In re Berthiaume, Bankruptcy No. 3-90-02305(3)11
| Decision Date | 28 February 1992 |
| Docket Number | Bankruptcy No. 3-90-02305(3)11,Adv. No. 3-90-0213. |
| Citation | 138 BR 516 |
| Parties | In re Kyle T. BERTHIAUME, Deborha L. Craig-Berthiaume, Debtors. Kyle T. BERTHIAUME, Deborha L. Craig-Berthiaume, Plaintiffs. v. PENNSYLVANIA HIGHER EDUCATION ASSISTANCE AUTHORITY, et al., Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. Bankruptcy Court — Western District of Kentucky |
Bruce F. Boldt, Jr., Louisville, Ky., for plaintiffs.
Rosalie F. Morrison, Frankfort, Ky., for defendant, KHEAA.
Bonnie Walker-Armstrong, Asst. University Counsel University of Louisville, Louisville, Ky., for University of Louisville.
This adversary proceeding for determination of undue hardship in regards to the discharge of student loans was filed by the plaintiff on July 27, 1990. On September 3, 1991, this case was tried before the Court and thereafter the parties filed post-trial memoranda. The plaintiff, Kyle T. Berthiaume, his wife, Deborha L. Craig-Berthiaume, were the only two witnesses. The parties had previously stipulated that the plaintiff, Deborha L. Craig-Berthiaume, borrowed $4,500.00 in Kentucky Higher Education Assistance Authority guaranteed student loans from the L & N Federal Credit Union to attend the University of Louisville between September, 1987 and May, 1990. These loans accrue interest at 8% per annum and became due for repayment on December 1, 1990 with scheduled monthly payments of $54.60. The plaintiff has made no payments on this amount and the balance due as of November 18, 1991 is $4,706.81. Mrs. Craig-Berthiaume also borrowed $2,500.00 in Kentucky Higher Education Assistance Authority insured supplemental loans for students from the Kentucky Higher Education Student Loan Corporation to attend the University of Louisville during the 1987-88 academic year. This loan accrues interest at the rate of 11.49% per annum and became due for repayment on October 5, 1987, with rescheduled payments of $50.00 per month. She had submitted six payments totalling $660.50 between January 4, 1988 and March 10, 1989. The balance due on this loan as of November 18, 1991 is $2,912.71. The plaintiff, Deborha L. Craig-Berthiaume, also borrowed $6,115.00 in Kentucky Higher Education Assistance Authority guaranteed student loans and $4,665.00 in Kentucky Higher Education Assistance Authority insured supplement loans for students from Liberty National Bank and P & C Educational Loan Center. The defendant, Kentucky Higher Education Assistance Authority, has denied payment of insurance claims on these loans and does not currently hold any interest in these loans.
The plaintiff, Kyle Berthiaume, is indebted, as a result of educational loans, to the Bank of Horton for $4,021.00 and to the Student Loan Servicing Center for $4,088.00.
Deborha Craig-Berthiaume and her husband, Kyle Berthiaume, are both 24 years old and they have one child, born January 6, 1991, who resides with them. Kyle Berthiaume is employed full time as a router with Sysco Louisville Food Services Company. Deborha Craig-Berthiaume was last employed in February, 1991 for fifteen to twenty hours per week as a cashier at K-Mart. Her past employers include the U.S. Army Reserves, Burns International Security Service, Deltatemp, Inc., Computer Systems, Inc. (Humana Corporation), Lees Famous Recipe Country Chicken, University of Louisville History Department and Winn Dixie Louisville, Inc.
Mrs. Berthiaume is currently unemployed and has no income while Mr. Berthiaume earned wages of $21,555.26 in 1989; $29,137.42 in 1990; and $7,522.05 in the first quarter of 1991 which would give him approximately $30,000.00 for last year. The first quarter of 1991 the plaintiff had an average monthly salary of $1,880.51. According to the budget submitted in the records and testimony, he had a net income of approximately $1,300.00. Mr. Berthiaume testifies that he makes voluntary contributions to a 401-K retirement plan and approximately $65.00 a month is deducted for the company stock purchase plan. He also testified that all insurance payments for the family, other than automobile insurance payments, were deducted from his paycheck.
The testimony of the plaintiff, Deborha Craig-Berthiaume, established that she had medical problems which restricted her ability to be employed. She has been diagnosed as being dyslexic which is a permanent disabling condition that severely hinders her ability to obtain employment. She has attempted to work as a secretary but the dyslexia restricts her typing speed to a maximum of 30 words per minute. She was also recently diagnosed as manic depressive and when she becomes depressed or sick she starts writing backwards. Even though the manic depression can be controlled by the prescription drug, Lithium, the dyslexia is a permanent condition which may be treated but never cured. Her bouts of depression and dyslexia seriously handicapped her in doing her academic work at the University of Louisville and ultimately required her to drop out of school. Her mother-in-law is temporarily living with them because Mrs. Berthiaume cannot handle the child care and household duties.
Mrs. Berthiaume also has a mitral valve prolapse and regurgitation which is a congenital heart condition. She has a defect with one of the two valves in the heart which causes one of her heart valves to open the opposite way from which it is intended to open to circulate her blood. When this happens with the heart valve, the experience is extremely painful. She does take medication to alleviate the pain but the medication cannot correct the condition. The mitral valve prolapse and regurgitation causes severe pain but it causes oxygenated blood to combine with unoxygenated blood. This results in a permanent insufficiency of oxygen and energy which results in her being constantly weak. She has asthma which becomes active when she tries strenuous physical activity or when she works under stressful conditions and also suffers from arthritis in her knee joints.
Mrs. Berthiaume was recently hospitalized for manic depression at Lincoln Trail Hospital during the summer of 1991. Her most recent hospitalizations were from August 2 to August 9, 1991 and from August 16 until the date of trial. She controls her antidepressant with medication which includes lithium, xanex and halodol.
Mrs. Berthiaume testified that her continuing medical conditions are financially debilitating. She takes Beconase for allergies, Ventolin for asthma, Ceclor for bronchitis, Seldane for allergies and Tenormin for mitral valve prolapse condition and regurgitation in addition to her medications for manic depression. Her health insurance does not fully cover the office visits and medication and can seriously affect their monthly budget. Mrs. Berthiaume advised the Court that she was applying for social security and disability benefits but there was no certainty as to if and when those benefits would be collected.
Debtors monthly budget as listed in the Answers to Interrogatories sets for monthly expenses in the range of $1,572.52 to $1,593.52 and sets forth the following expenses:
Rent - $359.00
LG & E - $ 40.00 to $60.00
Telephone - $ 50.00
Vet and pet food - $ 30.00
Gas & Oil - $172.00
License tag - $ 1.00
Automobile repairs - $172.92
Clothing - $ 45.00
Entertainment - $ 40.00
Food - $215.00
Doctors - $ 75.00
Dentists - $ 25.00
Prescription drugs - $ 10.00
Eyeglasses - $ 15.00
Automobile liability
ins. - $ 37.50
Hospitalization insurance - $ 36.00
Life Insurance - $ 24.00
Laundry - $159.10
Auto (personal property
tax) - $ 5.00
Newspaper - $ 6.00
Beauty & barber
shop - $ 15.00
Baby miscellaneous - $ 30.00
The testimony showed that the automotive repair expense was for a repair bill in the amount of $2,075.00 which had been divided into twelve monthly payments. Mrs. Berthiaume also testified that vet and pet food of $30.00 a month was for cat insurance and her rent was now $200.00 instead of the $359.00. She also testified that the laundry expense of $159.10 would have to be adjusted because that was for washing their clothes at a public laundromat but they had recently purchased a washer and dryer which would significantly decrease that expense. There were no other extravagances in the debtors' budget and some estimates such as the food and prescription drugs could be too low. It seems to this Court that Mr. Berthiaume's average net monthly...
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