Mackall v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A.

2014 COA 120, 356 P.3d 946, 2014 Colo. App. LEXIS 1512, 2014 WL 4459624
CourtColorado Court of Appeals
DecidedSeptember 11, 2014
DocketCourt of Appeals No. 13CA1427
StatusPublished
Cited by21 cases

This text of 2014 COA 120 (Mackall v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Colorado Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Mackall v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., 2014 COA 120, 356 P.3d 946, 2014 Colo. App. LEXIS 1512, 2014 WL 4459624 (Colo. Ct. App. 2014).

Opinion

Opinion by

JUDGE ASHBY

{1 Plaintiffs, Deborah Mackall and Herbert Hutchins, appeal the district court's judgment dismissing their complaint pursuant to C.R.C.P. 12(b)(5). As an issue of first impression in Colorado, we first address whether a debtor who fails to disclose a state court claim to the bankruptcy court lacks standing to assert that claim after the bank-ruptey case is dismissed. Because we conclude that a debtor has standing in this situation, we proceed to address two additional [949]*949issues of first impression in Colorado: (1) whether a bankruptcy court's order allowing a creditor's proof of claim survives the dismissal of the bankruptey proceedings prior to discharge from bankruptcy, and if so, (2) whether the order has preclusive effect in state court, We conclude that under the facts presented here, the answer to both of these additional questions is yes. Based on these conclusions, among others, we affirm.

I. Background

1 2 Plaintiffs purchased a home and subsequently refinanced it. In the course of refinancing, they executed a promissory note to a lender, The note was then transferred by a series of assignments to defendant, Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc. (MERS).

T3 In 2009, plaintiffs became unable to make scheduled payments on the loan and worked with defendant, Chase Home Finance LLC (CHF), the loan servicer, to set up a modified payment plan. Although plaintiffs made several payments in accordance with the modified payment plan, CHF nevertheless initiated foreclosure proceedings in 2010 and sought a C.R.C.P. 120 order authorizing sale of the house for default on the loan agreement. The C.R.C.P. 120 court dismissed the action without prejudice. CHF then filed a second C.R.C.P. 120 action that the court also dismissed without prejudice.

T4 In January 2012, MERS assigned the note to defendant, JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. (Chase), which then filed a third C.R.C.P. 120 action. After holding a hearing, the C.R.C.P. 120 court ruled that Chase was the holder of the original, authentic, and enforceable promissory note and that plaintiffs were probably in default. Accordingly, in June 2012, the court issued a written order authorizing Chase to sell the house.

15 Shortly thereafter, plaintiffs filed a Chapter 18 petition for bankruptey in federal bankruptcy court. Chase filed a proof of claim in the bankruptey case based on the promissory note, and plaintiffs objected. After holding a hearing on plaintiffs' objection, the bankruptey court allowed Chase's proof of claim because it determined that Chase was in possession of the original, authentic, and enforceable note, and was the proper party to enforce it. Later, the bankruptcy court dismissed the bankruptcy proceeding prior to confirmation of a plan or discharge because plaintiffs had failed to comply with the court's order requiring them to submit an amended bankruptey plan.

T6 In February 2018, plaintiffs filed the civil complaint at issue here. They asserted numerous claims against Chase, alleging that Chase's note was fraudulent and that Chase was not the proper party to enforce it, They also requested that the district court vacate the order authorizing sale. Chase moved to dismiss pursuant to C.R.C.P. 12b)(5). The district court granted the motion. It ruled that some claims were precluded by both the C.R.C.P. 120 order authorizing sale and the bankruptcy court order allowing Chase's proof of claim, some failed as a matter of law, and some were not properly before the court.

17 Plaintiffs appeal the dismissal of some of their claims.

IL Standing

18 Initially, Chase contends that plaintiffs lack standing to assert any claims against it because all of the claims were actionable when plaintiffs filed for bankruptcy, and plaintiffs failed to disclose the claims to the bankruptey court, Chase did not raise this issue below, but standing is a jurisdictional issue that lparties or the court may raise at any time, including for the first time on appeal. See Anson v. Trujillo, 56 P.3d 114, 117 (Colo.App.2002). Therefore, we address this issue and conclude that plaintiffs have standing to assert their claims against Chase.

1 9 When a debtor files a bankruptey petition, all of the debtor's property, including all legal claims that the debtor could have pursued at the time of filing, becomes part of the bankruptcy estate See 11 U.S.C. § 541 (2012); First Horizon Merch. Servs., Inc. v. Wellspring Capital Mgmt., LLC, 166 P.3d 166, 180 (Colo.App.2007). Even though this happens automatically, the debtor must disclose such legal claims to the bankruptcy court, See 11 U.S.C. § 521(1) (2012); Eastman v. Union Pac. R.R. Co., 493 F.3d 1151, 1159 (10th Cir.2007).

[950]*950Onee constituted, only the bankruptcy estate has standing to assert claims that are part of the estate. See First Horizon Merch. Servs., 166 P.3d at 180. If the bankruptey court dismisses the case before there is a confirmed plan or discharge, that dismissal "revests the property of the estate in the entity in which such property was vested immediately before the commencement of the case." 11 U.S.C. § 349(b)(3) (2012). 'All of the property that was transferred from the debtor to the estate revests in the debtor regardless of whether the debtor disclosed it to the bankruptcy court. See, eg., Crawford v. Franklin Credit Mgmt. Corp., 758 F.3d 473, 485 (2d Cir.2014) (section 849(b)(8) "makes no distinction between those [assets] that were listed in the debtor's schedule of assets and those [assets] that were not; what is revested in the immediately-pre-petition owner or owners is 'the property of the estate"" (quoting § 349(b)(8))). Thus, where a bankruptcy case is dismissed, the Bankruptey Code seems to unequivocally grant a debtor standing to assert any claim that it possessed before it filed for bankruptcy, regardless of whether it disclosed the claim to the bank-ruptey court during the bankruptcy proceedings. *

{11 Despite the plain language of section 349(b)(3), some courts have held that a debt- or's failure to disclose property to the bank-ruptey court may result in that property remaining with the bankruptey estate even after the bankruptcy proceeding is dismissed. In Kunico v. St. Jean Financial, Inc., 233 B.R. 46 (S.D.N.Y.1999), the court held that 11 U.S.C. § 554 (2012) overrides section 349(b)(8) based on the following reasoning. Section 554 provides that the bankruptcy trustee can administer the property of the estate or decide to abandon it to the debtor. See 11 U.8.C0. § 554(a), Any disclosed property that is not administered automatically is abandoned to the debtor. See 11 U.8.C. 554(c). But undisclosed property (1) can neither be administered nor abandoned by the trustee and (2) is not automatically abandoned to the debtor if not administered, Therefore, undisclosed property remains property of the estate even after a dismissal. See U.S.C. § 554(d) ("[P Iroperty of the estate that is not abandoned under this section and that is not administered in the case remains property of the estate."); Kumica, 233 B.R. at 53.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
2014 COA 120, 356 P.3d 946, 2014 Colo. App. LEXIS 1512, 2014 WL 4459624, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mackall-v-jpmorgan-chase-bank-na-coloctapp-2014.