Universal Bank, N.A. v. Howard (In re Howard)

276 B.R. 113, 2002 Bankr. LEXIS 171
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, S.D. West Virginia
DecidedMarch 5, 2002
DocketBankruptcy No. 00-21604; Adversary No. 00-214
StatusPublished

This text of 276 B.R. 113 (Universal Bank, N.A. v. Howard (In re Howard)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, S.D. West Virginia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Universal Bank, N.A. v. Howard (In re Howard), 276 B.R. 113, 2002 Bankr. LEXIS 171 (W. Va. 2002).

Opinion

ORDER GRANTING JUDGMENT FOR THE DEFENDANTS

RONALD G. PEARSON, Bankruptcy Judge.

On June 19, 2001, a trial was held on the Complaint of Universal Bank, N.A. objecting to the discharge of the debt owed by Sharon Lynn Howard and Ashley Lewis Howard pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(2)(A). For the reasons that follow, the Court finds in favor of the Defendants.

I. FACTS

Ashley Lewis Howard worked as a draftsman until he was laid off on March 3, 2000. Sharon Howard has worked at odd jobs over the past several years, but due to medical problems has chosen to stay home to care for the couple’s three children. A few days before Mr. Howard lost his job, Debtors had purchased a second home in Scott Depot, West Virginia. Debtors intended to move into the second home and lease their former home to pay the mortgages.

In May of 2000, Debtors received a solicitation for a credit card with a pre-approved credit limit of $5000.00 from the Plaintiff, Universal Card, N.A. (“Universal”). To take advantage of the lower rate of 2.9% on balance transfers, Debtors applied for and were issued the credit card. Debtors subsequently transferred $3,060 outstanding on one of their other credit cards to the Universal account. Additionally, during the period of May 26, 2000 to June 21, 2000, Debtors made 29 purchases totaling $1,804.76 and one cash advance in the amount of $93.00. Universal does not contend that these purchases were for luxury items, and Ms. Howard testified that a majority of the purchases were for groceries and miscellaneous items like soap and toilet tissue.1 The Debtors continued to make purchases until they reached their credit limit of $5,000. No payments were made on the account.

Even though Mr. Howard was unemployed at the time the Debtors received the solicitation from Universal, Debtors indicated on the credit application that Mr. Howard had annual income of approximately $30,000.00. Based on Mr. Howard’s work history, Debtors anticipated that Mr. Howard would be employed within a matter of weeks. As a draftsman, Mr. Howard would work on a temporary or contractual basis. Mr. Howard testified, that “quite often as a contractor, a company will let me go to bring somebody in that has a different type of understanding of the structure. Maybe I will be replaced by an architect..It would generally take Mr. Howard, at the most, about two weeks to get another job. According to Mr. Howard, throughout the 12 calendar quarters of the years 1997, 1998 and 1999, [116]*116he had gainful full-time employment as a draftsman.

The Debtors also testified that at the time they received the solicitation and while they were making purchases on the Universal account in May of 2000 that they had hoped to sell their stock to help pay the bills while Mr. Howard was unemployed. The Debtors had invested $5,000 for the purchase of stock in February 2000. At one point in May, Mr. Howard testified, at the time they were making purchases on the Universal Credit Card, the stock was valued at 10,000. The February 28 to March 31, 2000 statement from Salomon Smith Barney provided that the value of the stock had a value of 4,162.90. However, by June 30, a statement from Salomon Smith Barney indicated that the value of the stock had diminished to 1,162.90. By the end of 2001, the stock had nearly no value.

Though Mr. Howard was drawing $1000.00 per month in unemployment benefits, which was approximately half his pri- or take home pay, Debtors were unable to make their minimum monthly debt payments. After contacting a credit counseling service, which declined to provide assistance due to the mortgages involved, Debtors consulted a lawyer in August of 2000. On September 1, 2000, Debtors filed a voluntary petition under Chapter 7 of the Bankruptcy Code. Universal filed this adversary proceeding on November 24, 2000.

II. DISCUSSION

Universal Bank alleges that the debt owed to it is nondischargeable pursuant to 11 U.S.C. §§ 523(a)(2)(A), 523(a)(2)(B). Under subsection (A), a debtor may not discharge debts for money obtained by “false pretenses, false representations, or actual fraud, other than a statement respecting the debtor’s or an insider’s financial condition.” 11 U.S.C. §§ 523(a)(2)(A).

To prevail under section 523(a)(2)(A), a creditor must prove the following traditional fraud elements by a preponderance of the evidence:

1. Debtor made a representation to the creditor.
2. That the Debtor knew the representation was false at the time it was made
3. That the Debtor made the representation with the intention and purpose of deceiving the creditor.
4. That the Creditor justifiably relied on the representation.
5. That Creditor sustained a loss or damage as result of the representation.

Hechts v. Valdes (In re Valdes), 188 B.R. 533 (Bankr.D.Md.1995); In re Eashai, 167 B.R. 181 (9th Cir. BAP 1994).

There are three theories that courts generally follow when applying section 523 to credit card transactions. See First Card Services, Inc. v. Kitzmiller, 206 B.R. 424 (Bankr.N.D.W.V.1997) (citing Chase Manhattan Bank, N.A. v. Ford (In re Ford), 186 B.R. 312 (Bankr.N.D.Ga.1995)). The first is the “implied representation” theory, where a cardholder impliedly represents upon using the credit card that there is both an ability and intent to repay. Id. at 426. Representation by implication is required because at the time of the transaction, there is usually no personal contact between the cardholder and credit card company. Id. The ability-implying prong of the doctrine essentially provides that with each use of the card the cardholder guarantees his ability to pay that debt. In re Ford, 186 B.R. 312, 317 (Bankr.N.D.Ga.1995). Therefore, “the doctrine suggests that a breach of that [117]*117duty ... will present sufficient grounds for denying a debtor his discharge.” Id. The theory provides no room for any hope on the part of a debtor that his financial situation will improve and that he may at a later date have the ability to repay.

The second theory, referred to as the “assumption of the risk” theory, holds that the cardholder, by just using the credit card, does not make any representations to the issuer. Kitzmiller, 206 B.R. at 424. Under this theory, the charges are dis-chargeable unless made after the card is revoked. Id. The issuer, therefore assumes the risk that the cardholder will incur more debts than it is possible to repay. When this theory is applied, all pre-revocation charges are discharged regardless of the debtor’s intent. A creditor is thus left with little or no recourse even when fraud is apparent. Valdes, 188 B.R. at 586-587.

The third theory, “totality of the circumstances,” also requires a fictitious implication of intent not to repay.

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Related

Chase Manhattan Bank, N.A. v. Ford (In Re Ford)
186 B.R. 312 (N.D. Georgia, 1995)
First Card Services, Inc. v. Kitzmiller (In Re Kitzmiller)
206 B.R. 424 (N.D. West Virginia, 1997)
Chemical Bank v. Sigrist (In Re Sigrist)
163 B.R. 940 (W.D. New York, 1994)
Hecht's v. Valdes (In Re Valdes)
188 B.R. 533 (D. Maryland, 1995)

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Bluebook (online)
276 B.R. 113, 2002 Bankr. LEXIS 171, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/universal-bank-na-v-howard-in-re-howard-wvsb-2002.