Kansas Department of Labor v. Singleton (In re Singleton)
Kansas Department of Labor v. Singleton (In re Singleton)
Opinion of the Court
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER GRANTING IN PART AND DENYING IN PART PLAINTIFF’S AND DEFENDANT’S MOTIONS FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT
Plaintiff and Defendant moved for summary judgment on Plaintiffs complaint .seeking a finding that its claim against Defendant for fraudulently receiving unemployment benefits was nondischargeable under 11 U.S.C. §§ 523(a)(2) and 1328.
VENUE AND JURISDICTION
This Court has jurisdiction over the parties and the subject matter pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 157(a) and 1334(a) and (b) and the Amended Standing Order of Reference of the United States District Court for the District of Kansas that exercised authority conferred by 28 U.S.C. § 157(a) to refer to the District’s bankruptcy judges all matters under the Bankruptcy Code and all proceedings arising under the Code or arising in or related to a case under the Code, effective June 24, 2013.
BACKGROUND
On September 4, 2015, Defendant Sheila Singleton (Sheila) filed a voluntary Chapter 13 petition and Chapter 13 plan.
knowingly and willfully misrepresented to KDoL that Defendant [Sheila] was not employed, was unemployed, was otherwise entitled to unemployment insurance benefits, or that Defendant earned wages for respective weeks in amounts differing from Defendant’s true and correct factual earnings, for the express purpose of fraudulently obtaining unemployment benefits....7
Sheila concedes her misrepresentations caused her to improperly receive: (1)
The KDOL alleges the 2004 and. 2011 Overpayments are subject to a monthly 1.5 percent interest rate — 18 percent annually — under K.S.A. § 44-719(d)(2).
Sheila raises two affirmative defenses in her answer. First, she asserts the 2004 Overpayment is dischargeable because more than five years have passed from the February 3, 2005, administrative order on the 2004 Overpayment. The 2004 Overpayment was not reduced to a civil judgment and, even if considered a judgment, it has not been renewed pursuant to K.S.A. § 60-2403(a). Second, laches, waiver, and estoppel bar the 2004 Overpayment because the KDOL had the ability to offset its claim against Sheila’s 2011 unemployment benefits.
On January 8, 2016, Sheila filed a motion for summary judgment requesting: (a) a discharge of the 2004 Overpayment principal and interest; (b) a discharge of the 2011 Overpayment interest; and (c) non-discharge of the 2011 Overpayment principal.
On January 15, 2016, the KDOL filed a cross motion for summary judgment.
This Court’s review reveals Sheila previously filed a voluntary Chapter 13 petition on April 6, 2006, and received a full compliance discharge under § 1328(a) on January 13, 2010.
The KDOL responded, asserting that Sheila’s prior discharge did not discharge § 523(a)(2) debts,
Sheila responded, asserting that the 2004 Overpayment was discharged in her 2006 case, and asserts that portions of the KDOL’s complaint regarding the 2004 Overpayment constitute a violation of the discharge injunction.
ANALYSIS
A. SUMMARY JUDGMENT STANDARD
Summary judgment is appropriate when the movant shows that there is “no genuine issue as to any material fact” and that the movant is “entitled to a judgment as a matter of law.
Both Sheila and the'KDOL agree that there is no legal or factual dispute as to the nondischargeability of the principal obligation in the amount of $2,776 on the 2011 Overpayment. Therefore, KDOL is entitled to judgment in the amount of a $2,776 nondischargeable claim on the principal amount of the 2011 Overpayment.
C. SHEILA’S 2006 BANKRUPTCY CASE DISCHARGED THE PRINCIPAL AND ASSOCIATED INTEREST ON THE 2004 OVERPAYMENT-
KDOL’s position that § 623(a)(2) debts are automatically excepted from a § 1328(a) discharged is incorrect.
Section 623(c)(1) provides that debts of a kind specified in paragraph[] 2 (obtaining money, credit, etc. by false pretenses or fraud) ... of section 623(a) will be automatically discharged unless the creditor to whom such a debt is owed obtains a determination of the bankruptcy court that the ' particular debt is nondischargeable.43
Most exceptions to discharge do not require compliance with § 623(c) and the attendant Rules. That is, a creditor does not need to take action unless there is a dispute between the parties as to dis-chargeability. The debt'simply survives discharge without court action because of the nature of the debt. However, because § 523(e) requires creditors bringing § 623(a)(2) complaints to do so exclusively in the bankruptcy court, Fed. R. Bankr.P. 4007 applies. Under Fed. R. Bankr.P, 4007, a creditor holding a § 623(a)(2) debt must file a complaint seeking nondis-chargeability no later than 60 days after the first date set for the § 341 meeting of creditors.
The debtor is seeking a discharge of most debts, which may include your debt. A discharge means that you may never try to collect the debt from the debtor. If you believe that a debt owed to you is not dischargeable under Bankruptcy Code § 523(a)(2) or (4), you must start a lawsuit by filing a complaint in the bankruptcy clerk’s office by the “Deadline to File a Complaint to Determine Dischargeability of Certain Debts” listed on the front side. The bankruptcy clerk’s office must receive the complaint and any required filing fee by that dead*427 line.48
However, the KDOL did not file a complaint or proof of claim, despite Sheila listing them as an unsecured creditor on Schedule F. To have a kind of debt excepted from discharge under § 523(c), there must be an adjudication in conformity with § 523(c). Section 1328 incorporates by reference § 523(a)(2) and, as such, also incorporates by reference the procedures to adjudicate dischargeability of such debts. Thus, Sheila’s 2006 bankruptcy discharged the 2004 Overpayment principal and interest because KDOL failed to file a complaint seeking nondischargeability of its debt in Sheila’s 2006 bankruptcy. “[T]he scope of a discharge is final when entered and subsequent events do not change what debts were or were not discharged by that discharge.”
D. AN 18 PERCENT ANNUAL INTEREST RATE UNDER K.S.A. § 44-719(d)(2) ON THE 2011 OVERPAYMENT IS EXCEPTED FROM DISCHARGE UNDER §§ 523(a)(2)(A) AND 1328(a)(2)
Sheila admits that the KDOL is statutorily entitled to an 18 percent annual interest rate on unemployment benefit overpayments under K.S.A. § 44-719(d)(2).
CONCLUSION
The Court grants both Plaintiffs and Defendant’s motions for summary judgment in part.
IT IS ORDERED that the KDOL is entitled to a judgment of nondischargeability in the amount of $2,776 as to the principal amount of the 2011 Overpayment.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Sheila’s 2006 bankruptcy discharged the principal balance of $3,861 and associated interest on the 2004 Overpayment.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that pre-petition and post-petition interest pursuant to K.SA. § 44 — 719(d)(2) on the 2011 Overpayment is excepted irom discharge under §§' 523(a)(2)(A) and 1328(a)(2) because it is not a § 523(a)(7) government penalty.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
. Doc. 1, 11, and 12. All future statutory references are to the Bankruptcy Code ■ (Code), as amended by the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 (BAPCPA), 11 U.S.C. §§ 101-1532, unless otherwise specifically noted.
. Plaintiff, State of Kansas Department of Labor, appears by its attorney, Thomas Britt Nichols, Topeka, KS. Defendant, Sheila Diane Singleton, appears by her attorney, Hilliard L. Moore, Lenexa, KS.
. D. Kan. Standing Order No. 13-1, printed in D. Kan. Rules of Practice and Procedure at 168 (March 2016).
. Doc. 1 and 6, Case No. 15-21936.
. Doc. 1. Case No; 15-6101. Unless otherwise noted, future references to Doc. numbers are to pleadings filed in the instant adversary proceeding, Case No. 15-6101.
. Doc. 6. at 1 ¶ 1 ("Defendant admits the allegations of Paragraphs 1-24 of said Complaint.").
. Doc. 1, at 2-3 ¶ 8, Doc. 6.
. Doc. 1. at 15.
. Doc. 6.
. Id.
. Doc. 1. at 8 ¶ 12.
. Id. at 9-10 ¶ 20.
. Id. at 8 ¶ 13. and at 10 ¶ 21.
.Id. at 10 ¶ 25.
. Doc. 6, at 1 ¶ 2.
. Mich. Unemployment Ins. Agency v. Andrews (In re Andrews), 2015 WL 5813418 (Bankr.E.D.Mich. Oct. 2, 2015).
. Doc. 6, at 1 ¶ 2.
. Doc. 6, at 1 ¶ 2.
. Id. at 2 ¶ 3,
. Doc, 11.
. Id. at 6 ¶ 18.
. Doc. 12.
. Id. at 5-6 ¶¶ a-c.
. Id. at 9.
. Id. at 9 ¶ 9. The KDOL asserts Sheila filed for bankruptcy protection in 2005, citing Case No. 15-20432. However, this information is erroneous. Sheila previously filed for bankruptcy in 2006. In re Singleton, Case No. 06-20432 (Bankr.D.Kan. Apr. 6, 2006).
.. Doc. 1 and 93, Case No. 06-20432.
. Doc. 7, at 21, Case No. 06-20432.
. Doc. 17.
. Doc. 6.
. Doc. 17. at 3 ¶¶ 8-11.
. Id. at 4-5.
. Id. at 5.
. Id. at 9.
. Doc. 18, at 2.
. Id. at 3. Referencing Fed. R. Bankr.P. 4007(c).
. Fed.R.Civ.P. 56 is applicable to adversary proceedings pursuant to Fed. R. Bankr.P. 7056.
. Magnus, Inc. v. Diamond State Ins. Co., 545 Fed.Appx. 750, 752 (10th Cir. 2013) (citation omitted).
. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986).
. Id. at 322-23, 106 S.Ct. 2548.
. Thom v. Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., 353 F.3d 848, 851 (10th Cir. 2003) (citation omitted).
. James Barlow Family Ltd. P’ship v. David M. Munson, Inc., 132 F.3d 1316, 1319 (10th Cir. 1997).
. Atlantic Richfield Co. v. Farm Credit Bank of Wichita, 226 F.3d 1138, 1148 (10th Cir. 2000).
. 4 Collier on Bankruptcy ¶ 523.03, at 523-17 (Alan N, Resnick & Henry J. Sommer, eds., 16th ed. 2016) (emphasis added),
. Fed. R. Bankr.P. 4007(c); See also Palmer v. Nordin (In re Nordin), 299 B.R. 915 (8th Cir. BAP 2003) ("[A] creditor who lias a debt of the kind described in subsection [ ] (2) ... of § 523 must file a complaint and have the debt’s dischargeability determined by the bankruptcy court,”).
. Hathorn v. Petty (In re Petty), 491 B.R, 554, 558 (8th Cir. BAP 2013) (citing In re Everly, 346 B.R. 791, 796 (8th Cir. BAP 2006)).
. 8 Collier on Bankruptcy, supra note 43* ¶ 1328,02[d], at 1328-15-16.
. Doc. 4, Case No, 06-20432.
. Id.
. In re Anderson, 72 B.R, 495, 496 (Bankr.D.Minn. 1987).
. United Student Aid Funds, Inc. v. Espinosa, 559 U.S. 260, 130 S.Ct. 1367, 176 L.Ed.2d 158 (2010).
. Doc. 6, at 1 ¶ 2, Doc. 11, at 5 ¶ 17.
. Doc. 6, at 1 ¶ 2.
. Doc, 11. at 6 ¶ 18.
. 2015 WL 5813418 (Bankr.E.D.Mich. Oct. 2, 2015).
. Doc. 11. ató ¶ 19.
. K.S.A. § 44-719(a), (b), and (c); K.S.A. § 44-706.
. Supercom, Inc. v. Levitsky (In re Levitsky), 137 B.R. 288, 291-92 (Bankr.E.D.Wis. 1992). See abo Gosney v. Law (In re Gosney), 205 B.R. 418, 421 (9th Cir. BAP 1996) aff’d, 161 F.3d 12 (9th Cir. 1998) ("when an underlying debt is nondischargeable, prepetition interest ... is also nondischargeable’ ” Estate of Ekelund v. Dawson (In re Dawson), 163 B.R. 421 (Bankr.D.R.1. 1994)).
Reference
- Full Case Name
- IN RE: Sheila Diane SINGLETON, Debtor. State of Kansas Department of Labor v. Sheila Diane Singleton
- Cited By
- 1 case
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- Published