In re O'Connor
In re O'Connor
Opinion of the Court
ORDER
This matter is before the Court on the motion of Washington Mutual Finance, L.L.C. to require debtor to comply with § 521(2) of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. The Court has jurisdiction to hear this matter pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 157 and 1334 and the Order of Reference of the District Court. This is a core proceeding pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 157(b) and the Court has the authority to enter a final order. For the reasons indicated below, this Court finds that the debt to Washington Mutual Finance, L.L.C. is unsecured and § 521(2) of the Bankruptcy Code does not apply.
FACTS
Robert E. O’Connor filed for chapter 13 bankruptcy relief on August 6, 2001. Pri- or to filing, Mr. O’Connor took out a loan with Washington Mutual Finance, L.L.C. to purchase an engagement ring. Mr. O’Connor gave the ring to his fiancé. Since that time the ring has been in the possession of his fiancé who has since married Mr. O’Connor. Mr. O’Connor was not married when he filed bankruptcy. Mr. O’Connor did not list the ring as part of his personal property in his schedules, but listed the debt to Washington Mutual Finance.
LAW
The threshold issue is whether the engagement ring should be considered property of Mr. O’Connor’s bankruptcy estate. Section 541 of the Bankruptcy Code states that “property of the estate” includes “all legal or equitable interests of the debtor in property as of the commencement of the case.” Washington Mutual claims that the ring is property of O’Connor’s estate and that the debt to Washington Mutual is secured by the ring. The issue is whether Mr. O’Connor can lose or give away possessions of collateral and have the debt then become unsecured, at least as it relates to him.
This case is different than the Elliott case, however. The ring was not taken from the debtor involuntarily, but was voluntarily given to debtor’s flaneé who later became debtor’s wife. However, eases have held that even where the collateral was voluntarily transferred the creditor “must pursue its remedies as a secured creditor against the party who is currently in possession of the collateral and not the debtor’s estate.” In re Garrison, 95 B.R. 461 (Bankr.E.D.Ky. 1988); see also In re Pitcock, 208 B.R. 862 (Bankr.N.D.Tex. 1997) (“Once the collateral was completely spent, the Bank could no longer assert a secured claim to the pasture rents.”); In re Byrd, 92 B.R. 238, 239 (Bankr.N.D.Ohio 1988) (“This Court does not find the reasoning in Elliott to be dependent on the Debtor’s voluntariness in surrendering the collateral ... [S]ince the debtor is no longer in possession of the collateral, the creditor simply has an unsecured claim for purposes of payment in a Chapter 13 plan.”) Garrison, 95 B.R. at 462. The creditor would only have a secured claim to the extent of the estate’s interest in the property. The ring was not in the debtor’s possession at the time of filing and remains in the possession of a third party, debtor’s wife. The estate’s interest in the ring is zero. If the transfer were fraudulent or malicious then perhaps the obligation would be nondischargeable under § 523 of the Bankruptcy Code. There has been no such allegation in this motion and an adversary proceeding would be necessary to raise such an issue.
THEREFORE IT IS ORDERED that the motion of Washington Mutual Finance, L.L.C. to require debtor to comply with § 521(2) of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code is DENIED.
. Ala.Code § 7-9-306(2) (1975) is repealed effective January 1, 2002. Alabama has replaced that provision with Ala.Code § 7-9A-315(a) which has similar wording. Regardless of which statute is controlling in this matter, this Court finds that the result would be the same.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- In re Robert E. O'CONNOR, III, Debtor
- Cited By
- 1 case
- Status
- Published