Berger v. Commonwealth (In re Berger)
Berger v. Commonwealth (In re Berger)
Opinion of the Court
*494In mythological lore, the Greek hero Achilles thought himself to be invincible, impervious to the swords and arrows of his enemies. So too, is the mindset of the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue ("Revenue") in the cases presently before the Court. Revenue requests dismissal of separate adversary proceedings brought by chapter 13 debtors seeking to reduce or eliminate Revenue's secured claims. Revenue believes itself to be cloaked with sovereign immunity of such magnitude that its tax liens are invulnerable to modification by the bankruptcy court. But just as Achilles fatefully discovered his mortality, the Court finds that Revenue's liens are similarly susceptible to a well-heeled attack in these proceedings. After careful consideration, and for the reasons set forth fully below, the Court will deny Revenue's motions to dismiss.
I. BACKGROUND
Two sets of chapter 13 debtors commenced adversary proceedings to determine the nature and extent of various liens asserted against their real property. Revenue is a defendant in both cases because it holds tax liens on the affected properties.
The debtors in the first case are Randy and Elleni Berger, owners of two parcels of real property in the Pittsburgh area. Their residence, located at 150 Millview Drive, has an alleged value of $ 390,000 and is encumbered by a first-priority mortgage securing a loan payoff of $ 488,805.
Revenue filed a proof of claim against the Bergers seeking $ 11,050.82 for unpaid personal income taxes, of which $ 10,824.43 is allegedly secured.
The second case involves debtors Charles and Sharon Yeomans. They filed a chapter 13 plan recognizing Revenue as the holder of secured claim in the amount of $ 0,
Revenue filed motions to dismiss both adversary cases, contending that any attempt to remove or reduce the secured portions of Revenue's tax liens would be a violation of its Eleventh Amendment sovereign immunity. The Court must determine whether the debtors' complaints are barred by Revenue's assertions.
II. JURISDICTION
This Court has authority to exercise jurisdiction over the subject matter and the parties pursuant to
III. POSITIONS OF THE PARTIES
A. Revenue
Revenue seeks dismissal of the debtors' complaints under Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 12(b)(1) and 12(b)(6), asserting that it enjoys sovereign immunity which bars the relief sought by the debtors.
*496Revenue argues that it has not waived this immunity, and therefore the Court lacks subject matter jurisdiction to hear these proceedings pursuant to Rule 12(b)(1). For this proposition, Revenue claims that its filing of a proof of claim did not arise out of the same "transaction or occurrence" as the debtors' adversary complaints, so there could be no attendant waiver of immunity.
Revenue also argues that its rights as a lienholder cannot be modified under
Finally, Revenue insists that the debtors are seeking "affirmative relief" against the state by stripping its liens, which takes the matter outside of the realm of purely in rem proceedings for which sovereign immunity would not attach.
B. Debtors
Both sets of debtors filed responses to Revenue's motions. The Bergers argue that the Supreme Court's decision in Katz established the proposition that in rem proceedings in bankruptcy court preclude a sovereign immunity defense by the States, and a lien-stripping action under §§ 506(a) and 1322(b)(2) is nothing more than an in rem proceeding.
The Yeomans similarly argue that Revenue waived its sovereign immunity by filing a proof of claim through
IV. DISCUSSION
A. Standard
When reviewing a motion to dismiss a complaint under Rule 12(b)(6), a court must "accept all factual allegations as true, construe the complaint in the light most favorable to the plaintiff, and determine whether, under any reasonable reading of the complaint, the plaintiff may be entitled to relief."
Similarly, when reviewing a motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction under Rule 12(b)(1), a court must differentiate between a "facial" and "factual" attack on its jurisdiction.
B. The Concept of Lien Stripping
Put simply, lien stripping is the act of removing an otherwise enforceable or valid lien from a debtor's property when the property is worth less than the total amount owed to secured creditors. The ability to reduce or eliminate liens on overencumbered property represents one of the most powerful tools available to debtors seeking to restructure their financial affairs. To the extent that a claim is deemed secured, a debtor must remain current on the obligation or risk allowing the creditor to take possession of their property. When there are multiple creditors secured by the same property, this can result in a monumental strain on the debtor's estate; a debtor may be faced with the prospect of servicing two or three mortgages simultaneously or risk losing their home. By having liens with junior priority deemed wholly or partially unsecured by the lien stripping process, debtors can reduce the amount of debt that must be serviced as part of a confirmable plan, thereby relieving financial distress and increasing the likelihood they can retain the property during the course of the bankruptcy and beyond.
As Judge Agresti explained in In re Johnson , lien-stripping encompasses both "strip-downs," where a lien is "reduced to the equity value held by the debtor," and "strip-offs," where "a wholly-unsecured creditor's lien is removed from collateral in which there is no equity value."
Any discussion of lien-stripping procedure must begin with the Supreme Court's decision in Dewsnup v. Timm , involving a chapter 7 debtor's attempt to use
The extent to which a lien may be stripped can vary, depending on whether the debtor is pursuing a liquidation or a reorganization.
The legal mechanism by which lien stripping is properly accomplished under reorganization plans was detailed by Judge Fischer on appeal of In re Johnson .
C. Sovereign Immunity
The Eleventh Amendment provides that the "[j]udicial power of the United States shall not be construed to extend to any suit ... against one of the United States."
*500Sovereign immunity, however, is not absolute. A State may consent to suit by waiving its sovereign immunity,
In order for Revenue's liens to be modifiable, it must have then either waived its sovereign immunity, had its sovereign immunity abrogated through an act of Congress, or not have had sovereign immunity with respect to this kind of claim in the first place. The Court will address each of these prospects in turn.
1. Waiver of Sovereign Immunity Pursuant to Section 106(b)
The Court will begin by assuming, arguendo , that Revenue enjoys sovereign immunity with respect to this type of action, and such immunity has not been statutorily abrogated. In that circumstance, the only question is whether Revenue waived its immunity when it filed a proof of claim in each of the debtors' bankruptcy cases.
A governmental unit that has filed a proof of claim in the case is deemed to have waived sovereign immunity with respect to a claim against such governmental unit that is property of the estate and that arose out of the same transaction or occurrence out of which the claim of such governmental unit arose.56
As noted above, Revenue did in fact file proofs of claim in both debtors' cases. The issue at hand is whether the proofs of claim arose out of the same "transaction or occurrence" that gave rise to the debtors' claims-that is, their adversary complaints seeking to strip Revenue's liens.
*501In International Finance Corp. v. Kaiser Group International, Inc. , the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit observed that "[t]he legislative history of § 106(b) and the case law interpreting that provision make clear that courts should look 'to the standards employed in identifying compulsory counterclaims under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 13(a) for guidance."
In Kaiser , the Third Circuit found that the logical relationship test was satisfied when a creditor's claim and a debtor's adversary complaint arose out of the same underlying construction project.
Revenue's position is, unsurprisingly, that the filing of its proofs of claim did not bear a logical relationship to the debtors' adversary complaints. Though Revenue cites to Kaiser and recites the proper test in its brief, it nonetheless relies on In re Weaver for the proposition that filing a proof of claim does not satisfy the "logical relationship" test.
Conceptually, Revenue frames the present relationship (or more accurately, lack of relationship) as one between whether the debtors owe the taxes Revenue seeks to collect, and the fact that other lienholders encumber the debtors' properties. The Court, however, finds this characterization strained.
It is important to recognize the scene in which these claims are set: a chapter 13 bankruptcy. This context is critical to a proper understanding of whether a "logical relationship" exists. Here, the circumstances that gave rise to the proof of claim are naturally related to the circumstances that gave rise to the adversary complaints by the debtors' efforts to reorganize their debt through the chapter 13 plan process.
This is no mere generality. Revenue filed proofs of claim in the debtors' bankruptcy *502cases because it sought payment from the debtors' plans, thereby invoking the jurisdiction of this Court.
As the proofs of claim represent a demand on the debtors' estates by Revenue, and the complaints seek declarations of Revenue's rights in property that belongs to those estates, the logical relationship test is satisfied. The proofs of claim and the adversary complaints arise out of the same "transaction or occurrence," and Revenue has therefore waived its sovereign immunity with respect to the debtors' complaints.
2. Abrogation of Sovereign Immunity Pursuant to Section 106(a)
Notwithstanding the Court's conclusion that sovereign immunity was waived by the filing of a proof of claim under § 106(b), the Court alternatively finds that sovereign immunity was abrogated by Congress pursuant to § 106(a). This determination turns on whether Congress abrogated sovereign immunity with respect to the lien-stripping process found in the Bankruptcy Code.
As explained above, the relevant lien-stripping apparatus presented in these cases is § 1322(b)(2), which allows debtors to modify the rights of secured creditors through the confirmation of a chapter 13 plan.
Revenue views this distinction as highly significant, as § 506 is included among the enumerated Code sections for which sovereign *503immunity is abrogated in § 106(a), and § 1322 is not. According to Revenue, this means that § 1322(b)(2) cannot be used to strip a lien held by an entity with sovereign immunity. To support this theory, Revenue cites to the Seventh Circuit case of Ryan v. United States , which it contends recognizes the impossibility of stripping a governmental unit's lien in chapter 13 cases.
Revenue's reliance on Ryan strains the boundaries of inference. The debtor in Ryan asked the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit to recognize a distinction between the application of § 506(d) in chapter 13 cases and chapter 7 cases in order to circumvent Dewsnup .
Revenue attempts to stretch the language in Ryan to show that the Seventh Circuit recognizes sovereign immunity with respect to § 1322(b)(2), because otherwise the debtor would have simply invoked that provision of the Code for the relief he sought. Again, it must be emphasized that the Seventh Circuit in no way addressed § 1322 in Ryan ; it merely stated that the debtor could not accomplish what he wanted to do through § 506(d). Third Circuit law is clear that lien stripping in chapter 13 cases is not accomplished through § 506(d), but by a combination of § 506(a) and § 1322(b)(2).
Revenue admits, as it must, that it is subject to the valuation provisions of § 506(a) owing to its inclusion among the sections listed in § 106(a). Also listed among those enumerated provisions is § 1327, which describes the effects of plan confirmation on the rights of a debtor and his or her creditors. Section 1327(a) specifically provides that "the provisions of a confirmed plan bind the debtor and each creditor."
This is crucial, as § 1322 only concerns the contents of the plan itself. While Revenue is correct in stating that § 1322 is not listed among the provisions of § 106(a), its inclusion would be entirely obviated by the inclusion of § 1327. Section 1327 is an enabling clause; if sovereign immunity has been abrogated with respect to the power to bind creditors to the terms of a confirmed plan, then § 1322's provisions *504detailing the components of a plan are subsumed within that abrogation to give effect to § 1327's inclusion. Otherwise, the inclusion of § 1327 within the abrogation sections of § 106(a) would be impotent, and "[i]t is [a court's] duty to give effect, if possible, to every clause and word of a statute."
Here, both plans specify the treatment accorded to Revenue's claims and final confirmation of those plans pursuant to § 1327 would give effect to their terms. While § 1322 details what each plan may provide, it is § 1327 that makes those terms binding upon creditors. To the extent the debtors' plan would pay the full amount of Revenue's secured claim, discharge any unsecured claim, and satisfy any lien upon completion of the case, Revenue's sovereign immunity has been properly abrogated with respect to those actions through the combination of §§ 506(a) and 1327.
3. Existence of Sovereign Immunity
Revenue's claim of sovereign immunity has now been twice upended. There remains, however, the assertion that Revenue never had sovereign immunity to invoke in the first place, because of the nature of an in rem proceeding. Revenue, for its part, contends that lien-stripping is properly understood as an in personam proceeding, because removing a lien would constitute "affirmative relief" against the lienholder. Upon consideration, the Court finds that this is a third alternative basis to deny the relief Revenue requests.
The topic of sovereign immunity in bankruptcy was first broached in Tennessee Student Assistance Corp. v. Hood , when a debtor attempted to have her student loans discharged as an undue hardship pursuant to
The Supreme Court explained that bankruptcy courts have an inherent power to adjudicate the debtor's in rem rights in estate assets; when a discharge is entered, it merely affects the rights in the res , rather than the personal rights of any creditors.
*505This distinction between in personam and in rem jurisdiction was elaborated upon in Central Virginia Community College v. Katz , which involved setting aside preferential transfers made to colleges by a chapter 11 debtor.
Lien stripping is nothing more than a determination of the rights in a debtor's res , in exactly the same way as the discharge of student loan debt in Hood and the avoidance of a preferential transfer in Katz . Indeed, the assessment and modification of liens against estate assets is the quintessential in rem proceeding, much more so than the actions evaluated by the Supreme Court in those two cases.
Characterizing the removal of the lien through a chapter 13 plan as an in personam proceeding is simply another attempt by Revenue to dress up simple facts in deceptive garb. Beneath the costume, the truth remains: determining rights in a piece of property is properly an in rem proceeding. Revenue therefore has no sovereign immunity to raise in these proceedings.
V. CONCLUSION
In light of the foregoing, each of Revenue's motions to dismiss are denied. This opinion constitutes the Court's findings of fact and conclusions of law in accordance with Fed. R. Bankr. P. 7052. The Court will issue separate orders consistent with this opinion.
There are additional defendants in both cases. The Bergers name PNC Bank as a defendant, while the Internal Revenue Service is a defendant in both the Bergers' and the Yeomans' cases. Though these defendants filed answers in both cases, only Revenue has moved to dismiss the debtors' complaints. See Adv. No. 18-02130 at Dkt. Nos. 21, 33; Adv. No. 18-02163 at Dkt. No. 9.
Case No. 18-02130 at Dkt. Nos. 22, 31; Case No. 18-02163 at Dkt. Nos. 6, 12.
Adv. No. 18-02130 at Dkt. No. 20, ¶¶ 11, 12. The Millview Drive property is also allegedly subject to a second mortgage held by PNC Bank with a payoff amount of $ 119,865.13.
Case No. 18-20778, Claim No. 4-1.
Case No. 18-20778 at Dkt. No. 22.
See Adv. No. 18-02130 at Dkt. Nos. 1, 20. The original Complaint only addressed the Millview property. An Amended Complaint was subsequently filed to place both properties at issue.
Case No. 17-23757, Claim No. 2-1.
Adv. Case No. 18-02163 at Dkt. No. 1, ¶ 7.
The motions seemingly represent a recent change in Revenue's litigation strategy. See, e.g., Muha v. Comm. Pa. Dep't Revenue, Case No. 03-02280 at Dkt. No. 4 (stripping portion of lien held by Pennsylvania Department of Revenue from debtor's residence); Turmo v. Beneficial, Case No. 06-02006 at Dkt. No. 7 (stripping lien held by Revenue from debtor's vehicle); Lancos v. Comm. Pa. Dep't Revenue, Case No. 06-02428 at Dkt. No. 7 (stripping lien held by Revenue from debtor's residence); Roche v. Comm. Pa. Dep't Revenue, Case No. 09-02585 at Dkt. No. 4 (Revenue concedes that its claims are unsecured because of junior priority); Wilson v. Comm. Pa. Dep't Revenue, Case No. 11-02125 at Dkt. No. 11 (stripping lien held by Revenue from debtor's vehicle); Bagaley v. Comm. Pa. Dep't Revenue, Case No. 13-02293 at Dkt. No. 13 (Revenue concedes that its claims are unsecured because of junior priority); Young v. Comm. Pa. Dep't Revenue, Case No. 13-02294 at Dkt. No. 7 (Revenue concedes that its claims would be unsecured if there is insufficient equity in collateral for them to attach to); Cappe v. IRS, Case No. 14-02197 at Dkt. No. 7 (same); Patterson v. Pa. Dep't Revenue, Case No. 15-02199 at Dkt. No. 6 n.4 (Revenue noting that sovereign immunity does not apply to lien stripping actions). In each of the foregoing chapter 13 cases filed over the past decade, the debtors' efforts to modify Revenue's liens were met with little fanfare and include no mention of sovereign immunity, save for one instance where Revenue states that it would not apply in a lien-stripping action.
See
Ryan v. United States (In re Ryan),
Adv. Case No. 18-02130 at Dkt. No. 32; Adv. Case No. 18-02163 at Dkt. No. 14.
Adv. Case No. 18-02130 at Dkt. No. 22; Adv. Case No. 18-02163 at Dkt. No. 6.
Adv. Case No. 18-02130 at Dkt. No. 29, ¶¶ 6-8.
Id. at ¶ 9.
Adv. Case No. 18-02130 at Dkt. No. 29, p. 4. As Revenue has correctly recognized in its Reply, municipal authorities and State authorities are not treated alike for purposes of sovereign immunity. Compare Monell v. Dept. Soc. Servs.,
Adv. Case No. 18-02163 at Dkt. No. 12, ¶ 1.
Id. at ¶ 3.
Fowler v. UPMC Shadyside,
Veltre v. Fifth Avenue Bank (In re Veltre),
Constitution Party v. Aichele,
Id.; see also Merritt v. MidAtlantic Farm Credit, ACA (In re Merritt),
See Rosemary Williams, Annotation, Special Commentary: Bifurcation and Avoidance, or "Stripping," of Liens, Security Interests, and Encumbrances Held by Undersecured Creditors by Rehabilitating and Liquidating Debtors in Bankruptcy,
Johnson v. IRS (In re Johnson),
"An allowed claim of a creditor secured by a lien on property in which the estate has an interest ... is a secured claim to the extent of the value of such creditor's interest in the estate's interest in such property ... and is an unsecured claim to the extent that the value of such creditor's interest ... is less than the amount of such allowed claim."
"To the extent that a lien secures a claim against the debtor that is not an allows secured claim, such lien is void."
Dewsnup,
--- U.S. ----,
Johnson v. IRS (In re Johnson),
In re IRS Dep't of Treasury of U.S. v. Johnson,
U.S. Const. amend. XI.
See, e.g., Hans v. Louisiana,
See College Sav. Bank v. Fla. Prepaid Postsecondary Educ. Expense Bd.,
See Seminole Tribe v. Florida,
College Sav. Bank,
U.S. Const. art. I, § 8, cl. 4.
Cent. Va. Cmty. College v. Katz,
See Int'l Fin. Corp. v. Kaiser Grp. Int'l Inc.,
See Fed. R. Civ. P. 13(a)(1)(A).
Kaiser,
See Int'l Fin. Corp. v. Kaiser Grp. Int'l Inc.,
In re Univ. Med. Ctr.,
The question of whether any sovereign immunity may have been waived by Revenue's initial failure to object to the debtors' plans has not been raised by any party.
The filing of a proof of claim positively invites any resulting adversary proceeding, as it is "integral to the restructuring of the debtor-creditor relationship." See Stern v. Marshall,
See McDonald v. Master Fin., Inc. (In re McDonald),
Nobelman v. Am. Sav. Bank,
Dewsnup v. Timm,
Ryan v. United States (In re Ryan),
See, e.g., McDonald v. Master Fin., Inc. (In re McDonald),
Rojas v. Attorney General of the U.S.,
Id. at 447-48,
Id. at 371,
See Suits in rem or quasi in rem, 62B Am. Jur. 2d Process § 140 (2019) ("A proceeding that merely determines the ownership of property is traditionally called an in rem ... proceeding. Also included within the category of suits in rem are ... proceedings to establish and enforce claims to and liens on real or personal property."); See also In re Kressler, 40 Fed. App'x 712, 713-14 (3d Cir. 2002) (observing "the long-standing rule in bankruptcy that a lien is a property interest an in rem claim [sic] rather than an in personam claim."); Hammond v. Allegheny Cty. Treasurer (In re Hammond),
Reference
- Full Case Name
- IN RE: Elleni BERGER and Randy Berger, Debtors. Elleni Berger and Randy Berger v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Revenue, In re: Charles M. Yeomans and Sharon A. Yeomans, Debtors. Charles M. Yeomans and Sharon M. Yeomans v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Revenue
- Cited By
- 1 case
- Status
- Published