Sensenich v. Molleur (In Re Chase)

328 B.R. 675, 2005 WL 1880784
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, D. Vermont
DecidedAugust 2, 2005
Docket16-11127
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 328 B.R. 675 (Sensenich v. Molleur (In Re Chase)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, D. Vermont primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Sensenich v. Molleur (In Re Chase), 328 B.R. 675, 2005 WL 1880784 (Vt. 2005).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OF DECISION DETERMINING THERE WAS NOT REASONABLY EQUIVALENT VALUE FOR THE STRICT FORECLOSURE TRANSFER

COLLEEN A. BROWN, Bankruptcy Judge.

The Plaintiffs seek to avoid the transfer of a dwelling located in West Danville, Vermont (the “Subject Property”), effected pursuant to the Vermont strict foreclosure process, as a fraudulent conveyance under § 548 1 and 9 V.S.A. § 2289(a). This Court has determined as a matter of law that compliance with the Vermont strict foreclosure process does not create a presumption of “reasonably equivalent value” and that a transfer effectuated under the strict foreclosure process may be avoided if a court determines the consideration for the transfer in question was for less than reasonably equivalent value. Sensenich, et al. v. Molleu (In re Chase), 2005 WL 189711, *6 (Bankr.Vt., January 27, 2005) (doc. # 35). Based upon the evidence presented during a trial on this matter, the Court has found that the Subject Property had a value of $151,200, and that the outstanding debt was $110,927.64 [as of October 26, 2001 (the “Transfer Date”) ]. In re Chase, 2005 WL 280436, *2 (Bankr.Vt., February 3, 2005) (doc. # 42). Currently pending before this Court are the Parties’ submissions as to whether the consideration for the transfer of the Subject Property was reasonably equivalent value. The Trustee has moved under the state statute for a monetary judgment in the amount of the difference between the outstanding debt and the fair market value of the Subject Property as of the Transfer Date. See 9 V.S.A. § 2292.

JURISDICTION

The Court has jurisdiction over this proceeding pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 157(b)(2)(H) and 1334.

DISCUSSION

A. Historical Interpretation and importance of “Reasonably Equivalent Value”

Section 548 sets forth the powers of a trustee in bankruptcy to avoid fraudulent transfers. 2 It permits the trustee to set aside transfers that are tainted with actual fraud and certain other transfers, commonly referred to as constructively fraudulent transfers. BFP v. Resolution Trust Corp., 511 U.S. 531, 535, 114 S.Ct. 1757, 128 L.Ed.2d 556 (1994), reh’g denied, 512 U.S. 1247, 114 S.Ct. 2771, 129 L.Ed.2d 884. Section 548 permits avoidance if the trustee can establish (1) that the debtor *679 had an interest in property; (2) that a transfer of that interest occurred within one year of the filing of the bankruptcy petition; (3) that the debtor was insolvent at the time of the transfer or became insolvent as a result of the transfer; and (4) that the debtor received “less than a reasonably equivalent value” in exchange for such transfer. Id.; 11 U.S.C. § 548(a)(1)(B). Under § 544, the trustee may also rely on state fraudulent conveyance statutes. The elements of the Vermont fraudulent conveyance statute, 9 VSA §§ 2288 and 2289, are identical to § 548; the state provision allows the Trustee to obtain a monetary judgment for the difference between the debt and the value of the property as an alternative to the order avoiding the transfer authorized by the federal statute. Compare 9 V.S.A. § 2292 to 11 U.S.C. § 548.

The Bankruptcy Code does not define “reasonably equivalent value” and prior to the Supreme Court’s decision in BFP, courts applied various approaches in determining whether a debtor received reasonably equivalent value in transfers made through a state’s foreclosure sale process. Although this Court has found the Supreme Court’s holding in BFP to be inapplicable to Vermont’s strict foreclosure process, the Court finds the various principles discussed therein to be instructive in its determination of how to measure whether a debtor received reasonably equivalent value in a system that does not afford the procedural protections of a sale process.

In Durrett v. Washington Nat. Ins. Co., 621 F.2d 201 (1980), the Fifth Circuit, in its interpretation of a similar provision under the Bankruptcy Act, held that the debtor in possession could avoid a foreclosure sale that yielded 57 percent of the property’s fair market value and stated in dicta that it had been unable to locate a decision of any court that found a transfer for less than 70 percent of the fair market value of the property to constitute reasonably equivalent value. Id. at 203. The Durrett opinion has been construed by many to establish a fixed minimum percentage mark (the “Durrett rule”) which was applied in other cases under the Bankruptcy Code. In re Littleton, 888 F.2d 90, 92, n. 5 (11th Cir.1989) (noting courts have applied court’s reasoning in Durrett to § 548 cases); Abramson v. Lakewood Bank and Trust Co., 647 F.2d 547 (5th Cir.1981), cert. denied, 454 U.S. 1164, 102 S.Ct. 1038, 71 L.Ed.2d 320 (1982) (relying upon Durrett to determine whether nonjudicial foreclosure sale constituted “transfer” within meaning of Act); B.F.P. v. Imperial Sav. & Loan Ass’n (In re B.F.P.), 974 F.2d 1144, 1148 n. 4 (9th Cir.1992) (“The ‘Durrett rule’ holds that so long as the debtor received at least 70 percent of fair market value, the sale cannot be avoided under Section 548... ”); Gillman v. Preston Family Inv. Co. (In re Richardson), 23 B.R. 434-48 (Bankr.D.Utah 1982) (noting that dicta in Durrett has been interpreted to require 70 percent of fair market value to constitute reasonably equivalent value, discussing cases that did not follow Durrett, and concluding reasonable equivalence depends on the facts of each case). The Durrett rule articulates an objective and absolute rule for determining whether reasonably equivalent value was given.

In In re Madrid, the Ninth Circuit rejected the Durrett rule and held that consideration received at a noncollusive, regularly conducted foreclosure sale is, as a matter of law, reasonably equivalent value for purposes of § 548. In re Madrid, 21 B.R. 424 (9th Cir. BAP 1982), aff'd on other grounds, 725 F.2d 1197 (9th Cir.), cert. denied, 469 U.S. 833, 105 S.Ct. 125, 83 L.Ed.2d 66, (1984);

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
328 B.R. 675, 2005 WL 1880784, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/sensenich-v-molleur-in-re-chase-vtb-2005.