21st Mortgage Corporation v. Kayla Glenn
Opinion
This case involves whether, under § 506(a) of the Bankruptcy Code, delivery and setup costs should be included in the valuation of a retained mobile home in a Chapter 13 proceeding. Both the bankruptcy court and the district court determined that delivery and setup costs should not be included in the mobile home's valuation. We agree and therefore AFFIRM.
I.
The relevant facts of this case are undisputed. 21st Mortgage Corporation financed Kayla Glenn's purchase of a used mobile home for the "base price" of $29,910. This base price apparently included the cost of delivering the mobile home, as well as the costs of blocking, leveling, and anchoring required by Mississippi law. 21st Mortgage retains a purchase-money security interest in the home and has a secured claim of $27,714.
Glenn filed for bankruptcy under Chapter 13. Glenn's bankruptcy plan allowed her to retain her mobile home and pay 21st Mortgage the secured value (plus 5% interest) over the life of the plan. 21st Mortgage objected to the confirmation of the plan because it disputed the valuation of Glenn's home. The dispute is whether $4,000-the alleged cost of necessary delivery and setup services for Glenn's mobile home-should be included in the valuation. Because Glenn has chosen to retain her mobile home, she will not again incur the costs of delivery and setup.
The bankruptcy court determined that the delivery and setup costs should not be included in the valuation of Glenn's mobile home, overruling 21st Mortgage's objection
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to the plan's confirmation. In light of the text of § 506(a) and the Supreme Court's decision in
Associates Commercial Corp. v. Rash
,
The district court agreed with the bankruptcy court's decision in light of Rash and the text of § 506(a), noting that "[v]irtually all of the courts that have considered ... whether to include delivery and setup costs in a mobile home valuation have reached the same conclusion." The district court therefore affirmed the bankruptcy court's judgment and dismissed the appeal. 21st Mortgage timely appealed to our court.
II.
"We review 'the decision of a district court sitting as an appellate court in a bankruptcy case by applying the same standards of review to the bankruptcy court's findings of fact and conclusions of law as applied by the district court.' "
Endeavor Energy Res., L.P. v. Heritage Consol., L.L.C. (In re Heritage Consol., L.L.C.)
,
III.
The dispute here centers on conflicting interpretations of § 506(a) of the Bankruptcy Code. 21st Mortgage argues that because § 506(a)(2) requires calculating replacement value "without deduction for costs of sale or marketing," delivery and setup costs should be included in the replacement value of a mobile home. Moreover, according to 21st Mortgage, a mobile home's "replacement value"-defined as "the price a retail merchant would charge for property of that kind"-necessarily includes delivery and setup costs. 21st Mortgage also contends that the "proposed disposition or use" standard from the Supreme Court's decision in Rash does not apply here because § 506(a)(2) 's language was added after Rash and applies regardless of whether a debtor retains her property. The Manufactured Housing Institute submitted an amicus brief in support of 21st Mortgage's argument, asserting that, under § 506(a)(2), the price a retail merchant would charge includes delivery and setup costs for mobile homes.
Glenn did not submit a brief to our court on appeal. We requested the input of the United States Trustee Program. 1 The *190 United States Trustee for Region 5 (the Trustee) submitted a brief in support of the district court's determination that the valuation of a mobile home should not include delivery and setup costs. The Trustee first contends that § 506(a)(2) 's definition of replacement value as "the price a retail merchant would charge for property of that kind" indicates that courts should "identify the retail price of a mobile home, not all costs incurred in connection with the purchase of a home." The Trustee relies on Rash as directing courts to focus on the proposed disposition of property in making a valuation. Moreover, the Trustee emphasizes that § 506(a)(2) 's exception for "costs of sale or marketing" does not apply here because delivery and setup costs "are not 'costs of sale,' a term which refers to the seller's costs of doing business."
We begin with the text of § 506(a).
See
Nowlin
,
Section 506(a) of the Bankruptcy Code governs the valuation of secured claims in Chapter 13 bankruptcy proceedings. Section 506(a)(1) states that the value of a creditor's claim "shall be determined in light of the purpose of the valuation and of the proposed disposition or use of such property ...." Section 506(a)(2) states:
If the debtor is an individual in a case under chapter 7 or 13, such value with respect to personal property securing an allowed claim shall be determined based on the replacement value of such property as of the date of the filing of the petition without deduction for costs of sale or marketing. With respect to property acquired for personal, family, or household purposes, replacement value shall mean the price a retail merchant would charge for property of that kind considering the age and condition of the property at the time value is determined.
Section 506(a)(2) should not be construed to the exclusion of § 506(a)(1) when the two clauses can be read consistently. "[I]t is a 'cardinal rule that a statute is to be read as a whole,' in order not to render portions of it inconsistent or devoid of meaning."
Zayler v. Dep't of Agric. (In re Supreme Beef Processors, Inc.)
,
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Moreover, the Supreme Court in
Rash
, considering the language of what is now § 506(a)(1), stated that "the 'proposed disposition or use' of the collateral is of paramount importance to the valuation question."
Section 506(a)(1) -and the Supreme Court's interpretation of its language in
Rash
-inform our interpretation of § 506(a)(2).
3
We interpret § 506(a)(2) as
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consistent with § 506(a)(1) and the Supreme Court's statement that "the 'proposed disposition or use' of the collateral is of paramount importance to the valuation question."
Id.
at 962,
Under § 506(a)(2), the valuation of a mobile home is determined by its replacement value, which is "the price a retail merchant would charge for property of that kind considering the age and condition of the property at the time value is determined."
Section 506(a)(2) 's definition of replacement value as including any "costs of sale or marketing" does not undermine this conclusion. The mandatory inclusion of costs of sale or marketing does not extend to all costs tangential to the replacement of a mobile home. While costs of sale or marketing are repeat costs of doing business, delivery and setup costs for a retained mobile home are completed service charges "which will not, in reality be repeated."
In re Prewitt
,
Our holding accords with the determinations of all courts that have addressed the issue.
See
In re Eaddy
, No. CV 15-05744-DD,
In light of the statutory requirements and the Supreme Court's determination that the "proposed disposition or use" of collateral is crucial to its valuation, delivery and setup costs must not be included in the valuation of a retained mobile home under § 506(a) of the Bankruptcy Code.
IV.
Accordingly, we AFFIRM the judgment of the district court.
The United States trustees are appointed by the United States Attorney General and are responsible for, among other things, "supervis[ing] the administration of cases and trustees in cases under chapter 7, 11, 12, 13, or 15 of title 11."
Rash
was decided before the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 (BAPCPA). When Congress amended § 506(a) of the Bankruptcy Code in 2005, § 506(a) became § 506(a)(1), and a new subsection was added that became § 506(a)(2). BAPCPA, Pub. L. No. 109-8,
21st Mortgage discusses various congressional hearings that addressed the state of the law after
Rash
and argues that "[t]he legislative history of § 506(a)(2) and the context in which it arose" show that Congress intended § 506(a)(2) to overrule footnote six of
Rash
. 21st Mortgage's reliance on legislative history is inapposite here. First, under our circuit's caselaw, considering legislative history is permissible only if there is ambiguity.
Goswami v. Am. Collections Enter., Inc.
,
Amicus Manufactured Housing Institute states that delivery and setup costs "are integral parts of the price of a manufactured home when sold by a retailer" in part because Mississippi law requires that retail dealers be licensed and provide delivery and setup services and because the quoted price of a mobile home typically includes the costs of delivery and setup. However, as the bankruptcy court in this case observed, "[a] retailer may be required to obtain a license in order to sell manufactured homes, but paying for the license does not increase the value of the mobile homes the retailer will sell ...." Moreover, as the Trustee contends, the value of collateral "should not turn on whether a cost is typically quoted separately or as part of the base price." Delivery and setup costs, the Trustee correctly reasons, "are not part of the 'value' of the 'property' and they are not implicated by Glenn's retention of the home." Like 21st Mortgage, the Manufactured Housing Institute neglects the import of the statutory language, which indicates that courts should consider the particular mobile home at issue.
Cf.
In re Allen
,
Moreover, 21st Mortgage identifies no circuit caselaw-either from this court or from a sister circuit-addressing whether delivery and setup costs should be included in a § 506(a) valuation of a retained mobile home in a Chapter 13 case.
Compare
In re Heritage Highgate, Inc.
,
Reference
- Full Case Name
- In the MATTER OF: Kayla GLENN, Debtor 21st Mortgage Corporation, Appellant, v. Kayla Glenn, Appellee.
- Cited By
- 25 cases
- Status
- Published