In re Westby
In re Westby
Opinion of the Court
Memorandum Opinion and Order Overruling the Trustee’s Objection to Exemption
Under new legislation effective April 14, 2011, a Kansas debtor in bankruptcy is entitled to exempt from the bankruptcy estate the right to receive the federal and state earned income tax credit (“EIC”).
Because the Kansas exemption statute is a state, rather than a federal enactment on the subject of bankruptcy, this Court finds no Uniformity Clause violation. In addition, because of the concurrent nature of state/federal authority in bankruptcy, and because the Trustee has shown no express conflict between the exemption statute and the Bankruptcy Code, nor an implied conflict between the given exemption and the language and goals of the Bankruptcy Code, the Court finds no Supremacy Clause violation. The Court also rejects the Trustee’s additional challenges based on the reference within the exemption to “the federal bankruptcy reform act of 1978 (11 U.S.C. § 101 et seq.),” reprioritization of the payment of claims, unauthorized transfer, conflict with portions of the Internal Revenue Code, and the application of the “right to receive tax credits” language from the exemption. The Trustee’s objection to the exemption
Findings of Fact
I. Factual History
On June 22, 2011, Debtors Dustin and Brandy Westby filed a voluntary Chapter
II. Procedural History
The Trustee timely objected to the Westbys’ attempt to exempt the 2011 EIC under Kansas Senate Bill No. 12 (“Senate Bill No. 12”),
III. The Earned Income Credit
The federal EIC, found in the Internal Revenue Code (“IRC”) at 26 U.S.C. § 32, is characterized as a refundable tax credit.
Conclusions of Law
I. An Introduction to Senate Bill No. 12 and Exemptions under the Bankruptcy Code
Under the Bankruptcy Code, when a debtor files a petition for bankruptcy relief, an estate is created.
The Trustee challenges the constitutionality of the newest exemption. Senate Bill No. 12, titled “AN ACT concerning civil procedure; relating to bankruptcy; exempt property; earned income tax credit,” states as follows:
Section 1. An individual debtor under the federal bankruptcy reform act of 1978 (11 U.S.C. § 101 et seq.), may exempt the debtor’s right to receive tax credits allowed pursuant to section 32 of the federal internal revenue code of 1986, as amended, and K.S.A. 2010 Supp. 79-32,205, and amendments thereto. An exemption pursuant to this section shall not exceed the maximum credit allowed to the debtor under section 32 of the federal internal revenue code of 1986, as amended, for one tax year. Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the right of offset, attachment or other process with respect to the earned income tax credit for the payment of child support or spousal maintenance.
Sec. 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its publication*399 in the Kansas register.25
The statute was effective on April 14, 2011, with its publication in the Kansas Register.
The legislative history of Senate Bill No. 12 shows that the exemption was proposed and supported based on concerns regarding the ability of “low income Kansans ... to maintain and improve their lives.”
In a challenge to a claimed exemption, the objecting party — here the Trustee — has the “burden of proving that the exemptions are not properly claimed.”
The Court has jurisdiction to decide contested matters such as the Trustee’s objection to exemption.
II. The Trustee Has Standing to Raise an Objection to Exemption and the Matter is Ripe for Consideration
A. Standing
The Court must assure itself of the Trustee’s standing to object to a debt- or’s claimed exemption.
In its analysis, the Court first notes that Bankruptcy Rule 4003(b)(1) provides that “a party in interest may file an objection to the list of property claimed as exempt.” Although the phrase “party in interest” is not a defined term in the Bankruptcy Code or Rules, it is generally accepted that a Trustee is a party in interest.
The Attorney General argues that the Trustee lacks standing because a trustee’s role is to stand in the shoes of a debtor in bankruptcy, and the Trustee cannot assert the rights of a general debtor in Kansas, not a party to the bankruptcy, who may be injured by the unavailable exemption of EIC.
Bankruptcy serves two purposes. While its primary purpose is to give the debtor in bankruptcy a fresh start, it is
B. Ripeness
The Court must also determine whether there exists a justiciable dispute. Ripeness “may be examined ... sua sponte.”
“In evaluating ripeness the central focus is on whether the case involves uncertain or contingent future events that may not occur as anticipated, or indeed may not occur at all.”
Here, the Westbys filed their 2011 tax returns and received federal and state tax refunds on or about March 5, 2012.
III. Senate Bill No. 12 Does Not Violate the Uniformity Clause
A. The Uniformity Clause Generally
The Uniformity Clause of the United States Constitution grants Congress the power “[t]o establish ... uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States.”
A review of Supreme Court jurisprudence considering the Uniformity Clause is helpful to the Court’s consideration of the Trustee’s challenge, because the cases interpreting the Uniformity Clause use varying terms to extrapolate its meaning. For example, in a very early Supreme Court case considering the Uniformity Clause, Sturges v. Crowninshield,
The facts of Sturges are unique — there was no federal bankruptcy system in place when it was decided. In one of the earliest eases interpreting a modern bankruptcy statute under the Uniformity Clause, Hanover National Bank v. Moyses,
In other words, in this very early bankruptcy case, the Court found “uniformity” in the fact that Congress, through the Bankruptcy Act of 1898, had uniformly granted states the power to determine a debtor’s exemptions, and thus the size of the bankruptcy estate. The Court focused on federal procedural uniformity, rather than uniformity from state to state or person to person.
Therefore, Sturges and Moyses indicate the following views of the Supreme Court: the states and federal government have concurrent jurisdiction in bankruptcy, although only Congress has the power to establish a uniform system of bankruptcy. And once Congress passes one uniform act, if that system has differing effects on citizens of different states based on a particular state’s laws, that result is acceptable. That position was reaffirmed in Stellwagen v. Clum,
Notwithstanding this requirement as to uniformity the bankruptcy acts of Congress may recognize the laws of the State in certain particulars, although such recognition may lead to different results in different States. For example, the Bankruptcy Act recognizes and enforces the laws of the States affecting dower, exemptions, the validity of mortgages, priorities of payment and the like. Such recognition in the application of state laws does not affect the constitutionality of the Bankruptcy Act, although in these particulars the operation of the act is not alike in all the States.65
The Stellwagen Court emphasized the flexibility of the Uniformity Clause, noting again that the substantive effect or operation of bankruptcy legislation need not be uniform across state lines.
Ten years later, in 1929, the Supreme Court again looked to the Uniformity Clause in a challenge to a state enactment on bankruptcies. In International Shoe Co. v. Pinkus,
First, the Court noted Congress’s “unrestricted” and “paramount” power “to establish uniform laws on the subject of bankruptcies.”
In respect of bankruptcies the intention of Congress is plain. The national purpose to establish uniformity necessarily excludes state regulation. It is apparent, without comparison in detail of the provisions of the Bankruptcy Act with those of the Arkansas statute, that intolerable inconsistencies and confusion*404 would result if that insolvency law be given effect while the national act is in force. Congress did not intend to give insolvent debtors seeking discharge, or their creditors seeking to collect claims, choice between the relief provided by the Bankruptcy Act and that specified in state insolvency laws. States may not pass or enforce laws to interfere with or complement the Bankruptcy Act or to provide additional or auxiliary regulations.
The Court concluded that it was “clear” the Arkansas insolvency statute was “within the field entered by Congress when it passed the Bankruptcy Act,” and, therefore, invalidated the Arkansas statute.
The concurrence in Vanston Bondholders Protective Committee v. Green,
But this misconceives the purpose and settled understanding of the bankruptcy clause of the Constitution. The Constitutional requirement of uniformity is a requirement of geographic uniformity. It is wholly satisfied when existing obligations of a debtor are treated alike by the bankruptcy administration throughout the country regardless of the State in which the bankruptcy court sits. To establish uniform laws of bankruptcy does not mean wiping out the differences among the forty-eight States in their laws governing commercial transactions. The Constitution did not intend that transactions that have different legal consequences because they took place in different States shall come out with the same result because they passed through a bankruptcy court. In the absence of bankruptcy such differences are the familiar results of a federal system having forty-eight diverse codes of local law. These differences inherent in our federal scheme the day before a bankruptcy are not wiped out or transmuted the day after.73
According to Justice Frankfurter, the settled law under the Uniformity Clause required only that the federal system of bankruptcy be uniform in its particulars, not that the individual states be required to give up their differences in state law.
In 1974, the Supreme Court again addressed the Uniformity Clause in the regional rail reorganization cases in Blanchette v. Connecticut General Ins. Corps.
In response to a Uniformity Clause challenge to the Rail Act — brought because “the Rail Act’s provisions apply only to railroads in reorganization in the ‘region,’ ” and therefore lacked geographic uniformity
A few years later, the Supreme Court decided Butner v. United States,
In another railroad case, Railway Labor Executives’ Assoc. v. Gibbons,
Importantly, the Supreme Court stated: “Our holding today does not impair Congress’ ability under the Bankruptcy Clause to define classes of debtors and to structure relief accordingly. We have upheld bankruptcy laws that apply to a particular industry in a particular region. The uniformity requirement, however, prohibits Congress from enacting a bankruptcy law that, by definition, applies only to one regional debtor.”
In 1978, Congress passed the Bankruptcy Reform Act,
For example, in Owen v. Owen,
The long line of cases discussed herein provide the following general rules. First, the Uniformity Clause has never been the basis for striking down a state enactment. Second, the Uniformity Clause has rarely been the basis for invalidating a federal enactment, and then only when Congress has passed a bankruptcy law that singles out an individual debtor and its creditors. The Supreme Court has indicated that as long as state statutes are not in conflict with whatever federal bankruptcy law is in place, there is no Uniformity Clause violation.
B. Bankruptcy Only Exemption Statutes Under the Uniformity Clause
Since the implementation of the 1978 Bankruptcy Reform Act’s opt-out provision, a handful of states have adopted bankruptcy specific exemptions — exemptions available to a debtor in bankruptcy but not available to a debtor in that state outside of bankruptcy. As a result, courts have been asked to consider the scope of the Uniformity Clause in the face of challenges to state exemption laws treating debtors in bankruptcy differently than general debtors outside of the bankruptcy system, as is the ease herein.
The results of those challenges have been mixed. In a case from the Bankruptcy Appellate Panel for the Sixth Circuit, In re Schafer,
In other cases, the courts have rejected Uniformity Clause challenges to state bankruptcy specific exemption statutes. The Ninth Circuit BAP concluded, in Sticka v. Applebaum (In re Applebaum),
The BAP rejected the Trustee’s Moyses-based argument that, because of the bankruptcy only exemption, creditors in California bankruptcies may not receive the same assets as creditors of debtors outside of bankruptcy. As the BAP correctly noted, “that is exactly the result in a non-opt-out state when a debtor chooses the federal exemption scheme,”
This argument is meritless. The [bankruptcy court cases cited] confuse the geographical uniformity doctrine with the well-established principle that states may pass laws which do not conflict with the federal scheme. In this case, we have no conflict because 11 U.S.C. § 522 expressly delegates to states the power to create bankruptcy exemptions.116
The Tenth Circuit has thus summarily dismissed, as an issue worthy of substantive consideration, the constitutionality of a Colorado bankruptcy specific exemption.
Soon after the Kulp decision however, the Tenth Circuit did address more substantively, but still rejected, a trustee’s argument that an Oklahoma exemption statute for IRAs “exceeded the scope of authority delegated to the States pursuant to § 522 of the Bankruptcy Code to establish bankruptcy exemptions.”
Relying on this interpretation of the case law, this Court finds no Uniformity Clause violation through Senate Bill No. 12. Simply put, the exemption is a state, not a Congressional, enactment. Even if it were not a state statute outside of the Uniformity Clause’s reach, the exemption applies equally to all Kansas debtors in bankruptcy. The Court will therefore turn to the Trustee’s contention that Senate Bill No. 12 conflicts with the federal bankruptcy scheme.
IV. Senate Bill No. 12 Does Not Violate the Supremacy Clause
The Supremacy Clause of the United States Constitution states: “This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States ... and all Treaties ... shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding.”
As early as 1819, the Supreme Court recognized the concurrent jurisdiction present in bankruptcy, and the considerations applicable to the preemption analysis in bankruptcy. The Supreme Court stated in Sturges v. Crouminshield that “until the power to pass uniform laws on the subject of bankruptcies be exercised by Congress, the States are not forbidden to pass a bankrupt law.”
Implied preemption includes field preemption or conflict preemption.
The Trustee argues that implied field preemption is present here because “Congress has left no room” for state exemptions applicable only in bankruptcy.
First, the Trustee argues that Congress intended, through the Bankruptcy Code, that exemptions be uniform within a state, applicable to all citizens within a state. The Trustee argues that Congress entered the field of bankruptcy to further bankruptcy consistency, and prevent the result of different citizens within a state having different exemptions.
In addition, the Trustee does not answer how either of the purposes of the Bankruptcy Code are adversely affected by a state-provided, bankruptcy only exemption.
Second, the Trustee alleges that Senate Bill No. 12 interferes with the distribution of estate property to creditors. The Trustee cites Kanter v. Moneymaker (In re Kanter), a case from the Ninth Circuit finding a California statute — not an exemption statute, but one prohibiting trustees from acquiring an interest in money recovered for general damages by parties to personal injury actions — invalid under the Supremacy Clause.
The Trustee focuses on the following language from Kanter to support her Supremacy Clause argument:
[The California statute] thus stands as an obstacle to the accomplishment and execution of the full purposes and objectives of Congress, since it would operate to deny to the trustee assets which could ordinarily be reached in satisfying the claims of general creditors. [The statute] revives the race to the courthouse by creditors seeking to avoid the threat of having both their claims discharged and the assets necessary to satisfy them denied to the trustee. As the Court noted ..., any state legislation which frustrates the full effectiveness of federal law is rendered invalid by the Supremacy Clause.152
The Trustee alleges that Senate Bill No. 12 “shields assets, specifically the EICs, that otherwise would be available to the trustee for distribution.”
But an exemption statute by definition shields assets from a trustee. That is the purpose of an exemption, and Congress expressly provided for exemptions in § 522. The differences from the facts of this case and those present in Kanter abound. Foremost, Kanter was decided prior to the Bankruptcy Reform Act of 1978, and prior to the reworked definitions of property in the Bankruptcy Code. In addition, the state statute was found not to be an exemption provision, and therefore Kanter found the state statute to be in conflict with an entirely separate provision of the prior bankruptcy law. Here, there is no language of the current Bankruptcy Code with which Senate Bill No. 12 conflicts.
As the Ninth Circuit BAP stated in Ap-plebaum,
The Trustee argues that under California’s bankruptcy-only exemption scheme, creditors might not receive the same assets that otherwise might be available to them under California’s generally applicable exemption statute, or, than those allowed by federal law. However, that is exactly the result in a non-opt-out state when a debtor chooses the federal exemption scheme. In such instances, it may be that the bankruptcy trustee will not recover the same assets of a debtor for distribution that he or she would under state law.155
When a state has not opted out of the federal exemption scheme, the debtor in that state chooses between the use of the federal exemptions or the applicable non-bankruptcy exemptions.
For example, in Kansas, a general debt- or can protect a portion of their wages from garnishment.
This Court acknowledges a split of authority with respect to the validity of bankruptcy only exemptions in the face of Supremacy Clause challenges.
Section 522(b)(1) affords the states the authority to restrict their respective residents to exemptions promulgated by the state legislatures, if they so choose. This statutory provision is an express delegation to the states of the power to create state exemptions in lieu of the federal bankruptcy exemption scheme. Congress has not seen fit to restrict the authority delegated to the states by requiring that state exemptions apply equally to bankruptcy and non-bankruptcy cases, and we are without authority to impose such a requirement.164
The Court agrees with this analysis. There is simply no conflict, express or implied, between Senate Bill No. 12 and the Bankruptcy Code.
V. Additional Arguments Raised by the Trustee’s Objection
A. Reference to the Federal Bankruptcy Reform Act of 1978
Senate Bill No. 12 begins as follows: “[a]n individual debtor under the federal bankruptcy reform act of 1978 (11 U.S.C. § 101 et seq.), may exempt....”
As Judge Nugent noted in In re Foth,
Finally, Senate Bill No. 12 refers to an “individual debtor” under the federal bankruptcy reform act. The definition of the term “debtor” under the 1978 Act is the same as the term is defined after the BAPCPA amendments. Under the 1978 Act, a “debtor” was defined as a “person or municipality concerning which a case under this title has been commenced.”
B. Reprioritization of Payment of Claims
The Trustee next argues that Senate Bill No. 12 impermissibly reprioritizes the payment of claims in bankruptcy cases. Under Senate Bill No. 12, there is a qualification to the exemption, which states: “Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the right of offset, attachment or other process with respect to the earned income tax credit for the payment of child support or spousal maintenance.” Protect
This Court finds no conflict, however. Under the Bankruptcy Code, when a debt- or files a petition for bankruptcy relief, an estate is created.
C. Unauthorized Transfer Under 11 U.S.C. § 549
Under the Bankruptcy Code, the Trustee can avoid a transfer of property of the estate if that transfer occurs after the bankruptcy case is commenced and the transfer is not authorized by the Code or the Court.
Again, however, the Trustee does not give due credit to exemptions under the Bankruptcy Code. When a debtor is entitled to claim an exemption, that property is withdrawn from the estate,
D. Conflict with Portions of the Internal Revenue Code
Finally, the Trustee argues that Senate Bill No. 12 conflicts with provisions of the IRC. Specifically, the Trustee argues that Senate Bill No. 12 conflicts with § 6402 of title 26.
Under Senate Bill No. 12, a debtor can exempt “the debtor’s right to receive tax credits allowed pursuant to” the EIC.
Amicus Trustee Robert Baer argues an additional conflict with the IRC, citing a conflict with § 1398(g)(4) of title 26.
VI. Application to the Westbys
The Westbys filed their 2011 federal and Kansas tax returns and received their tax refunds on March 5, 2012. On their tax return, the Westbys claim a $5751 federal EIC and a $1035 state EIC. The Westbys’ federal return shows a refund of $6702, and them maximum EIC is within this amount. The Westbys are therefore entitled to exempt the $5751 of this federal refund pursuant to Senate Bill No. 12. The Westbys’ Kansas tax return shows a refund of $1490 and an EIC of $1035. Likewise, the Westbys may exempt the entirety of this Kansas EIC pursuant to Senate Bill No. 12.
The Trustee makes one alternative argument within her objection to exemption, citing Barowsky v. Serelson (In re Barowsky) ,
The Tenth Circuit’s holding in Barowsky is not applicable here. In that case, the Court was dealing with a non-exempt asset, the Chapter 7 debtor’s federal income tax refund. The Court cited the Supreme Court case, Kokoszka v. Belford,
Again, the Trustee fails to acknowledge the difference between estate property and exempt property. Because of the exemption provided by Senate Bill No. 12, the $5751 federal EIC and the $1035 Kansas
Finally, the Trustee argues that Senate Bill No. 12 is ineffectual, because it used the wrong words to describe the purported exemption.
The Tenth Circuit has noted, however, that “EICs are to be treated as tax refunds.”
Amicus Trustee Baer also argues that the exemption is ineffectual because there is no way to determine what portion of the total tax refund is attributable to the EIC and not to some other tax credit. The Tenth Circuit BAP was recently asked to similarly interpret the Colorado exemption of the “full amount of any federal or state income tax refund attributed to an earned income tax credit or a child tax credit.”
Senate Bill No. 12 provides that the amount to be exempted is the “maximum credit allowed” for “one tax year.” Regarding federal returns, the maximum credit allowed is the amount of the EIC permitted by the IRC under 26 U.S.C. § 32. Regarding state returns, that amount is the percentage of the federal EIC designated by the Kansas statutes under K.S.A. § 79-32,205. As a result, the amount provided for by the exemption is the amount of the tax refund the debtor had the right to receive, up to the maximum amount of the EIC. For the West-bys, the federal EIC was $5751 and the total federal tax refund was $6702. The Kansas EIC was $1035 and the total Kan
Conclusion of the Court
The Court concludes that the Trustee has not carried her “burden of proving that the exemptions are not properly claimed.”
It is, therefore, by the Court Ordered that the Trustee’s Objection to Debtors’ Claim of Exemptions
It is further Ordered that the hearing previously scheduled in this case for April 11, 2012, at 9:00 a.m. to consider the Trustee’s Objection is cancelled.
This Order shall be placed on the Court’s website. Additional objections to exemption challenging the constitutionality of the EIC exemption are held under advisement, pending resolution of any appeal in this case.
The Court previously ordered that the tax refunds in these cases be held in trust, pending the Court’s decision on the constitutionality of the EIC exemption. The funds previously held in trust pursuant to the Court’s prior orders shall now be released to the Debtors, both in this case and in all cases in which a Trustee has filed an objection to the exemption based on the constitutionality of the EIC.
The Court’s previous Case Management Order and First Supplement to that Order, both available on the Court’s website, required the Debtors to either: (1) file a Notice with the Court informing it that the Debtor is entitled to a refund stemming from the EIC, along with additional details; or (2) amend Schedule C to remove the claimed EIC exemption. In cases where an amended Schedule C is filed removing the claimed exemption, the Trustee is required to withdraw the objection to exemption as moot. In the following cases, these procedures have been complied with, or a motion for compromise has been filed, and the hearing set in the case for April 11, 2012, at 9:00 a.m. is cancelled:
In re Sequeira, Case No. 1141140;
In re Schumock, Case No. 11-41142;
In re Baker, Case No. 11-41394;
In re Railsback, Case No. 11-41546;
In re Moore, Case No. 11-41606;
In re Hilderbrand, Case No. 11-41670;
In re Diehl, Case No. 11-41705;
In re Johnson, Case No. 11-41749; and
In re Wolford, Case No. 11-42000.
In the following cases, the required procedures have not been complied with, and the cases remain set for hearing on April 11, 2012, at 9:00 a.m.:
In re Bonnette, Case No. 11-40985;
In re Jones, Case No. 11-40996;
In re Cook, Case No. 11-41012;
In re Soza, Case No. 11-41054;
*423 In re Freel, Case No. 11-41446;
In re Swagerty, Case No. 11-41562;
In re Rodriguez, Case No. 11-41862;
In re Roberts, Case No. 11-41943;
In re Wright, Case No. 11-42052;
In re Downs, Case No. 11-42086;
In re Nichols, Case No. 12-40004.
The Trustee’s motion to file a supplemental brief, filed as Doc. 77 in In re Gifford, Case No. 11-40589, is denied. Debtors’ motions to file a supplemental brief, filed as Doc. 43 in In re Westby, Case No. 11-40986, Doc. 37 in In re Schumock, Case No. 11-41142, and Doc. 68 in In re Moore, Case No. 11-41606, are also denied. Pursuant to the Court’s prior orders, supplemental briefs were to be limited to situations where “the facts have changed sufficiently to cause a different legal conclusion ... after any return is filed or refund issued.”
SO ORDERED.
. S. 12, 2011 Reg. Sess. (Kan. 2011), to be codified at K.S.A. § 60-2315.
. Doc. 10 (objection).
. The following facts are taken from the parties’ bankruptcy petition, supporting schedules, and additional notices to the court.
. Doc. 1.
. Id. at 20.
. Doc. 42.
. Id.
. Id.
. Doc. 10.
. Doc. 22.
. See In re Gifford, Case No. 11-40589, Doc. 44 (Trustee’s memorandum in support of amended objection to Debtors’ exemption of EIC). The Court originally used the Gifford case as its lead case on the constitutional challenge to the EIC exemption, and most of the briefs on the matter were filed in that case. The Kansas Attorney General, intervening in this matter after the constitutional challenge to the statute, participated in the briefing of these issues. The Court has considered all briefs filed, including the amicus brief of Trustee Robert L. Baer filed in support of the Trustee's position, Doc. 59 in the Gifford case, and the amicus briefs of the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys ("NACBA”), Doc. 63, and Debtor Carrie Lynn Rolin, Doc. 49, both filed in support of the Debtors’ position in the Gifford case.
The Trustee objects to the amicus brief of the NACBA because it was filed in In re Rolin, Case No. 11-40950, rather than in Gifford. The Court expressly granted amicus the permission to file a brief in any case, however, and directed that it would be considered in the resolution of the present objection. As of the date this opinion is issued, this Court has dozens of pending EIC cases, and allowing briefing in this fashion was the most expeditious way to be sure the Court considered all the arguments that might be raised in any of those cases without requiring the redundancy of filing the briefs in each case. In addition, because the Trustee was given, and took, the opportunity to respond to the amicus brief of the NACBA, the Trustee has not been prejudiced by the NACBA's participation.
. Sorenson v. Sec’y of Treasury, 475 U.S. 851, 854, 106 S.Ct. 1600, 89 L.Ed.2d 855 (1986).
. In re Montgomery, 224 F.3d 1193, 1194 (10th Cir. 2000). The Tenth Circuit noted that “EICs are to be treated as tax refunds.” Id. at 1195.
. Sorenson, 475 U.S. at 855, 106 S.Ct. 1600.
. Id. at 864, 106 S.Ct. 1600.
. Crowson v. Zubrod (In re Crowson), 431 B.R. 484, 492 (10th Cir.BAP2010).
. K.S.A. § 79-32,205. Currently, the Kansas tax credit is 18% of the federal EIC.
. 11 U.S.C. § 541(a) ("The commencement of a case under ... this title creates an estate.”).
. Id. § 541(a)(1).
. See id. § 522(b)(1) ("Notwithstanding section 541 of this title, an individual debtor may exempt from property of the estate the property listed in either paragraph (2) or, in the alternative, paragraph (3) of this subsection.”).
. Id. § 522(d).
. Id. § 522(b)(2).
. K.S.A. § 60-2312 (prohibiting, with exception, individual debtors from electing federal exemptions).
. 11 U.S.C. § 522(b)(3)(A); K.S.A. §§ 60-2301 through 60-2315 (Kansas exemptions).
. S. 12, 2011 Reg. Sess. (Kan. 2011), to be codified at K.S.A. § 60-2315.
. See Vol. 30, No. 15 Kan. Reg. page 437 (April 14, 2011) (publication).
. Minutes of the House Judiciary Committee, 2011 Reg. Sess., Attach. No. 5 (Kan. Mar. 3, 2011) (Testimony Presented to House Judiciary Committee by Sen. John Vratil), attached as exhibit in In re Gifford, Case No. 11-40589, Doc. 53.
. Id.
. In re Gifford, Case No. 11-40589, Doc. 53 at p. 5.
. Fed. R. Bankr.P. 4003(c).
. Hopkins v. Okla. Pub. Employees Ret. Sys., 150 F.3d 1155, 1160 (10th Cir. 1998).
. Hodes v. Jenkins (In re Hodes), 308 B.R. 61, 65 (10th Cir. BAP 2004) ("Under Kansas law, exemption statutes are to be liberally construed in favor of those intended by the legislature to be benefitted.”); In re Hall, 395 B.R. 722, 730 (Bankr.D.Kan. 2008) (stating that "the Kansas Supreme Court has directed that exemption claims are to be liberally construed in favor of debtors").
. 28 U.S.C. § 157(a) and 28 U.S.C. § 1334(a)-(b); see also Standing Order dated August 1, 1984, effective July 10, 1984, referenced in D. Kan. Rule 83.8.5 (reference from the District Court for the District of Kansas of all cases and proceedings in, under, or related to Title 11 to the District's bankruptcy judges).
. 28 U.S.C. § 157(b)(2)(B).
. See Steel Co. v. Citizens for a Better Env't, 523 U.S. 83, 102, 118 S.Ct. 1003, 140 L.Ed.2d 210 (1998) (noting the limit of courts' jurisdiction to actual cases and controversies and the requirement of standing to sue).
. The Wilderness Soc’y v. Kane County, Utah, 632 F.3d 1162, 1168 (10th Cir. 2011).
. Id. (quoting Elk Grove Unified Sch. Dist. v. Newdow, 542 U.S. 1, 12, 124 S.Ct. 2301, 159 L.Ed.2d 98 (2004)).
. Id. (quoting Warth v. Seldin, 422 U.S. 490, 499, 95 S.Ct. 2197, 45 L.Ed.2d 343 (1975)).
. See, e.g., Schwab v. Reilly, — U.S. —, 130 S.Ct. 2652, 177 L.Ed.2d 234 (2010) (referring throughout the Court's discussion of the case to the trustee as an "interested party”); Taylor v. Freeland & Kronz, 503 U.S. 638, 643-44, 112 S.Ct. 1644, 118 L.Ed.2d 280 (1992) (concluding that a trustee who does not timely file an objection to a debtor’s exemption is barred from later asserting that the exemption is improperly claimed); Russell v. Kuhnel (In re Kuhnel), 495 F.3d 1177, 1180 (10th Cir. 2007) (addressing the trustee’s objection to exemption under Rule 4003); Rupp v. Duffin (In re Duffin), 457 B.R. 820 (10th Cir. BAP 2011) (referring throughout to the trustee’s objection to the debtor’s claimed exemption); see also Edmonston v. Murphy (In re Edmonston), 107 F.3d 74, 76-77 (1st Cir. 1997) (concluding that a trustee is a "party in interest” based on Rule 4003).
. In re Gifford, Case No. 11-40589, Doc. 53 at 10-13.
. 11 U.S.C. § 323(a).
. Id. § 704(a)(1) (duties of chapter 7 Trustee).
. See C.W. Mining Co. v. Aquila, Inc. (In re C.W. Mining Co.), 636 F.3d 1257, 1261 (10th Cir. 2011) ("Chapter 7 trustees have extensive powers and responsibilities relating to the liquidation of the bankruptcy estate. Trustees must: collect and liquidate all of the estate’s property; close the estate as efficiently as possible; account for all property received; investigate the debtor’s financial affairs; examine claims against the estate and reject those that are not meritorious; and may (and sometimes must) bring legal action on behalf of the estate.”); see also Young v. Higbee Co., 324 U.S. 204, 210, 65 S.Ct. 594, 89 L.Ed. 890 (1945) ("[Hjistorically, one of the prime purposes of the bankruptcy law has been to bring about a ratable distribution among creditors
. See Schwab v. Reilly, - U.S. -, 130 S.Ct. 2652, 2667, 177 L.Ed.2d 234 (2010) (acknowledging that exemptions in bankruptcy aid the primary purpose of bankruptcy of providing a "fresh start” post-bankruptcy, but noting that this policy must be balanced with "the economic harm that exemptions visit on creditors”).
. Keyes v. Sch. Dist. No. 1, 119 F.3d 1437, 1444 (10th Cir. 1997) (emphasis omitted).
. Tarrant Reg'l Water Dist. v. Herrmann, 656 F.3d 1222, 1249 (10th Cir. 2011) (quoting Abbott Labs. v. Gardner, 387 U.S. 136, 148, 87 S.Ct. 1507, 18 L.Ed.2d 681 (1967)).
. Id. (internal quotations omitted).
. Kan. Judicial Review v. Stout, 519 F.3d 1107, 1116 (10th Cir. 2008).
. Tarrant Reg’l Water Dist., 656 F.3d at 1250 (quoting Initiative & Referendum Inst. v. Walker, 450 F.3d 1082, 1097 (10th Cir. 2006)).
. Skull Valley Band of Goshute Indians v. Nielson, 376 F.3d 1223, 1237 (10th Cir. 2004) (internal quotation omitted).
. Salt Lake Tribune Publ’n Co. v. Mgmt. Planning, Inc., 454 F.3d 1128, 1140 (10th Cir. 2006).
. Chavez v. N.M. Pub. Educ. Dep’t, 621 F.3d 1275, 1281 (10th Cir. 2010).
. Salt Lake Tribune Publ’n Co., 454 F.3d at 1140.
. Doc. 42.
. U.S. Const. art. I, § 8, cl. 4. The Uniformity Clause is alternately referred to as the Bankruptcy Clause.
. In re Gifford, Case No. 11-40589, Doc. 44 at 9-24.
. 17 U.S. 122, 4 Wheat. 122, 4 L.Ed. 529 (1819).
. Id. at 195-96, 22 S.Ct. 857.
. Id. at 196, 22 S.Ct. 857.
. Id.
. 186 U.S. 181, 22 S.Ct. 857, 46 L.Ed. 1113 (1902).
. Id. at 188, 22 S.Ct. 857.
. Id. at 190, 22 S.Ct. 857.
. 245 U.S. 605, 38 S.Ct. 215, 62 L.Ed. 507 (1918).
. Id. at 613, 38 S.Ct. 215.
. 278 U.S. 261, 49 S.Ct. 108, 73 L.Ed. 318 (1929).
. Id. at 264-65, 49 S.Ct. 108.
. Id. at 265, 49 S.Ct. 108.
. Id. at 265-66, 49 S.Ct. 108.
. 329 U.S. 156, 67 S.Ct. 237, 91 L.Ed. 162 (1946) (Frankfurter, J, concurrence).
. Id. at 171-72, 67 S.Ct. 237.
. Id.
. Id. at 172-73, 67 S.Ct. 237.
. 419 U.S. 102, 95 S.Ct. 335, 42 L.Ed.2d 320 (1974).
. Id. at 108, 95 S.Ct. 335.
. Id. at 108-17, 95 S.Ct. 335.
. Id. at 156-57, 95 S.Ct. 335.
. Id. at 158, 95 S.Ct. 335.
. Id. at 159, 95 S.Ct. 335.
. Id. at 160, 95 S.Ct. 335 (internal citations and quotations omitted).
. 440 U.S. 48, 99 S.Ct. 914, 59 L.Ed.2d 136 (1979).
. Id. at 50, 99 S.Ct. 914.
. Id. at 54, 99 S.Ct. 914.
. Id.
. Id. at 54 n. 9, 99 S.Ct. 914.
. 455 U.S. 457, 102 S.Ct. 1169, 71 L.Ed.2d 335 (1982).
. Id. at 459-60, 102 S.Ct. 1169.
. Id. at 465-66, 102 S.Ct. 1169.
. Id. at 469, 102 S.Ct. 1169.
. Id. at 470, 102 S.Ct. 1169.
. Id. at 471, 102 S.Ct. 1169.
. Id.
. Id. at 473, 102 S.Ct. 1169.
. Pub.L. No. 95-598, 92 Stat. 2549.
. The Circuit Courts that have considered the issue have concluded that the opt-out provision of the Bankruptcy Code passes Constitutional muster. See Storer v. French (In re Storer), 58 F.3d 1125 (6th Cir. 1995) (due process and equal protection challenges); Rhodes v. Stewart, 705 F.2d 159 (6th Cir. 1983) (Uniformity Clause challenge); In re Sullivan, 680 F.2d 1131 (7th Cir. 1982) (Uniformity Clause challenge); In re Stinson, 36 B.R. 946 (9th Cir. BAP 1984) (Uniformity Clause challenge).
. See In re Gifford, Case No. 11-40589, Doc. 61 at 8 (“The Trustee understands that Congress has authorized each state to enact its own exemption schemes that may apply in bankruptcies. The Trustee does not challenge this delegation of power to the states.”). Amicus Trustee Baer obliquely argues that § 522 must be read narrowly to prevent it from being unconstitutional, but does not expand and argue that Congress's authorization of state-created exemptions under § 522 is unconstitutional under the Uniformity Clause. See id. Doc. 59 at 12 (“Only by narrowly reading § 522 as authorizing States to restrict debtors to use non-federal exemptions that States allow residents to use both inside and outside of bankruptcy saves 11 U.S.C. § 522 from being unconstitutional.”).
. 500 U.S. 305, 111 S.Ct. 1833, 114 L.Ed.2d 350 (1991).
. Id. at 309-12, 111 S.Ct. 1833.
. Id. at 308, 111 S.Ct. 1833.
. 455 B.R. 590 (6th Cir. BAP 2011). The Schafer decision analyzes the same bankruptcy specific Michigan statute about which four published bankruptcy court decisions from Michigan came to varying conclusions: In re Reinhart, 460 B.R. 466, 466 (Bankr.E.D.Mich. 2011) (addressing Uniformity Clause challenge to bankruptcy specific exemption and concluding, on alternate grounds, that the opt-out clause "permit[s] a debtor to exempt in bankruptcy only the property that the debt- or can exempt from collection on a judgment under state law” and, therefore, finding the bankruptcy specific exemption to be ineffective); In re Jones, 428 B.R. 720, 727 (Bankr.W.D.Mich. 2010) (concluding that the bankruptcy specific exemption does not conflict with the requirements granted to Congress through the Uniformity Clause); In re Pontius, 421 B.R. 814, 819-21 (Bankr.W.D.Mich. 2009) (finding the bankruptcy specific exemption unconstitutional under the Uniformity Clause); and In re Wallace, 347 B.R. 626, 632-34 (Bankr.W.D.Mich. 2006) (finding the bankruptcy specific exemption unconstitutional under the Uniformity Clause).
. In re Schafer, 455 B.R. at 601.
. Id. at 606 (quoting Hanover National Bank v. Moyses, 186 U.S. 181, 190, 22 S.Ct. 857, 46 L.Ed. 1113 (1902)).
. See, e.g., In re Mata, 115 B.R. 288, 291 (Bankr.D.Colo. 1990); In re Lennen, 71 B.R. 80, 83 (Bankr.N.D.Cal. 1987); In re Reynolds, 24 B.R. 344, 347 (Bankr.S.D.Ohio 1982).
. 422 B.R. 684 (9th Cir. BAP 2009).
. Id. at 692.
. Id. See also Drummond v. Urban (In re Urban), 375 B.R. 882, 891 (9th Cir. BAP 2007) (concluding that § 522's domicile requirements do not violate the Uniformity Clause because "the classification scheme applies in the same manner to all similarly situated parties”).
. Id. at 692-93.
. Id. at 693.
. See In re Brown, Nos. 06-30199, 06-30872, 2007 WL 2120380, at *6-7 (Bankr.N.D.N.Y. July 23, 2007) (stating that the Uniformity Clause "contains no restriction on the states” and that the Court would, therefore, focus its analysis on the Supremacy Clause and whether conflict existed between the bankruptcy only exemption and the Bankruptcy Code); In re Chandler, 362 B.R. 723, 728 (Bankr.N.D.W.Va. 2007) (concluding that "the Uniformity Clause forbids only arbitrary regional differences in the provisions of the Bankruptcy Code, and private bankruptcy bills that are limited to a single debtor”); In re Cross, 255 B.R. 25, 31 (Bankr.N.D.Ind. 2000) (concluding that the Uniformity Clause "is not a restriction upon the states”); In re Shumaker, 124 B.R. 820, 826 (Bankr.D.Mont. 1991) (rejecting Uniformity Clause challenge based on the "constitutional power of a state to enact bankruptcy laws where Congress has not sought to act”); In re Holt, 84 B.R. 991,
. 949 F.2d 1106 (10th Cir. 1991).
. Id. at 1107.
. Id.
. Id.
. Id. at 1109.
. Id. at 1109 n. 3.
. Id. (internal citations omitted).
. Walker v. Mather (In re Walker), 959 F.2d 894, 896 (10th Cir. 1992).
. Id. at 900 (finding the trustee’s argument "meritless.”) The Oklahoma exemption in Walker, however, was not a bankruptcy only exemption as it was in Kulp.
. Id. at 900-01.
. U.S. Const. art. VI, cl. 2.
. In re Gifford, Case No. 11-40589, Doc. 44 at p. 25-33.
. 17 U.S. (4 Wheat) 122, 196, 4 L.Ed. 529 (1819).
. Id.
. Int'l Shoe Co. v. Pinkus, 278 U.S. 261, 265, 49 S.Ct. 108, 73 L.Ed. 318 (1929).
. Stellwagen v. Clum, 245 U.S. 605, 615, 38 S.Ct 215, 62 L.Ed. 507 (1918); see also In re Morrell, 394 B.R. 405, 408 (Bankr.N.D.W.Va. 2008) (concluding that the federal and state governments have concurrent jurisdiction in bankruptcy, citing Stellwagen v. Clum), aff'd sub nom, Sheehan v. Peveich, 574 F.3d 248 (4th Cir. 2009).
. Retail Clerks Int’l Ass'n v. Schermerhorn, 375 U.S. 96, 103, 84 S.Ct. 219, 11 L.Ed.2d 179 (1963).
. Altria Group, Inc. v. Good, 555 U.S. 70, 76, 129 S.Ct. 538, 172 L.Ed.2d 398 (2008) ("Congress may indicate pre-emptive intent through a statute’s express language or through its structure and purpose.’’).
. Tarrant Reg’l Water Dist. v. Herrmann, 656 F.3d 1222, 1241 (10th Cir. 2011).
. 11 U.S.C. § 522(b)(2).
. K.S.A. § 60-2312 (prohibiting, with exception, individual debtors from electing federal exemptions).
. 11 U.S.C. § 522(b)(3)(A); K.S.A. §§ 60-2301 through 60-2315 (Kansas exemptions).
. Id.
. Rice v. Santa Fe Elevator Corp., 331 U.S. 218, 230, 67 S.Ct. 1146, 91 L.Ed. 1447 (1947).
. English v. Gen. Elec. Co., 496 U.S. 72, 79, 110 S.Ct. 2270, 110 L.Ed.2d 65 (1990).
. In re Gifford, Case No. 11-40589, Doc. 44 at 28.
. Owen v. Owen, 500 U.S. 305, 308, 111 S.Ct. 1833, 114 L.Ed.2d 350 (1991).
. Sticka v. Applebaum (In re Applebaum), 422 B.R. 684, 689 (9th Cir. BAP 2009); see also Rhodes v. Stewart, 705 F.2d 159, 163 (6th Cir. 1983) ("Congress did not intend to preempt bankruptcy exemptions through pro
. Fid. Fed. Sav. & Loan Ass’n v. de la Cuesta, 458 U.S. 141, 153, 102 S.Ct. 3014, 73 L.Ed.2d 664 (1982).
. PLIVA, Inc. v. Mensing, 564 U.S. -, 131 S.Ct. 2567, 2577, 180 L.Ed.2d 580 (2011).
. Fla. Lime & Avocado Growers, Inc. v. Paul, 373 U.S. 132, 142-43, 83 S.Ct. 1210, 10 L.Ed.2d 248 (1963).
. Hines v. Davidowitz, 312 U.S. 52, 67, 61 S.Ct. 399, 85 L.Ed. 581 (1941); see also Pharm. Research & Mfrs. of Am. v. Walsh, 538 U.S. 644, 679, 123 S.Ct. 1855, 155 L.Ed.2d 889 (2003) (Thomas, J., concurring) (“Obstacle pre-emption turns on whether the goals of the federal statute are frustrated by the effect of the state law.”).
. Crosby v. Nat’l Foreign Trade Council, 530 U.S. 363, 373, 120 S.Ct. 2288, 147 L.Ed.2d 352 (2000); see also Ingersoll-Rand Co. v. McClendon, 498 U.S. 133, 138, 111 S.Ct. 478, 112 L.Ed.2d 474 (1990) (stating that a court reviewing an implied conflict preemption claim must "examine the explicit statutory language and the structure and purpose of the statute”).
. In re Gifford, Case No. 11-40589, Doc. 44 at 31.
. Wyeth v. Levine, 555 U.S. 555, 575, 129 S.Ct. 1187, 173 L.Ed.2d 51 (2009) (quoting Bonito Boats, Inc. v. Thunder Craft Boats, Inc., 489 U.S. 141, 166-67, 109 S.Ct. 971, 103 L.Ed.2d 118 (1989)).
. In this manner, the present matter is also different from Perez v. Campbell, a 1971 Supreme Court opinion addressing a Supremacy Clause challenge to an Arizona statute in conflict with federal bankruptcy legislation. 402 U.S. 637, 91 S.Ct. 1704, 29 L.Ed.2d 233 (1971). In an oft-quoted conclusion from Perez, the Supreme Court stated that "any state legislation which frustrates the full effectiveness of federal law is rendered invalid by the Supremacy Clause.” Id. at 652, 91 S.Ct. 1704. In that case, however, the Court found an actual conflict between an Arizona statute governing the discharge of judgments resulting from an automobile accident lawsuit and the specific provision of the federal bankruptcy legislation on the same topic. Id. at 651-52, 91 S.Ct. 1704. There is no actual conflict between the state law and the federal law in this case, and the federal/state scheme is expressly intended.
. Crosby, 530 U.S. at 373, 120 S.Ct. 2288 (noting that a finding of implied conflict preemption requires a showing that the state law is "an obstacle to the accomplishment of Congress's full objectives under the federal” statute).
. Of course, the Court can imagine scenarios where a state enacts an exemption scheme so contrary to the bankruptcy fresh start or the ratable distribution of assets that the exemptions conflict with the purpose and objectives of the Bankruptcy Code. That scenario is simply not present here.
. Hines, 312 U.S. at 67, 61 S.Ct. 399; see also Pharm. Research & Mfrs. of Am. v. Walsh, 538 U.S. 644, 679, 123 S.Ct. 1855, 155 L.Ed.2d 889 (2003) (Thomas, J., concurring) ("Obstacle pre-emption turns on whether the goals of the federal statute are frustrated by the effect of the state law.”).
. 505 F.2d 228 (9th Cir. 1974).
. Id. at 229-30.
. Id. at 231.
. Id. (internal citations, footnote, and quotations omitted).
. In re Gifford, Case No. 11-40589, Doc. 44 at 33.
. Sticka v. Applebaum (In re Applebaum), 422 B.R. 684, 689-91 (9th Cir. BAP 2009).
. Id. at 693.
. 11 U.S.C. § 522(b)(1).
. 4 Collier on Bankruptcy ¶ 522.02[1] (Alan N. Resnick & Henry J. Sommer eds., 16th ed.).
. K.S.A. § 60-2310.
. 11 U.S.C. § 522(d).
. A similar example could be given where the federal exemptions are more generous than the protections afforded a debtor not in bankruptcy in Kansas if Kansas were to no longer opt-out of the federal exemptions, resulting in the creditors in bankruptcy receiving less than the creditors of a debtor outside of bankruptcy. See, e.g., 11 U.S.C. § 522(d)(11)(D) (exempting the "debtor's right to receive, or property that is traceable to — a payment, not to exceed $21,625, on account of personal bodily injury, not including pain and suffering or compensation for actual pecuniary loss, of the debtor or an individual of whom the debtor is a dependent").
. The amicus brief of Debtor Rolin argues that unsecured creditors in Kansas have no right to claim an individual’s EIC outside of bankruptcy. In re Gifford, Case No. 11-40589, Doc. 49 at p. 8 ("However, Trustee cites no statute or case law that permits unsecured creditors to lay claim to EICs outside bankruptcy and this lawyer knows of none.”). The Court presumes that if a Kansas general debtor outside of bankruptcy receives a tax refund and deposits it in a bank account, that account may be subject to garnishment, but that a tax refund of a general debtor in Kansas is difficult for a creditor to capture while still in the hands of the taxing authority.
As the testimony in support of Kansas Senate Bill No. 12 stated, a low-income debtor entitled to an EIC is generally a single parent, using the tax refund for necessities. Minutes of the House Judiciary Committee, 2011 Reg. Sess., Attach. No. 4 (Kan. Mar. 3, 2011) (Testimony Presented to House Judiciary Committee by John R. Hooge), attached as exhibit to In re Gifford, Case No. 11-40589, Doc. 53. Such an individual may not have a bank account, or may not deposit the money, but, rather, use the tax refund immediately to pay bills. It certainly seems likely, therefore, that Kansas Senate Bill No. 12 simply levels the playing field, and allows a debtor inside of bankruptcy to keep their EIC the same way general debtors, and those debtors who can wait to file bankruptcy until after their EIC is spent,, likely retain and spend their EIC outside of bankruptcy.
While the record before this Court does not concretely support such a supposition, there is ample other support for the Court’s determination that Kansas Senate Bill No. 12 does not, in practice, conflict with the Bankruptcy Code's treatment of creditors.
. In re Gifford, Case No. 11-40589, Doc. 44 at 33.
. The following cases have upheld Supremacy Clause challenges of bankruptcy only exemption statutes: In re Regevig, 389 B.R. 736, 740 (Bankr.N.D.Ariz. 2008) (finding Supremacy Clause violation based on controlling 9th Circuit precedent, Kanter); In re Cross, 255 B.R. 25, 34 (Bankr.N.D.Ind. 2000) (concluding bankruptcy only exemption is preempted because it "changes the distribution of assets
The following cases have rejected Supremacy Clause challenges to bankruptcy only exemption statutes: Sheehan v. Peveich, 574 F.3d 248, 252 (4th Cir. 2009) (concluding that § 522 is an express delegation to create state exemptions and that Congress did not "restrict the authority delegated to the states by requiring that state exemptions apply equally to bankruptcy and non-bankruptcy cases”); Sticka v. Applebaum (In re Applebaum), 422 B.R. 684, 689-91 (9th Cir. BAP 2009) (finding "no conflict between the purpose and goals of the Bankruptcy Code and the California bankruptcy-only exemption statute” and stating that "[sjimply because the exemptions differ from the federal exemptions (or from its non-bankruptcy counterpart), does not mean that such differences create a conflict that impedes the accomplishment and execution of the Bankruptcy Code”); In re Brown, No. 06-30199, 2007 WL 2120380, at *15 (Bankr.N.D.N.Y. July 23, 2007) (concluding that New York’s bankruptcy only exemption "was commensurate with § 522(b)'s goals of balancing the state's interests in defining exemptions according to the needs and conditions of the locality, and the Code’s fresh-start policy and uniformity” (internal quotations omitted)).
. Sheehan v. Peveich, 574 F.3d 248, 252 (4th Cir. 2009).
. In the initial objection to the claimed exemption, the Trustee additionally claimed that Senate Bill No. 12 violated the "Due Process and Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution.” In re Gifford, Case No. 11-40589, Doc. 12 ¶ 3; see also id. Doc. 34 ¶ 15. The Trustee has expressly abandoned this argument in her final brief, id. Doc. 61 p. 14-15, and for that reason, the Court need not address the issue.
. S. 12, 2011 Reg. Sess. (Kan. 2011), to be codified at K.S.A. § 60-2315.
. Pub.L. 109-8, 119 Stat. 23, § 106 (Apr. 20, 2005).
. No. 06-10696, 2007 WL 4563434, at *4 (Bankr.D.Kan. Dec. 21, 2007) (citing Pub.L. 95-598, 92 Stat. 2549, title IV, § 401(a) (Nov. 6, 1978)).
. In re Foth, No. 06-10696, 2007 WL 4563434, at *4 (Bankr.D.Kan. Dec. 21, 2007) (citing Pub.L. 95-598, 92 Stat. 2549, title IV, § 401(a) (Nov. 6, 1978)).
. Id.
. Id.
. Id.
. Pub.L. 95-598, 92 Stat. 2549, § 101 (Nov. 6, 1978).
. 11 U.S.C. § 101(13).
. In addition, the Court will not read the exemption in a way that would produce an absurd result. See In re Western Pacific Airlines, Inc., 273 F.3d 1288, 1292 (10th Cir. 2001) ("The goal in statutory interpretation is to determine and give effect to the intent of the legislature. To ascertain that intent, it is presumed that a just and reasonable result is intended.”). The Trustee's interpretation of the exemption would mean that the Kansas legislature created a new exemption that would be applicable to no debtors, which is simply illogical.
. 11 U.S.C. § 507(a) (providing the order in which priority claims are to be paid).
. Id. § 507(a)(1)(C) ("If a trustee is appointed ..., the administrative expenses of the trustee allowed under paragraphs (1)(A), (2), and (6) of section 503(b) shall be paid before payment of claims under subpara-graphs (A) and (B) [relating to domestic support obligations], to the extent that the trustee administers assets that are otherwise available for the payment of such claims.”).
. The Trustee cites as an example the Supreme Court case of Barker v. Kansas, 503 U.S. 594, 112 S.Ct. 1619, 118 L.Ed.2d 243 (1992). The case deals with the constitutional doctrine of intergovernmental tax immunity as applied to state taxation of military retirement pay, a subject which does not appear applicable to the present facts.
. In re Gifford, Case No. 11-40589, Doc. 44 at 35.
. 11 U.S.C. § 541(a) ("The commencement of a case under ... this title creates an estate.”).
. Id. § 541(a)(1).
. See id. § 522(b)(1) ("Notwithstanding section 541 of this title, an individual debtor may exempt from property of the estate the property listed in either paragraph (2) or, in the alternative, paragraph (3) of this subsection.”).
. Taylor v. Freeland & Kronz, 503 U.S. 638, 642, 112 S.Ct. 1644, 118 L.Ed.2d 280 (1992) ("The Code ... allows the debtor to prevent the distribution of certain property by claiming it as exempt.”).
. 11 U.S.C. § 704(a)(1).
. Owen v. Owen, 500 U.S. 305, 308, 111 S.Ct. 1833, 114 L.Ed.2d 350 (1991) ("An exemption is an interest withdrawn from the estate (and hence from the creditors) for the benefit of the debtor.”).
. 11 U.S.C. § 549(a).
. In re Gifford, Case No. 11-40589, Doc. 44 at 37-38.
. Owen, 500 U.S. at 308, 111 S.Ct. 1833.
. For this reason, among many others, the Tenth Circuit BAP opinion in Rupp v. Duffin (In re Duffin), 457 B.R. 820 (10th Cir. BAP 2011), upon which the Trustee relies, is inapplicable. In Duffin, the BAP considered whether a trustee could object to an exemption under 11 U.S.C. § 544(a), utilizing his "rights and powers” under that statute as a hypothetical creditor. Id. at 827-29. The BAP analyzed a Utah exemption that excluded from its reach prepetition payments on life insurance policies. Id. at 829. The BAP concluded that, "[flhrough the use of a trustee's hypothetical powers” under § 544, the trustee could stand as a creditor would, and gain access to the non-exempt funds. As should be abundantly clear from the discussion herein, Senate Bill No. 12 makes a debtor’s EIC exempt, and no creditor of a debtor in bankruptcy could reach that exempt asset, just as the Trustee may not.
. In re Gifford, Case No. 11-40589, Doc. 44 at 36-37.
. 26 U.S.C. § 6402.
. S. 12, 2011 Reg. Sess. (Kan. 2011), to be codified at K.S.A. § 60-2315.
. Id.
. Sorenson v. Sec'y of Treasury, 475 U.S. at 859, 106 S.Ct. 1600.
. Id.
. Id.
. In re Gifford, Case No. 11-40589, Doc. 59 at 7-8.
. 946 F.2d 1516 (10th Cir. 1991).
. Id. at 1517-18.
. 417 U.S. 642, 94 S.Ct. 2431, 41 L.Ed.2d 374 (1974).
. 946 F.2d at 1517-18.
. In re Gifford, Case No. 11-40589, Doc. 44 at 5-9.
. In re Montgomery, 224 F.3d 1193, 1195 (10th Cir. 2000).
. Id. at 1194.
. Hodes v. Jenkins (In re Hodes), 308 B.R. 61, 65 (10th Cir. BAP 2004) ("Under Kansas law, exemption statutes are to be liberally construed in favor of those intended by the legislature to be benefitted.”); In re Hall, 395 B.R. 722, 730 (Bankr.D.Kan. 2008) (stating that "the Kansas Supreme Court has directed that exemption claims are to be liberally construed in favor of debtors”).
. Dunckley v. Cohen (In re Dunckley), 452 B.R. 241, 243 (10th Cir. BAP 2011).
. Id. at 243-44 (internal quotations omitted).
. Fed. R. Bankr.P. 4003(c).
. Doc. 10.
. These additional cases are: In re Bonnette, Case No. 11-40985; In re Jones, Case No. 11-40996; In re Cook, Case No. 11-41054; In re Soza, Case No. 11-41012; In re Sequeira, Case No. 11-41140; In re Schumock, Case No. 11-41142; In re Baker, Case No. 11-41394; In re Freel, Case No. 11-41446; In re Railsback, Case No. 11-41546; In re Swagerty, Case No. 11-41562; In re Moore, Case No. 11-41606; In re Hilderbrand, Case No. 11-41670; In re Diehl, Case No. 11-41705; In re Johnson, Case No. 11-41749; In re Rodriguez, Case No. 11-41862; In re Roberts, Case No. 11-41943; In re Wolford, Case No. 11-42000; In re Wilson, Case No. 11-42031; In re Wright, Case No. 11-42052; In re Downs, Case No. 11-42086; In re Nichols, Case No. 12-40004.
. See, e.g., Doc. 35 at 9.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- In re Dustin Jay WESTBY, Brandi Michelle Westby, Debtors
- Cited By
- 13 cases
- Status
- Published