Matter of Blackburn

90 B.R. 569
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, M.D. Georgia
DecidedSeptember 24, 1987
Docket19-50173
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 90 B.R. 569 (Matter of Blackburn) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, M.D. Georgia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Matter of Blackburn, 90 B.R. 569 (Ga. 1987).

Opinion

90 B.R. 569 (1987)

In the Matter of Dennis Edward BLACKBURN, Debtor.
J. Coleman TIDWELL, as Trustee, Plaintiff,
v.
CHRYSLER CREDIT CORPORATION, Defendant.

Bankruptcy No. 85-50998, Adv. No. 86-5061.

United States Bankruptcy Court, M.D. Georgia, Macon Division.

September 24, 1987.

*570 Cheryl S. Sikes of Talbot & Ladson, Macon, Ga., for plaintiff.

Hubert C. Lovein, Jr., of Jones, Cork & Miller, Macon, Ga., for defendant.

MEMORANDUM OPINION ON COMPLAINT TO AVOID PREFERENTIAL TRANSFER

ROBERT F. HERSHNER, Jr., Chief Judge.

STATEMENT OF THE CASE

Dennis Edward Blackburn, Debtor, filed a petition for relief under Chapter 7 of the Bankruptcy Code on July 22, 1985. On July 11, 1986, J. Coleman Tidwell, Trustee,[1] filed a complaint against Chrysler Credit Corporation, Defendant, asserting that Defendant had received a preferential transfer which should be avoided.[2] Trustee alleges that Defendant failed to perfect its security interest in Debtor's pickup truck within the twenty-day grace period provided under state law,[3] and that the perfection occurred within ninety days of the filing of the bankruptcy petition.

The Court, having considered the evidence and the briefs of counsel, now publishes its findings of fact and conclusions of law.

FINDINGS OF FACT

The following facts are established by the stipulation of facts filed with the Court on November 4, 1986, the amendment to the stipulation of facts filed with the Court on November 10, 1986, and the briefs of counsel.

On June 17, 1985, Debtor entered into a retail installment contract with Tom Stimus Dodge, Inc. (Dealer) for the purchase of a 1984 Dodge pickup truck. The total purchase price of the truck was $9977. Debtor paid $300 in cash as a downpayment and received a $2500 trade-in allowance on his 1976 Pontiac Ventura. Defendant agreed to finance the remaining portion of the purchase price for Debtor. Defendant financed a total sum of $8739.78 for Debtor. Defendant also agreed to purchase the retail installment contract from Dealer and as a result of the transfer and assignment, Defendant obtained a security interest in the truck.

The retail installment contract is a preprinted form drafted by Defendant, which on its face provides that the seller of the vehicle assigns the contract to Defendant. The terms of the assignment are printed on the reverse side of the contract.

*571 Under the terms of the assignment, Dealer was responsible for filing the application for the certificate of title.[4] Dealer submitted the title application to the proper state authority on July 11, 1985, twenty-four days after the sale of the truck.

Debtor filed a petition for relief under Chapter 7 of the Bankruptcy Code on July 22, 1985. On July 23, 1985, the State Motor Vehicle Department issued the certificate of title. The certificate listed Defendant as a first lienholder.

On July 24, 1985, Dealer took possession of the truck without notifying Defendant. Dealer then sold Debtor the 1976 Pontiac Ventura that had been used as a trade-in in the original transaction between Debtor and Dealer. Following the repossession, Dealer repurchased the contract from Defendant for the unpaid balance of the purchase price. Dealer subsequently sold the truck to a second purchaser for $9000 on August 27, 1985.

CONCLUSIONS OF LAW

Defendant has conceded that the perfection of its security interest constituted a preferential transfer under section 547(b).[5] Defendant contends, however, that the transfer is immune from Trustee's avoidance powers under section 547(c)(1) and (2).[6] Alternatively, Defendant contends that it is an immediate transferee under section 550,[7] and therefore Trustee is not entitled to recover the value of the pickup from Defendant.

Section 547(c)(1) provides:

(c) The trustee may not avoid under this section a transfer —
(1) to the extent that such transfer was
(A) intended by the debtor and the creditor to or for whose benefit such transfer was made to be a contemporaneous exchange for new value given to the debtor; and
(B) in fact a substantially contemporaneous exchange;

11 U.S.C.A. § 547(c)(1) (West 1979 & Supp. 1987). The creditor seeking to prove the nonavoidability of a transfer under section 547(c) bears the burden of proof. 11 U.S.C.A. § 547(g) (West Supp.1987). Defendant asserts that Debtor and Defendant intended the perfection of the security interest to be contemporaneous with the Debtor's taking possession of the truck and that the exchange was in fact substantially contemporaneous. Therefore, Defendant contends that the transfer may not be avoided under subsection (c)(1).

The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals has previously addressed the issue of whether the subsection (c)(1) exception is available to a creditor in Defendant's position. In Gower v. Ford Motor Credit Co. (In re Davis),[8] the Eleventh Circuit held that the protection of section 547(c)(1) is not available to a creditor holding an interest which secures an enabling loan.[9] To protect a security interest on an enabling loan, a creditor must meet the requirements of section 547(c)(3).[10] Decisions of *572 the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals are binding on this Court. Defendant may not utilize the exception to avoidance set forth in section 547(c)(1). Since Defendant did not perfect its security interest within ten days after Debtor received possession of the truck, Defendant is also not protected by subsection (c)(3).

Defendant next contends that the perfection of its security interest occurred in the ordinary course of business of Defendant and Debtor, and thus is within the exception to avoidance provided in subsection (c)(2) of section 547. Subsection (c)(2) provides that a trustee may not avoid a transfer:

(2) to the extent that such transfer was —
(A) in payment of a debt incurred by the debtor in the ordinary course of business or financial affairs of the debtor and the transferee;
(B) made in the ordinary course of business or financial affairs of the debtor and the transferee; and
(C) made according to ordinary business terms;

11 U.S.C.A. § 547(c)(2) (West Supp.1987).

Exceptions from a general statutory scheme are to be construed strictly. United States v. Rutherford, 442 U.S. 544, 99 S.Ct. 2470, 61 L.Ed. 68 (1979); Brennan v. Valley Towing Co., 515 F.2d 100 (9th Cir. 1975); Gennet v. Coastal Wholesale, Inc. (In re Martin County Custom Pools, Inc.), 37 B.R. 52 (Bankr.S.D.Fla.1984). The exception in subsection (c)(2) is designed to protect ordinary trade credit intended to be paid in full within a short period of time. Marathon Oil Co. v. Flatau (In re Craig Oil Co.), 785 F.2d 1563, 1567 (11th Cir. 1986).

In In re Davis, the Eleventh Circuit concluded that Congress drafted section 547(c)(3) in an effort to establish a national uniform perfection period for enabling loans. 734 F.2d at 607.

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

Related

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
90 B.R. 569, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/matter-of-blackburn-gamb-1987.