In re Scantling
In re Scantling
Opinion of the Court
ORDER AND MEMORANDUM OPINION ON STRIP OFF IN CHAPTER 20 CASES
The Debtor in this chapter 20
Factual and Procedural Background
The Debtor moved to determine the secured status of second and third mortgages on her homestead.
Wells Fargo, however, claims that the Debtor cannot strip its second and third mortgages because she is not eligible to receive a discharge in this case.
At the preliminary hearing on the Debt- or’s motion to determine secured status, the Court decided to bifurcate the final hearing on the Debtor’s motion so that it can first determine as a matter of law whether the Debtor can strip off Wells Fargo’s second and third mortgages. The sole issue before the Court, then, is whether a debtor can strip off a wholly unsecured junior mortgage in a chapter 20 case.
Conclusions of Law
This Court has jurisdiction over this matter under 28 U.S.C. § 1834. This is a core proceeding pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 157(b)(2)(B) and (L).
In analyzing whether a chapter 20 debtor can strip off a wholly unsecured junior mortgage, the Court first looks to Supreme Court and circuit court cases that have addressed either chapter 20 cases or lien stripping since the early-1990’s. Although none of those cases directly address the issue currently before the Court, they do provide certain principles to guide the Court’s analysis. The Court must then consider the applicable Bankruptcy Code provisions in light of those guiding principles. Finally, the Court must also consider the reasoning underlying the opinions by courts ruling that strip offs in chapter 20 cases are not permitted under the Bankruptcy Code. Based on this analysis, the Court concludes that a debtor may strip off a wholly unsecured junior mortgage in a chapter 20 case even though the debtor is not eligible for a discharge.
Supreme Court and Circuit Court Precedent Johnson v. Home State Bank
There are three Supreme Court cases that relate either to strip off or chapter 20 cases. The first case is Johnson v. Home State Bank.
Johnson involved a mortgage on farm property owned by the debtor. When the debtor defaulted under a promissory note secured by the farm property, the bank sued to foreclose in state court. The debt- or then filed for chapter 7, and his personal liability on the promissory note was ultimately discharged. As is typical, the bank obtained stay relief to continue with the state court foreclosure proceeding. The bank eventually obtained an in rem foreclosure judgment against the debtor, but before the foreclosure sale took place, the debtor filed for chapter 13. The debt- or scheduled the bank’s mortgage as a claim and proposed to pay the bank over the five-year term of the plan.
In concluding that such relief was available to the debtor, the Supreme Court held that, “[s]o long as a debtor meets the eligibility requirements for relief under Chapter 13 ... he may submit for the bankruptcy court’s confirmation a plan that ‘modifies] the rights of holders of secured claims ... or ... unsecured claims,’ ... and that ‘provide[s] for the payment of all or any part of any [allowed] claim.’ ”
The Johnson Court also dealt with the serial filing aspects of a chapter 20 case. The bank contended in Johnson that allowing successive filings would “evade the limits that Congress intended to place on these remedies.”
Dewsnup v. Timm
The second case is Dewsnup v. Timm.
The Supreme Court rejected this approach because it was based solely on § 506(d). According to the Court, § 506(d), when read “term-by-term,” refers to any claim that is first “allowed” and second “secured.” Since there was no question that the claim in Dewsnup was allowed under § 502 and was secured by a lien on the underlying collateral, it did not come within the scope of § 506, which only voids liens securing claims that have “not been allowed.”
Viewed in context, it appears that the debtor in Dewsnup was attempting to reorganize her secured debt in a chapter 7 case without the benefit of the reorganization provisions in chapters 11, 12, or 13.
Nobelman v. American Savings Bank
The third ease is Nobelman v. American Savings Bank
The Supreme Court rejected this interpretation because it failed to take into account § 1322(b)(2)’s focus on “rights.”
In re Tanner
But Nobelman only dealt with a claim that was partially undersecured. In No-belman, it was the existence of some collateral for the bank’s claim that made the bank a “holder” of a “secured claim” that brought into play § 1322(b)(2)’s anti-modification provision protecting the “rights” of the holders of even partially secured claims.
[a]n analysis of the state law “rights” afforded a holder of an unsecured “lien,” if such a situation exists, indicates these rights are empty rights from a practical, if not a legal, standpoint. A forced sale of the property would not result in any financial return to the lienholder, even if a forced sale could be accomplished where the lien attaches to nothing.20
Summary of Relevant Precedent
So what guidance do these Supreme Court and circuit court cases provide in deciding the issue in this case? Those cases can be distilled down to four principles. First, Johnson instructs us that there is nothing in the Bankruptcy Code that prohibits a chapter 20 case. So long as the debtor meets the eligibility requirements for relief under chapter 13, the debtor may propose a plan that modifies the in rem rights of a holder of a secured claim, even after the debtor’s personal liability on that debt has been extinguished in a prior chapter 7.
Application of the Bankruptcy Code
As the circuit courts and bankruptcy appellate panels permitting lien stripping
Courts holding that a chapter 20 debtor may not strip off a wholly unsecured junior mortgage—such as In re Gerardin
Strip Off Does Not Implicate § 1325
Section 1325(a)(5), by its terms, only applies to “allowed secured claims.” And as Tanner and the other circuit courts have made clear, the holder of a wholly unsecured junior mortgage does not have a “secured claim.”
But that approach reflects a misunderstanding of the effect of a chapter 7 discharge. To be sure, the chapter 7 discharge does extinguish a debtor’s personal liability on a secured claim. But it does not extinguish the underlying debt.
To the extent a debtor does not seek relief in bankruptcy court for violation of the discharge injunction, the debtor may raise the discharge as an affirmative defense to any asserted claim based on the discharged debt.
Nor does the discharge affect the lien.
And that leads to a second critical point: there is a difference between the term of art “secured claim,” on the one hand, and the notion that a creditor has a security interest or lien outside of bankruptcy, on the other hand.
This is the point that the courts in In re Gerardin and In re Quiros-Amy overlook. Those courts suggest that pro-lien stripping courts—such as the court in In re Fisette—are effectively resurrecting the unsecured claim that was discharged in the previous chapter 7 case.
This is exactly what Tanner and the other circuit court cases recognized in holding that debtors may strip off wholly unsecured junior mortgages. Yet, Gerar-din disregards the holding in Tanner as “inapposite” even though Tanner is the sole Eleventh Circuit precedent for allowing a debtor to strip off of a wholly unsecured junior lien on a principal residence. Gerardin disregards Tanner because Tanner “did not consider how § 1325(a) and a prior bankruptcy discharge might impact the treatment of the lien.”
Tanner, of course, did not deal with the issue the Court confronts in this case. And it is also true that the Bankruptcy
But neither of those additions in BAPC-PA did anything to affect the rationale of Tanner. After all, Congress added the new provision in § 1325(a)(5)(B) to secure the right to deferred payments under the chapter 13 plan to the extent of the amount of the allowed secured claim. There is nothing in BAPCPA’s legislative history to suggest — nor has any court ever held — that the new provision in § 1325(a)(5)(B) was intended to abrogate the court’s analysis in Tanner. Nor is there anything in BAPCPA’s legislative history that suggests Congress added § 1328(f) to limit a debtor’s right to strip off a wholly unsecured junior mortgage, as enunciated in Tanner and the other circuit court decisions. Given that, it is hard to see how Tanner is not pertinent.
To the contrary, Tanner is pertinent because it follows the same analysis employed by the Supreme Court in Nobel-man — albeit with respect to a wholly unsecured junior mortgage. For these reasons, the Court disagrees that Tanner is not pertinent here and that § 1325 is the operative provision.
Eligibility for a Discharge is not a Requirement for Relief Under Chapter 13
Section 1328(f)(1) merely precludes a chapter 13 debtor from receiving a discharge if the debtor received a discharge in a chapter 7 case filed within four years of the chapter 13 case. But that section in no way limits any other rights available to the debtor under the Bankruptcy Code, such as the right to strip off unsecured junior liens under § 506(a) and § 1322.
To start with, Bankruptcy Code § 109— entitled “Who may be a debtor” — contains express limitations on eligibility for chapter 13 relief.
A central purpose of chapter 13 is to save homes.
Good Faith Is Still a Requirement for Confirmation
But debtors do not enjoy an absolute right to strip off unsecured liens in a no-discharge chapter 13 case. Courts allowing chapter 20 strip offs have consistently noted that the bankruptcy court must still determine whether the chapter 13 plan was filed in good faith.
Effectiveness of Strip off Requires Plan Completion
Importantly, courts that allow strip offs in chapter 20 cases typically still require that all plan payments be completed in the case as a condition to the strip off.
Conclusion
It is well established that a chapter 20 case is permitted under the Bankruptcy Code. Equally clear is that a debtor in a chapter 13 case may strip off a wholly unsecured mortgage on the debtor’s principal residence. This strip off is accomplished, first, through a determination under § 506(a) that the creditor does not hold a secured claim and, second, by modifying the creditor’s “rights” under § 1322(b)(2), by avoiding the hen that the creditor would otherwise be entitled to under nonbankruptcy law. As such § 1325(a)(5) does not come into play, and the debtor’s ineligibility for a discharge is irrelevant to a strip off in a chapter 20 case.
Accordingly, for these reasons, it is
ORDERED:
1. The objections to the Debtor’s motion to determine secured status and to confirmation of the Debtor’s chapter 13 plan are overruled to the extent they are based on the Debtor’s ineligibility for a discharge in this chapter 13 case.
2. The Court will consider any remaining issues with respect to the motion to determine secured status and confirmation of the chapter 13 plan at the confirmation hearing currently scheduled for April 2, 2012.
DONE and ORDERED.
. A "Chapter 20” is a chapter 13 case filed on the heels of a chapter 7 case in which the debtor obtained a discharge of all of the debt- or’s debts.
. Doc. No. 43.
. Doc. No. 45 at ¶ 2.
.The order following the preliminary hearing further provided that, if necessary, the Court would conduct an evidentiary hearing on any remaining factual issues, including the value of the subject property, resulting from the Court’s ruling in this Memorandum Opinion. Doc. No. 58 at ¶ 3.
. Even within this District, the bankruptcy courts are divided on the issue. For example, Judge Arthur B. Briskman, in In re Judd, 2011 WL 6010025 (Bankr.M.D.Fla. Dec. 1, 2011), held that a lien strip in a chapter 20 is not permitted. Id. at *4 (citing In re Gerardin, 447 B.R. 342 (Bankr.S.D.Fla. 2011) and In re Quiros-Amy, 456 B.R. 140 (Bankr.S.D.Fla. 2011)). Judge Catherine Peek McEwen has expressed the contrary view in tentative rulings made on December 14, 2011 and February 8, 2012, in the case of In re William & Susan Claburn, Case No. 8:11—bk—11381— CPM, citing Fisette v. Keller (In re Fisette), 455 B.R. 177 (8th Cir.BAP2011) in support of the proposition that a lien strip is permitted in a chapter 20-a view adopted in this Opinion.
. 501 U.S. 78, 111 S.Ct. 2150, 115 L.Ed.2d 66 (1991).
. Id. at 82, 111 S.Ct. 2150 (citing 11 U.S.C. § 1322(b)(2) & (6)) (internal citations omitted) (alteration in original).
. Id. at 87, 111 S.Ct. 2150.
. Id.
. Id.
. Dewsnup v. Timm, 502 U.S. 410, 411-12, 112 S.Ct. 773, 116 L.Ed.2d 903 (1992).
. Id. at 415, 112 S.Ct. 773 (emphasis in original).
.11 U.S.C. §§ 1322, 1325, 1222, 1225, 1123 & 1129; see also Dewsnup, 502 U.S. at 418-19, 112 S.Ct. 773 (“Apart from reorganization proceedings, no provision of the pre-code statute permitted involuntary reduction of the amount of a creditor's lien for any reason other than payment on the debt.”) (internal citations omitted).
. Nobelman v. Am. Sav. Bank, 508 U.S. 324, 113 S.Ct. 2106, 124 L.Ed.2d 228 (1993).
. Id. at 328, 113 S.Ct. 2106.
. Id. at 330, 113 S.Ct. 2106 (citing Dewsnup, 502 U.S. at 417, 112 S.Ct. 773).
. Id. at 331-32, 113 S.Ct. 2106.
. Id. at 329, 113 S.Ct. 2106.
.See, e.g., Zimmer v. PSB Lending Corp. (In re Zimmer), 313 F.3d 1220, 1222-23 (9th Cir. 2002); Lane v. W. Interstate Bancorp (In re Lane), 280 F.3d 663, 669 (6th Cir. 2002); Pond v. Farm Specialist Realty (In re Pond), 252 F.3d 122, 127 (2d Cir. 2001); Tanner v. First-Plus Fin., Inc. (In re Tanner), 217 F.3d 1357, 1359-60 (11th Cir. 2000); Bartee v. Tara Colony Homeowners Ass’n (In re Bartee), 212 F.3d 277, 288-91 (5th Cir. 2000); McDonald v. Master Fin. Inc. (In re McDonald), 205 F.3d 606, 609-612 (3d Cir. 2000); Griffey v. U.S.
. In re Tanner, 217 F.3d at 1360 (citing Lam v. Investors Thrift (In re Lam), 211 B.R. 36, 40 (9th Cir.BAP1997), appeal dismissed, 192 F.3d 1309 (9th Cir. 1999)).
. Johnson v. Home State Bank, 501 U.S. 78, 87, 111 S.Ct. 2150, 115 L.Ed.2d 66 (1991).
. Dewsnup v. Timm, 502 U.S. 410, 418-19, 112 S.Ct. 773, 116 L.Ed.2d 903 (1992).
. Nobelman v. Am. Sav. Bank, 508 U.S. 324, 329-30, 113 S.Ct. 2106, 124 L.Ed.2d 228 (1993).
. See, e.g., In re Zimmer, 313 F.3d at 1222-23; In re Lane, 280 F.3d at 669; In re Pond, 252 F.3d at 127; In re Tanner, 217 F.3d at 1359-60; InreBartee, 212 F.3d at 288-91; In re McDonald, 205 F.3d at 609-612; In re Griffey, 335 B.R. at 167-70; In re Mann, 249 B.R. at 840; In re Fisette, 455 B.R. at 181-83.
. In re Gerardin, 447 B.R. 342, 349 (Bankr.S.D.Fla. 2011).
. In re Quiros-Amy, 456 B.R. 140, 146-47 (Bankr.S.D.Fla. 2011).
. In re Gerardin, 447 B.R. at 349; In re Quiros-Amy, 456 B.R. at 146-47.
. See, e.g., In re Zimmer, 313 F.3d at 1222-23; In re Lane, 280 F.3d at 669; In re Pond, 252 F.3d at 127; In re Tanner, 217 F.3d at 1359-60; In re Bartee, 212 F.3d at 288-91; In re McDonald, 205 F.3d at 609-612; In re Griffey, 335 B.R. at 167-70; In re Mann, 249 B.R. at 840; In re Fisette, 455 B.R. at 181-83.
. In re Quiros-Amy, 456 B.R. at 146-47.
. Id.
. In re Green, 310 B.R. 772 (Bankr.M.D.Fla. 2004); see also In re RJ. Reynolds-Patrick Cnty. Mem’l Hosp., Inc., 305 B.R. 243, 248 (Bankr.W.D.Va. 2003) (explaining that “[w]hile a discharge enjoins a creditor from attempting to collect the discharged debt as a personal liability of the debtor, it does not extinguish the debt”); In re Dabrowski, 257 B.R. 394, 413 (Bankr.S.D.N.Y. 2001) (holding that landlord was entitled to pursue in rem remedies because chapter 7 discharge only limits enforceability but does not extinguish underlying debt).
. 11 U.S.C. § 524(a)(2).
. Espinosa v. United Student Aid Funds, Inc., 553 F.3d 1193, 1205 n. 7 (9th Cir. 2008) (explaining that a “party who knowingly violates the discharge injunction can be held in contempt under section 105(a) of the Bankruptcy Code”) (quoting ZiLOG, Inc. v. Corning (In re ZiLOG, Inc.), 450 F.3d 996, 1007 (9th Cir. 2006)); In re Nicholas, 457 B.R. 202, 224 (Bankr.E.D.N.Y. 2011) (observing that " '[t]here is no serious question that a violation of the discharge provided in § 524(a)(2) is punishable by contempt’ ”) (quoting In re Nassoko, 405 B.R. 515, 520 (Bankr.S.D.N.Y. 2009)).
. See, e.g., Rhodes Life Ins. Co. v. Mendy Props., LC, 2009 WL 1212476, at *3 n. 12 (E.D.La. Apr. 30, 2009) (explaining that a debtor may assert the discharge as an affirmative defense in a pending state court case); In re Hitt, 2008 WL 924528, at *1 (Bankr.E.D.N.C. Apr. 3, 2008) (explaining that after a case has been closed, the debtor can litigate the dischargeability of a debt by “asserting] the bankruptcy discharge as an affirmative defense in order for the court with jurisdiction over the lawsuit to determine discharge-ability"); In re Cheely, 280 B.R. 763, 765 (Bankr.M.D.Ga. 2002) (explaining that if a "creditor pursues a lawsuit on the claim, the debtor can assert the bankruptcy discharge as an affirmative defense”).
. See, e.g., In re Hamilton, 540 F.3d 367, 373 (6th Cir. 2008) (observing that “courts have interpreted 28 U.S.C. § 1334(b) as granting concurrent jurisdiction to state courts to determine the nondischargeability of debts”); Eden v. Robert A. Chapski, Ltd., 405 F.3d 582, 586 (7th Cir. 2005) (explaining that “state courts have concurrent jurisdiction with the bankruptcy courts to determine whether or not a debt is dischargeable in bankruptcy”). On the other hand, bankruptcy courts have exclusive jurisdiction to determine the dis-chargeability of debts specified in paragraphs (2), (4), and (6) of 11 U.S.C. § 523(a). 11 U.S.C. § 523(c).
. See, e.g., In re McGhan, 288 F.3d 1172, 1181 (9th Cir. 2002) (holding that "[sjtate and federal courts have concurrent jurisdiction over actions brought under § 523(a)(3)” to extend the discharge to creditors who were not scheduled but had actual notice of the bankruptcy); In re Christensen, 2011 WL 2185854, at *4 (Bankr.N.D.Ala. Feb. 18, 2011) (holding that “a determination of dis-chargeability under § 523(a)(3) may be made by state courts as well as bankruptcy courts— those courts have concurrent jurisdiction”).
. Swartling v. Swartling (In re Swartling), 337 B.R. 569, 572 (Bankr.E.D.Va. 2005) (holding that state court had concurrent jurisdiction with bankruptcy court to determine whether chapter 7 debtor's obligations to his former wife were in nature of "support” and whether they were excepted from discharge.)
. Fisette v. Keller (In re Fisette), 455 B.R. 177, 184 (8th Cir. BAP 2011).
. See, e.g., Isom v. IRS (In re Isom), 901 F.2d 744, 745 (9th Cir. 1990).
. Long v. Bullard, 117 U.S. 617, 620-21, 6 S.Ct. 917, 29 L.Ed. 1004 (1886).
. Johnson v. Home State Bank, 501 U.S. 78, 84, 111 S.Ct. 2150, 115 L.Ed.2d 66 (1991).
. In re Jennings, 454 B.R. 252, 254 (Bankr.N.D.Ga. 2011) (citing In re Okosisi, 451 B.R. 90, 93 (Bankr.D.Nev. 2011)).
. In re Jennings, 454 B.R. at 254.
. In re Quiros-Amy, 456 B.R. 140, 146-47 (Bankr.S.D.Fla. 2011).
. Nobelman v. Am. Sav. Bank, 508 U.S. 324, 330, 113 S.Ct. 2106, 124 L.Ed.2d 228 (1993).
. Id. at 330, 113 S.Ct. 2106.
. In re Gerardin, 447 B.R. 342, 346 (Bankr.S.D.Fla. 2011).
.The Court, however, does agree with Ger-ardin’s conclusion that § 506(d) is not a "miracle lien remover” and is not "self-executing.” As noted by Gerardin, if § 506 alone authorized a strip off in these circumstances, then it would be applicable in chapter 7. But Dewsnup makes clear that § 506 can only be effective when operating in tandem with another section of the Bankruptcy Code.
. See, e.g., In re Fair, 450 B.R. 853, 856-57 (Bankr.E.D.Wis. 2011).
. In re Jennings, 454 B.R. 252, 258 (Bankr.N.D.Ga. 2011).
. 11 U.S.C. § 109(e).
. In re Whitlock, 308 B.R. 917, 923 (Bankr.M.D.Ga. 2004) (explaining that "[o]ne of the primary reasons why Congress created Chapter 13 of the Bankruptcy Code was to afford debtors an opportunity to save their residences”); In re Smith, 1999 WL 33582223, at *2 (Bankr.C.D.Ill. Oct. 5, 1999) (observing that the “primary purpose of Chapter 13 is to allow debtors to save their homes from foreclosure”).
. 11 U.S.C. § 1322(b)(5).
. In re Bateman, 515 F.3d 272, 283 (4th Cir. 2008).
. 11 U.S.C. § 1325(a)(3).
. In re Fair, 450 B.R. 853, 858 (E.D.Wis. 2011) (citing In re Hill, 440 B.R. 176, 183 (Bankr.S.D.Cal. 2010)).
. See, e.g., In re Okosisi, 451 B.R. 90, 99 (Bankr.D.Nev. 2011); In re Miller, 462 B.R. 421, 433 (Bankr.E.D.N.Y. 2011).
. 11 U.S.C. § 1325(a)(3).
. In re Okosisi, 451 B.R. at 100.
. 11 U.S.C. § 1327(a); see also In re Okosisi, 451 B.R. at 100.
. 11 U.S.C. § 1327(b) & (c).
. In re Okosisi, 451 B.R. at 99.
Reference
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- In re Tahisia L. SCANTLING, Debtor
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