Woodson v. . Bank of Oklahoma, Claremore (In re Coleman)

55 B.R. 263, 1985 Bankr. LEXIS 4904
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, N.D. Oklahoma
DecidedNovember 25, 1985
DocketBankruptcy No. 84-00548; Adv. No. 84-0180
StatusPublished

This text of 55 B.R. 263 (Woodson v. . Bank of Oklahoma, Claremore (In re Coleman)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, N.D. Oklahoma primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Woodson v. . Bank of Oklahoma, Claremore (In re Coleman), 55 B.R. 263, 1985 Bankr. LEXIS 4904 (Okla. 1985).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OF DECISION AND ORDER

MICKEY D. WILSON, Bankruptcy Judge.

This adversary proceeding is brought by Fred W. Woodson, trustee for the debtor estate and plaintiff, who objects to the claim of a perfected security interest in the debtor’s boat, boat motor and boat trailer by Bank of Oklahoma, Claremore,1 defendant. Plaintiff asserts that defendant does not have a valid security interest in debt- or’s boat, boat motor and boat trailer because defendant improperly sought perfection by filing a security agreement and financing statement listing the property as collateral in Rogers County, Oklahoma. Plaintiff claims that the proper method of perfection of a security interest in a boat, boat motor and boat trailer is by filing a lien entry form with the Oklahoma Tax Commission.

Plaintiff and defendant have filed a stipulation of facts which is summarized as follows:

1. The debtor and Willa Kim Coleman signed a promissory note for the sum of $12,569.63 and in exchange granted a security interest in certain collateral to defendant on June 13, 1983.
2. The debtor and Willa Kim Coleman granted a security interest in a 1971 boat, a 1963 75 horsepower boat motor, and a boat trailer to defendant on December 15, 1983, to replace the original collateral in which they had granted a security interest on June 13, 1983.
3. The defendant filed a financing statement with the County Clerk in Rogers County, Oklahoma, listing proper description of the boat, boat motor and boat trailer on December 21, 1983. Defendant did not deliver a lien entry form listing the boat, boat motor or boat trailer to the Oklahoma Tax Commission.
4. Debtor filed his petition in bankruptcy on April 12, 1984.
5. Defendant filed a proof of claim in debtor’s bankruptcy case, claiming a secured interest in and to the boat, boat motor and boat trailer pursuant to the promissory note, two security agreements, an agreement to exchange collateral, and a financing statement.
6. Plaintiff filed an adversary complaint claiming that defendant has no right, title or interest in and to the boat, boat motor or boat trailer and asking that defendant’s claim be allowed only as an unsecured claim for the sum of $7,740.60 on May 18, 1984.
7. Plaintiff and defendant submit the question of the proper method to perfect a security interest in debtor’s boat, boat motor and boat trailer to the Court for decision.

[265]*265DISCUSSION

Boat and Boat Motor.

Plaintiff asserts that the boat and boat motor are a “vehicle” for which certificates of title are issued and that a security interest in this collateral must be perfected according to provisions set forth in the Certificate of Title Act, 47 O.S. § 23.2b(A)(l) (Supp.1984-1985), which states in pertinent part:

... a security interest ... in a vehicle as to which a certificate of title may be properly issued by the Tax Commission shall be perfected only when a lien entry form ... and the existing certificate of title, ... and manufacturer’s certificate of origin ... and the required fee are delivered to the Oklahoma Tax Commission or one of its motor license agents.

Defendant claims that this boat and boat motor are not “vehicles” in which a security interest must be perfected according to the Certificate of Title Act. Rather, defendant asserts that the boat and boat motor are personal property and that a security interest must be perfected pursuant to 12A O.S. § 9-302(3)(b) (Supp.1984-1985) which states in part that with few exceptions, “[a] financing statement must be filed to perfect all security interests ...”. The issue involved is thus the proper method of perfection of a security interest in a boat and boat motor; which necessarily involves the determination of whether or not a boat and boat motor are a “vehicle”.

In Oklahoma, a “vehicle” has been defined in three statutes. Both the Certificate of Title Act, 47 O.S. § 23.1 (Supp. 1984-1985) and the Motor Vehicle License and Registration Act, 47 O.S. § 22.1(36) (Supp.1984-1985), define “vehicle” as:

Every device, in, upon, or by which any person or property is or may be transported or drawn, except devices moved by human or animal power, when not used upon stationary rails or tracks.

In contrast, however, the Vehicle Excise Tax Act, 68 O.S. § 2101(b) (1966 and Supp. 1984-1985), defines “vehicle” as:

... every device in, upon, or by which any person or property is, or may be, transported or drawn, excepting devices moved by human or animal power, when not used upon fixed rails or tracks, or in the air or on water, (emphasis added)

The legislature’s failure to place further limitations on the definition of “vehicle” in the Certificate of Title Act and the Motor Vehicle License and Registration Act while doing so in the Vehicle Excise Tax Act may be significant. Thus, it is necessary to review basic principles of statutory construction. The cardinal rule of statutory construction is to ascertain legislative intent through the plain language of the statute; exceptions should not be read into a statute which were not made by the legislative body. Grand River Dam Authority v. State, 645 P.2d 1011, 1018 (Okla.1982). As stated by the plain language of the Certificate of Title Act and the Motor Vehicle License and Registration Act, a “vehicle” does not expressly exclude a device used on water, nor is it limited to a device used only on land. However, considerations other than the plain language of statutes are sometimes required. In Keck v. Oklahoma Tax Commission, 188 Okl. 257, 108 P.2d 162, 164 (1940), the court stated:

It frequently happens that the true intention of a legislative body is not expressed by the language employed in the statute, when literally construed. In such eases, the intent of such legislative body can only be effectuated by a departure from a literal interpretation of the language employed. Where such intention is plainly discernible from the provisions of the statute when considered as a whole, the real purpose and intent of the legislative body will prevail over the literal import of the words employed.

See also: C & C Tile and Carpet Company, Inc. v. Aday, 697 P.2d 175 (Okla.App.1985). The United States Supreme Court employed the principle of viewing a “vehicle” statute as a whole rather than restricting itself to plain language when it held that an airplane is not a “vehicle” even though the statute in question did not exclude aircraft. In McBoyle v. United [266]*266States, 283 U.S. 25, 26, 51 S.Ct. 340, 341, 75 L.Ed. 816 (1931), the court stated:

The question is the meaning of the word ‘vehicle’ in the phrase “any other self-propelled vehicle not designed for running on rails.” No doubt etymologically it is possible to use the word to signify a conveyance working on land, water or air, and sometimes legislation extends the use in that direction, ... But in everyday speech ‘vehicle’ calls upon the picture of a thing moving on land.
* * M

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Related

McBoyle v. United States
283 U.S. 25 (Supreme Court, 1931)
C & C Tile and Carpet Co., Inc. v. Aday
697 P.2d 175 (Court of Civil Appeals of Oklahoma, 1985)
Grand River Dam Authority v. State
1982 OK 60 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1982)
Stainer v. Bank of Tulsa (In Re Haning)
35 B.R. 242 (N.D. Oklahoma, 1983)
Cohen v. Spinelli (In Re Simonelli)
33 B.R. 777 (M.D. Florida, 1983)
Keck v. Oklahoma Tax Commission
1940 OK 352 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1940)
In re Moslander
23 B.R. 407 (C.D. Illinois, 1982)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
55 B.R. 263, 1985 Bankr. LEXIS 4904, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/woodson-v-bank-of-oklahoma-claremore-in-re-coleman-oknb-1985.