Smith v. United States Department of Education (In re Smith)

499 B.R. 55, 2013 WL 5488714, 2013 Bankr. LEXIS 4103
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, D. Massachusetts
DecidedOctober 1, 2013
DocketBankruptcy No. 12-13831-FJB; Adversary No. 12-1220
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 499 B.R. 55 (Smith v. United States Department of Education (In re Smith)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, D. Massachusetts primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Smith v. United States Department of Education (In re Smith), 499 B.R. 55, 2013 WL 5488714, 2013 Bankr. LEXIS 4103 (Mass. 2013).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OF DECISION

FRANK J. BAILEY, Bankruptcy Judge.

This matter was held for trial on the complaint of chapter 7 debtor Bertha Smith (the “Debtor”) for a declaration under 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(8) that her debts to the United States Department of Education (the “DOE”), which debts arise from an individual student loan and a Parent PLUS loan, both held by the DOE, are dischargeable because it would be an undue hardship for her to repay them. The DOE opposes the complaint. For the reasons set forth below, judgment shall enter for the DOE on one loan and for the Debtor on the other loan.

PROCEDURAL HISTORY

The Debtor filed a petition for relief under chapter 7 of the Bankruptcy Code on May 2, 2012. The Debtor filed the complaint commencing this adversary proceeding on August 31, 2012. The matter was tried on July 17, 2013. In a joint pretrial statement, the parties submitted a list of facts to which they have stipulated. At trial, the Debtor presented herself as the sole witness. The DOE cross-examined the Debtor and did not present any witnesses. The parties jointly offered twenty-four joint exhibits that were admitted into evidence.

FACTUAL BACKGROUND

a. The Debtor’s Education and Work Experience

The Debtor, forty-six years old at trial, is single and resides in a rented apartment in Canton, Massachusetts with her sixteen year-old daughter. The Debtor also has a twenty-six year-old son, who lives with his wife and child separately from the Debtor.

The Debtor graduated from Madison Park High School in Roxbury, Massachu[58]*58setts in 1986. After graduating from high school, she was unemployed for a time and was, for a time, a welfare recipient. Eventually, she completed a computer training course at the Computer Processing Institute formerly located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, for which she incurred a federal educational loan of approximately $5,000.00. The Debtor also periodically completed coursework at Quincy Junior College, totaling approximately one year of coursework.

Her work history was, for many years, unstable and characterized by periods of unemployment. When unemployed the Debtor generally received unemployment benefits in order to keep her family afloat. At various times, she has worked at Bank of America, Carney Hospital, Faulkner Hospital, and Partners Health Care System, Inc. She is currently employed full-time as a claims reviewer at Partners Health Care in Charlestown, where she has worked for over six years. Her current position is the highest paying position she has ever held. She offered no evidence of having any medical conditions that prevent her from earning a living. Nor did she offer evidence that her daughter suffers from any chronic illness or disability. The Debtor currently receives support from her daughter’s father.

b. The Debtor’s Student Loans

Two student loan debts are the subject of this adversary proceeding. As described above, the first (the “First Student Loan”) originated when the Debtor borrowed funds to pay for a course at the Computer Processing Institute soon after graduating from high school. The original loan amount was approximately $5,000.00. The Debtor has never made payments on this loan. The parties have stipulated that the balance owing to the DOE on the First Student Loan is, with accrued interest, $7,423.25. The current rate of interest on this loan is 7.75%; the current monthly payment on the loan is $93.51. The Debt- or testified that, at least once in the past, the DOE garnished her wages on account of the First Student Loan “for maybe two paychecks.” No evidence was offered as to any current or ongoing attempts by the DOE to collect on the loan by wage garnishment.

This loan is eligible for the DOE’s Income Contingent Repayment Program (ICRP). The ICRP is part of the William D. Ford Federal Direct Repayment Loan Program (the “Ford Program”), which includes the ICRP and the Income-Based Repayment Plan (collectively, the “Federal Repayment Programs”). Under the ICRP, an eligible debtor’s annual loan payment is based on the difference between the debtor’s adjusted gross income and the federal poverty guidelines for the debtor’s family size. It was unclear from the evidence whether the Debtor had been offered the ICRP option or that she was familiar with the details of that option.

In 2006, the Debtor took out a second student loan, a Federal Direct Parent PLUS Loan (the “Second Student Loan”) in the amount of $22,000.00 for the benefit of her son, to enable him to attend More-house College in Georgia. The Debtor is the sole obligor on this loan. The parties have stipulated that the balance of the Second Student Loan owing to the DOE is $31,481.04. The current rate of interest on this loan is 7.90%. The current monthly payment on this loan is approximately $396.30. Because this loan is a Parent PLUS loan, it is not eligible for the ICRP, the Federal Repayment Programs, or any other income dependent repayment option.

The DOE contends that the Second Student Loan is eligible for either the DOE’s Extended Repayment Plan or the Graduated Repayment Plan. For this point, the [59]*59DOE cites to the following excerpt from an Addendum to the Direct Plus Loan Application and Master Promissory Note that the Debtor completed in September 2006:

4. Borrower’s Rights and Responsibilities Statement, Item 15: Repaying your loan. Effective for Direct PLUS Loans that enter repayment on or after July 1, 2006, the following changes apply to the Graduated Repayment Plan and Extended Repayment Plan:
Graduated Repayment Plan. If you choose this plan, your payments will usually be lower at first, and will then increase over time. No single payment will be more than 3 times greater than any other payment. Under this plan, you must repay your loan in full within 10 years (not including periods of deferment and forbearance) from the date the loan entered repayment. If your loan has a variable interest rate, we may need to adjust the number or amount of your payments to reflect changes in the interest rate.
Extended Repayment Plan. You may choose this plan only if (1) you had no outstanding balance on a Direct Loan Program as of October 7, 1998 or on the date you obtained a Direct Loan Program on or after October 7,1998, and (2) you have an outstanding balance on Direct Loan Program loans that exceeds $30,000. If you are eligible for and choose this plan, you will make monthly payments based on fixed annual or graduated repayment amounts and will repay your loan in full over a period not to exceed 25 years (not including periods of deferment and forbearance) from the date your loan entered repayment. The maximum period of time you have to repay your loans will vary depending on the amount of your outstanding loan debt. Your payments must be at least $50 per month and will be more, if necessary, to repay the loan within the required time period. If your loan has a variable interest rate, we may need to adjust the number or amount of your payments to reflect changes in the interest rate.

No additional evidence or explanation regarding these repayment programs, the Debtor’s eligibility for either of these programs, or the Debtor’s potential monthly payments under either program was offered at trial.

c. The Debtor’s Children

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Bluebook (online)
499 B.R. 55, 2013 WL 5488714, 2013 Bankr. LEXIS 4103, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/smith-v-united-states-department-of-education-in-re-smith-mab-2013.