Riley v. U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development (In re Riley)

472 B.R. 422
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, W.D. Kentucky
DecidedJune 7, 2012
DocketBankruptcy No. 11-31530; Adversary No. 11-03041
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 472 B.R. 422 (Riley v. U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development (In re Riley)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, W.D. Kentucky primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Riley v. U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development (In re Riley), 472 B.R. 422 (Ky. 2012).

Opinion

Memorandum Opinion

THOMAS H. FULTON, Bankruptcy Judge.

These matters came before the Court on the United States of America’s Motion for Summary Judgment on behalf of its agency, United States Department of Agriculture, Rural Housing Service (“USDA RHS”) (Doc. # 25), and the Plaintiffs’ Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc. #26). On February 24, 2012, the parties filed a Joint Stipulation of Facts (Doc. #24). Both parties filed responses to the motions for summary judgment and supplemental exhibits. For the foregoing reasons, the Court finds that the Plaintiffs, the above named chapter 7 debtors, are entitled to summary judgment as a matter of law.

This Court has jurisdiction of the subject matter and the parties pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1334 and 157(a). This is a core proceeding in accordance with 28 U.S.C. § 157(b)(2)(A), (E), and (G). The following [425]*425constitutes the Court’s Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law pursuant to Federal Rule of Bankruptcy Procedure 7052.

Facts

The parties stipulated to the following facts:

Kenneth A. Riley and Sheila E. Riley (the “Rileys” or “Plaintiffs” or “Debtors”) are calendar year taxpayers. Their tax year ends on December 31. On August 29, 1989, the Rileys executed a note to Farmers Home Administration (“FmHA”) in the face amount of $39,500 with interest at 9.0% per annum. A mortgage was executed by the Rileys to FmHA, which was recorded on August 29, 1989, in Marion County, Mortgage Book 117, Page 480. A Subsidy Repayment Agreement was executed by the Rileys on August 29, 1989.

Under 31 U.S.C. § 3720A, the USDA RHS sent a notice to each Riley on October 16, 1998, informing each debtor of its intent to notify the Secretary of the Treasury of the past due status of the debt and giving the debtors 60 days to present evidence that such debt was not past due or not legally enforceable. The notice was mailed to each Riley at 215 Garrett Lane, Lebanon, Kentucky. The USDA RHS referred the foreclosure to United States Department of Justice. The United States Attorney’s Office filed the foreclosure action in Federal District Court, Western District of Kentucky, Action Number 3:08— CV-129-H on February 28, 2008. On May 1, 2008, Judgment and Order of Sale was entered. On July 10, 2009, the District Court ordered the final distribution of the proceeds, with $40,261 sent to the USDA RHS.1

On May 8, 2010, USDA RHS, for the purpose of setoff against the debtor of any federal payments due to the debtor, certified to the Secretary of the Treasury that the debt was past due in the amount of $8,534.84. From time to time USDA RHS has re-certified to the Secretary of the Treasury that this debt was past due for various amounts.

On March 25, 2011, the Rileys filed a Chapter 7 case under the Bankruptcy Code in the Western District of Kentucky, Case No. 11-31530. Plaintiffs listed a tax refund of approximately $1,500 in their Schedule B and claimed the refund as exempt in their Schedule C. Plaintiffs listed Defendant, USDA RHS, as a creditor in the petition. Plaintiffs filed their tax return after the filing of the petition. On May 12, 2011, the Chapter 7 Trustee filed a “Report of No Distribution.” Shortly after the filing of the “Report of No Distribution,” the Debtors received notice that their joint tax refund in the amount of $5,140 had been intercepted, attached or otherwise claimed by the Defendant post-petition. On May 26, 2011, $5,123 was credited to the Rileys’ account based on an offset from Treasury. The amount offset by Treasury was $5,140. Treasury withheld a $17 fee and forwarded to USDA RHS $5,123. The sum of $5,123 is currently held in an “Unapplied Funds” account by the USDA RHS.

On June 24, 2011, an Entry of Appearance and Request for Notice was filed by USDA RHS. The Debtors’ schedules were amended to reflect the greater tax refund amount on June 30, 2011. Discharges in this joint Chapter 7 case were entered on July 12, 2011.

Discussion

Summary judgment is appropriate under Federal Rule of Bankruptcy Procedure [426]*4267056 when the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law. Fed. R. Bankr.P. 7056; Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322-23, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). The parties have filed a joint stipulation of facts and under the applicable law discussed hereinafter, the Rileys are entitled to judgment in their favor as a matter of law.

Approximately two months after the Debtors filed their Chapter 7 petition, the United States Treasury, pursuant to 31 U.S.C. § 3720A, setoff $5,123 from the total debt owed by the Debtors on a defaulted mortgage guaranteed by USDA RHS. The $5,123 represented the Debtors’ federal income tax refund, less a $17 fee taken by the Department of the Treasury. When the Debtors filed their Chapter 7 petition, they had claimed an exemption in an expected $1,500 income tax refund.2 The Debtors filed their 2010 tax return post-petition. Debtors instituted this adversary proceeding on July 8, 2012, four days before the entry of their Chapter 7 discharge, contending they were entitled to turnover under 11 U.S.C. § 522 and § 542(a). In their summary judgment motion, the Debtors also allege that the trustee could have avoided the transfer as a preference under 11 U.S.C. § 547.3 The USDA RHS argues that the overpayment never became a refund so there is no property to which the exemption could attach. It argues that under 11 U.S.C. § 553(a), the Debtors would not have a right to the overpayment until the I.R.S. has completed the statutory setoff under 31 U.S.C. § 3720A.

I. Does § 553 Apply?

Section 553(a) states that

[e]xcept as otherwise provided in this section and in sections 362 and 363 of this title, this title does not affect any right of a creditor to offset a mutual debt owing by such creditor to the debt- or that arose before the commencement of the case under this title against a claim of such creditor against the debtor that arose before the commencement of the case.

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Related

In re Bell
476 B.R. 168 (E.D. Pennsylvania, 2012)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
472 B.R. 422, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/riley-v-us-department-of-agriculture-rural-development-in-re-riley-kywb-2012.