In re Dowden, Civil Action No. 96-0758.
| Decision Date | 25 February 1997 |
| Docket Number | Civil Action No. 96-0758. |
| Citation | 207 BR 514 |
| Parties | In re William G. DOWDEN and Mary Elizabeth Keyser Dowden. H.A. BOUGHTON, Trustee, v. William G. DOWDEN, et al. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Western District of Louisiana |
COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED
James W. Berry, Coenen & Berry, Rayville, LA, J. Michael Percy, Percy Smith Foote & Gadel, Alexandria, LA, for H.A. Boughton.
Chatham H. Reed, Simon Fitzgerald Cooke Reed & Welch, Shreveport, LA, for William G. and Mary Elizabeth Keyser Dowden.
Charles Raymond Whitehead, Jr., Whitehead Law Offices, Natchitoches, LA, Johnny E. Dollar, Robert N. Anderson, Dollar Laird & Scott, Monroe, LA, for Louisiana Gin Co., Inc. and Jack Singleton.
Darryl J. Hebert, Devillier Law Offices, Eunice, LA, for American Security Bank.
Marshall T. Napper, C.A. Martin III, Shotwell Brown & Sperry, Monroe, LA, for Helena Chemical Co.
Stephen D. Wheelis, Provosty Sadler & deLaunay, Alexandria, LA, for Maxwell Cotton Co.
Robert L. Royer, Alexandria, LA, for Federal Compress & Warehouse Co., Inc.
C. Brent Coreil, Soileau & Coreil, Ville Platte, LA, for James G. Earles, John Earles, Earles Inc. and Earles Farming Co.
RULING
For the following reasons, the motion for partial summary judgment filed by the plaintiff, H.A. Boughton, Trustee, is DENIED.
In this chapter 12 bankruptcy proceeding, H.A. Boughton ("Boughton" or "trustee") serves as trustee over the estate of the debtors, William G. Dowden and Mary Elizabeth Keyser Dowden (collectively referred to as "Dowdens" or "debtors"). In this capacity, Boughton must collect the assets of the debtors, disburse funds in the appropriate manner, and otherwise manage the affairs of the estate.
The facts in this case are largely undisputed, and may be briefly summarized. The Dowdens raised cotton during the 1994 crop year and thereby incurred post-petition expenses. In particular, Helena Chemical Company ("Helena") supplied goods necessary for cotton production, and the debtors consequently executed an Agricultural Security Agreement in Helena's favor. In its order authorizing the debtors to obtain credit from Helena, the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Louisiana specified that Helena's security interest "is specifically subordinate and junior to any previously recorded liens . . . in favor of Joseph C. Perot, Jr., HT Bar Stock Farms, Inc. and/or Henry Cook Taylor."
The trustee received the proceeds from the 1994 cotton crop in four separate checks. The funds from the first three checks paid the debts owed to Perot, HT Bar Stock Farms, and Taylor. The very day he received the fourth check, in the amount of $188,810.60, Boughton issued a check from his general trust fund to Helena in the amount of $188,450.13 as payment in full for the goods previously advanced. Although the check to Helena was duly negotiated, the fourth check to the Dowdens has never been honored. The trustee seeks recovery of the money paid to Helena, and filed the instant motion for partial summary judgment against Helena on this issue. The defendant timely filed a memorandum in opposition to the motion.
Summary judgment is appropriate only if "the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any," when viewed in the light most favorable to the non-movant, "show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law." Anderson v. Liberty Lobby. Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 249-50, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 2510-11, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). A dispute about a material fact is "genuine" if the evidence is such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the nonmoving party. Id. at 248, 106 S.Ct. at 2510. In making its determination, the court must draw all justifiable inferences in favor of the nonmoving party. Id. at 255, 106 S.Ct. at 2513-14. Once the moving party has initially shown "that there is an absence of evidence to support the nonmoving party's case," Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 325, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 2554, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986), the non-movant must come forward, after adequate time for discovery, with "specific facts" showing a genuine factual issue for trial. Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(e); Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio, 475 U.S. 574, 587, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 1356, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986). "Conclusionary denials, improbable inferences, and legalistic argumentation" are not an adequate substitute for specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial. S.E.C. v. Recile, 10 F.3d 1093, 1097 (5th Cir.1993).
In his memorandum, the trustee asserts the following four arguments in support of his motion for summary judgment: (1) the Louisiana Civil Code provides that a person who receives a thing not owed to him must return it; (2) the Louisiana Civil Code allows a party to sue for restitution if he has paid the debt of another by mistake; (3) the trustee may avoid the transaction pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 549(a)(2)(B) because the transfer to Helena was not sanctioned by the Bankruptcy Code or the court; and (4) equitable principles favor preservation of a debtor's estate and 11 U.S.C. § 105 empowers the court to order the return of the funds in this case. We will consider each argument in turn.
As an initial matter, we must consider whether the 1995 revisions to the relevant provisions of the code should control this case. The trustee invokes articles 2301, 2302, and 2310 of the Louisiana Civil Code 1870 in effect prior to the 1995 revisions. The Louisiana Legislature revised these articles as part of an overall recodification of Book III, Title V of the Code, and designated 1 January 1996 as the effective date of the changes. Both parties assume in their briefs that the revisions have no relevance to this proceeding. We concur. For the reasons discussed below, we find that the 1995 revisions are not retroactive.
Article 6 of the Civil Code codifies the general rule of retroactive application of legislative changes, as follows:
In the absence of contrary legislative expression, substantive laws apply prospectively only. Procedural and interpretive laws apply both prospectively and retroactively, unless there is a legislative expression to the contrary.
La.Civ.Code art. 6 (West 1993). The Louisiana Supreme Court has dictated a two-step analysis under article 6. First, a court must determine the legislative intent regarding retroactivity. Second, in the absence of a clear legislative intent, a court must classify the enactment as substantive, procedural or interpretive and apply the provisions of article 6. Cole v. Celotex Corp., 599 So.2d 1058, 1063 (La.1992) (citations omitted). Substantive laws either create or change rules, rights, and duties. St. Paul Fire and Marine Ins. Co. v. Smith, 609 So.2d 809, 817 (La.1992). Interpretive laws "merely establish the meaning that the interpretive statute has from the time of its enactment." Id. "Procedural laws prescribe a method for enforcing a substantive right and relate to the form of the proceeding or the operation of the laws." Segura v. Frank, 630 So.2d 714, 723 (La.1994) (citations omitted).
Both the state and federal constitutions, however, prohibit the retroactive application of a law that would divest a party of a vested property right. St. Paul Fire, 609 So.2d at 816 n. 11. Since the accrual of a cause of action constitutes a vested property right under Louisiana law, Cole, 599 So.2d at 1063 (citations omitted), the relevant time for determining retroactivity is the date when a party could have instituted a lawsuit. Id. n. 15.
The legislative enactments at issue in this case do not provide a clear expression of the legislature's intent regarding retroactivity. Although the provisions specify an effective date of 1 January 1996, the Louisiana Supreme Court has found that "a delayed effective date evidences some, albeit inconclusive, intent of prospective application." St. Paul Fire, 609 So.2d at 817.
Proceeding to the task of classifying the changes to the code, we find that these amendments are substantive. Revised article 2299 is based on article 2301 of the Louisiana Civil Code of 1870. Both articles obligate a person who has received a payment not owed to him to restore it to the person from whom he received it. La.Civ.Code Ann. art. 2299 (West 1997); La.Civ.Code Ann. art. 2301 (West 1979). Under both provisions, the obligation exists without regard to whether the payment was received knowingly or by mistake. Although the recipient's duty remains constant, the legislature amended the payor's right to recover the payment.
In the amendments to Title V of Book III, the legislature suppressed article 2302 of the Civil Code of 1870. This article had provided a right to recover the payment not owed, but limited the right to instances in which the payment was made through mistake. The comments to revised article 2299 state, however, that "a person who knowingly or through error has paid or delivered a thing not owed may reclaim it from the person who received it." La.Civ.Code Ann. art. 2299 (West 1997) (emphasis added). Thus, article 2302 supported a cause of action only where the payment was made in error, but revised article 2299 allows a party to seek reimbursement even when the payment was made knowingly.
In sum, the 1995 amendments alter the payor's legal right of recovery and, therefore, are properly classified as a substantive change in the code. Moreover, the change in the right of recovery is but one part of the general revision to Title V, see 1995 La. Acts 1041, and such an overall recodification indicates substantive change. St. Paul Fire, 609 So.2d at 821. Finally, the delayed effective date also supports a finding that the changes be given prospective effect only. Id. at 822 (citing Manuel v....
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