In re Spark
In re Spark
Opinion of the Court
MEMORANDUM OPINION ON BALLOON PAYMENTS IN CHAPTER 13 CASES
Chapter 13
Under Bankruptcy Code § 1325, a debt- or that makes periodic payments on account of a secured claim must make those payments in “equal monthly amounts.”
The Debtor owns non-homestead property located at 2690 64th Avenue South, St. Petersburg, Florida (the “Property”).
Conclusions of Law
Under § 1325, a plan may be confirmed over the objection of a secured creditor so long as the debtor proposes to distribute property on account of the secured creditor’s claim in an amount not less than the amount of the allowed claim.
On its face, the plain language of § 1325 appears to bar the Debtor’s proposed balloon payment. After all, a balloon payment is, by definition, not an “equal monthly payment.” And the overwhelming majority of courts that have considered the issue have held that a balloon payment runs afoul of the plain terms of § 1325.
In Davis, the debtor proposed to cure $5,744.16 in mortgage arrearages over fifty-seven months. During the first ten months of his proposed plan, the debtor would not make any payments on account of his arrearages. Then the debtor would pay $122.23 for months 11 through 57. The mortgage holder objected because the payments were not in equal amounts, as required under § 1325(a)(5). The Davis court, relying in part on the Supreme Court’s decision in Rake v. Wade, ultimately concluded that there was no need to construe the phrase “equal monthly payments” because § 1322(e) — which provides that the amount necessary to cure a mortgage default in a chapter 13 plan is determined by state law — technically overrode § 1325(a)(5).
This Court disagrees with the reasoning in Davis for the same reason the court in
Before the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act (“BAPCPA”) was passed in 2005, § 1325 obligated a debtor to distribute property to a secured creditor in an amount not less than the amount of the secured creditor’s allowed claim.
Changes in Section 1325(a)(5)(B) requiring adequate protection and equal monthly payments were intended by Congress to address two perceived abuses. First, because adequate protection payments were not explicitly required under prior law, unscrupulous debtors could propose plans that allowed them to use collateral for months without making payments (i.e., a moratorium on payments), then convert to Chapter 7 or move to modify their plan to surrender the collateral at a significantly depreciated value. Second, by requiring equal monthly payments over the life of a Chapter 13 plan (unless the secured claim is paid earlier), debtors cannot propose plans with a balloon payment at the end. Requiring, first, that adequate protection payments begin as soon as the case is filed and, second, that equal monthly payments provide adequate protection, will prevent creditors secured by personal property from suffering the economic consequences of the moratorium plans and the balloon plans. New Section 1325(a)(5)(B) prevents debtors from proposing plans that provide a moratorium on payments or provide for payments that do not amortize the secured claim by the end of the plan.16
Conclusion
Both the plain language of § 1325 and its legislative history support the conclusion that balloon payments are not permitted in a chapter 13 plan. Because the Debtor proposes a balloon payment here, her plan runs afoul of § 1325. Accordingly, the Court has no choice but to deny confirmation.
. 11U.S.C. § 1325(a)(5)(B)(iii)(I).
. The plan actually proposes to pay Select Portfolio Servicing, which is the servicer for the loan.
. Doc. No. 1, Schedule A.
. Claim No. 8-1. The claim included $83,197.67 in arrearages. Id.
. Doc. No. 44.
. Doc. No. 49.
. 11U.S.C. § 1325(a)(5)(B)(ii).
. 11 U.S.C. § 1325(a)(5)(B)(iii)(I) (emphasis added).
. See, e.g., In re Hamilton, 401 B.R. 539, 543 (1st Cir. BAP 2009) (explaining that "[o]ver-whelmingly, courts have held that by its very terms, a balloon payment is not equal to the payment that preceded it, and thus violates § 1325(a)(5)(B)(iii)(I) with respect to periodic payments on a secured claim under a chapter 13 plan”); In re Acosta, 2009 WL 2849096, at *1 (Bankr.N.D.Cal. 2009); In re Hill, 397 B.R. 259, 263 (Bankr.M.D.N.C. 2007).
. 343 B.R. 326 (Bankr.M.D.Fla. 2006).
. Id. at 327-28 (analyzing Rake v. Wade, 508 U.S. 464, 113 S.Ct. 2187, 124 L.Ed.2d 424 (1993)).
. Hamilton, 401 B.R. at 545.
. Id. at 546.
. This, of course, assumes the secured creditor did not consent to the plan or that the debtor did not otherwise surrender the secured creditor’s collateral.
. In re Hill, 397 B.R. 259, 270 (Bankr.M.D.N.C. 2007).
Reference
- Full Case Name
- IN RE: Varrie L. SPARK, Debtor
- Cited By
- 7 cases
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- Published