off’ figure (principal plus accrued but unpaid interest) for the debtor’s loan, (as of the date of the filing of the bankruptcy petition); and (2) that the amended proof of claim reflected the gross balance of the payments remaining under the debtor’s *416 contract (as of the time of bankruptcy). Based on those facts, GMAC contended that although its original claim did not provide for interest, that pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 1325(a)(5), it is entitled to interest for the duration of the debtor’s plan, on the amount of its secured claim. GMAC concluded that the debtor could satisfy this contended requirement of section 1325(a)(5) only by payment of the balance of payments due under the contract, a balance GMAC contends includes both principal and interest.

The debtor contended that because of the lateness of GMAC’s attempt to include this interest, coupled with GMAC’s acceptance of the Court-allowed payments for the first 30 months of the debtor’s confirmed plan, allowing the interest would be inequitable and prejudicial.

IV. Conclusions of Law

This Court has considered the doctrine of res judicata and the concept of waiver to resolve these matters.

A. Res Judicata

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
246 B.R. 412, 43 Collier Bankr. Cas. 2d 1593, 1999 Bankr. LEXIS 1785, 1999 WL 1566631, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-westbrook-alnb-1999.