In re Graupner

• Decision Date: 06 August 2008
• Docket Number: No. 07-13657.,07-13657.
• Citation: 537 F.3d 1295
• Parties: In re: Stephen Michael GRAUPNER, Debtor. Stephen Michael Graupner, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Nuvell Credit Corporation, Defendant-Appellee.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Eleventh Circuit

537 F.3d 1295

In re: Stephen Michael GRAUPNER, Debtor.

Stephen Michael Graupner, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Nuvell Credit Corporation, Defendant-Appellee.

No. 07-13657.

United States Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit.

August 6, 2008.

Brace W. Luquire, Columbus, GA, for Graupner.

Lisa Ritchey Craig, McCullough, Payne, Haan, LLC, Atlanta, GA, Barkley Clark, Katherine M. Sutcliffe, Washington, DC, for Defendant-Appellee.

Marcus G. Keegan, Robert Scott Johnson, Franzen & Salzano, P.C., Norcross, GA, James J. White, Ann Arbor, MI, for Amici Curiae.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Middle District of Georgia.

Before TJOFLAT and MARCUS, Circuit Judges, and VINSON,^* District Judge.

VINSON, District Judge:

This case involves interpretation and application of the so-called "hanging paragraph" in Title 11, United States Code, Section 1325(a)(9), which was added to the Bankruptcy Code ("the Code") by the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005. See Pub.L. No. 109-8, 119 Stat. 23 (2005) ("BAPCPA").¹ Specifically, we are called upon to decide if the anti-bifurcation provision in the hanging paragraph protects against "cramdown" of the negative equity in a trade-in vehicle. This issue has been confronted by a number of bankruptcy and district courts throughout the country (with widely divergent results), but it appears to be of first impression in this or any other circuit.

I. BACKGROUND

The area of bankruptcy law involved in this case is somewhat complex and, as indicated above, rife with terms of art. For better understanding, we will set forth a brief discussion of the statutory background before turning to the facts and history of this particular case.

A. The Statutory Scheme

Bankruptcy rehabilitation under Chapter 13 of the Code commonly involves the adjustment of obligations owed to creditors holding liens on the bankruptcy debtor's property. Generally, lien creditors are deemed to hold a secured claim to the extent of the present value of the property that the lien encumbers, while the excess, if any, is treated as a separate and unsecured claim. Section 506(a)(1) of the Code provides in relevant part:

(a)(1) An allowed claim of a creditor secured by a lien on property . . . 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. Such value shall be determined in light of the purpose of the valuation and of the proposed disposition or use of such property[.]

11 U.S.C. § 506(a)(1). In dealing with the allowed secured claims under section 506(a), the Code provides for one of three possible treatments "with respect to each allowed secured claim:" (1) the creditor can accept the debtor's bankruptcy plan for repayment; (2) the debtor can surrender the property securing the claim to the creditor in lieu of repayment; or (3) the debtor can bifurcate the claim into a reduced secured portion equal to the present value of the collateral and an unsecured portion equal to the excess of the claim, and then receive a "cramdown" of the reduced secured claim upon the creditor. See generally 11 U.S.C. § 1325(a)(5). Under the "cramdown" option, as the Supreme Court has recognized, "the debtor is permitted to keep the property over the objection of the creditor; the creditor retains the lien securing the claim, and the debtor is required to provide the creditor with payments, over the life of the plan, that will total the present value of the allowed secured claim, i.e., the present value of the collateral. The value of the allowed secured claim is governed by § 506(a) of the Code." Associates Commercial Corp. v. Rash, 520 U.S. 953, 957, 117 S.Ct. 1879, 1882-83, 138 L.Ed.2d 148 (1997) (internal citations omitted). "Cramdown" was a familiar and routine occurrence before BAPCPA was enacted in 2005. As Judge Lundin notes in his treatise:

Prior to BAPCPA, cramdown of secured claims at confirmation in Chapter 13 cases was uniform and well understood. Oversimplified, under § 506(a) an allowed claim was a secured claim to the extent of the value of the collateral. Undersecured claims were split into secured and unsecured components based on the value of the collateral. With or without consent of the lienholder, a Chapter 13 debtor could confirm a plan that proposed to pay the allowed secured claim in full with present value interest and to treat the balance of the debt as an unsecured claim.

Keith M. Lundin, Chapter 13 Bankruptcy, at 445-1 (3d ed. 2000 & Supp.2007-1).

However, Congress viewed the pre-2005 use of "cramdown" as abusive, so it amended Section 1325(a) through BAPCPA and added the hanging paragraph, which provides:

For purposes of paragraph (5), section 506 [cramdown] shall not apply to a claim described in that paragraph if the creditor has a purchase money security interest securing the debt that is the subject of the claim, the debt was incurred within the 910-day preceding the date of the filing of the petition, and the collateral for that debt consists of a motor vehicle (as defined in section 30102 of title 49) acquired for the personal use of the debtor, or if collateral for that debt consists of any other thing of value, if the debt was incurred during the 1-year period preceding that filing.

11 U.S.C. § 1325(a)(*). Although the hanging paragraph has caused significant "confusion and incoherence in the law" and has been rightly criticized for its poor drafting, In re Long, 519 F.3d 288, 292 (6th Cir.2008); see also In re Carver, 338 B.R. 521, 523 (Bankr.S.D.Ga.2006), its legislative history leaves little doubt that its "`architects intended only good things for car lenders and other lienholders.'" See Long, supra, 519 F.3d at 294 (citations omitted); see also, e.g., General Motors Acceptance Corp. v. Peaslee, 373 B.R. 252, 261 (W.D.N.Y.2007) ("To the extent that it is possible to glean any Congressional intent behind the hanging paragraph . . . that intent . . . seems to be to protect creditors from the abuse of `cramdown.'"); In re Payne, 347 B.R. 278, 281 (Bankr. S.D.Ohio 2006) ("[T]hrough the BAPCPA amendments to § 1325(a)(5), Congress was attempting to remedy a perceived abuse by those who buy vehicles on credit on the eve of bankruptcy and then utilize the cramdown provisions of the Bankruptcy Code to pay the secured creditor a lesser amount than its full claim."); In re Duke, 345 B.R. 806, 809 (Bankr.W.D.Ky.2006) ("The history [of the hanging paragraph] does indicate that it was meant to discourage bankruptcy abuse. It is interesting to note that the section of BAPCPA that added the hanging paragraph was entitled, `Section 306-Giving Secured Creditors Fair Treatment in Chapter 13 . . . Restoring the Foundation for Secured Credit.'"). Thus, whatever else may be said about the hanging paragraph, it seems clear that by it "Congress intended to take away the right of debtors to reduce their secured obligations on retained 910 vehicles to the value of the vehicles." See In re Rodriguez, 375 B.R. 535, 548 (9th Cir. BAP 2007). To fall within the hanging paragraph and be entitled to this anti-bifurcation protection, four general requirements must be satisfied: (1) the creditor must have a "purchase money security interest" in the collateral; (2) the debt must have been incurred within 910 days before the filing of the debtor's bankruptcy case; (3) the collateral for the debt must consist of a motor vehicle²; and (4) the vehicle must have been acquired for the personal use of the debtor. See generally 11 U.S.C. § 1325(a)(*). If these requirements are satisfied, the allowed secured claim is fixed at the amount of the creditor's claim without resort to the "cramdown" provision mandated by section 506(a).

B. Facts and Procedural History

The facts of this case are simple, undisputed, and taken almost verbatim from the district court's order. On June 23, 2005, Stephen Michael Graupner ("Debtor") purchased a 2005 Chevrolet Silverado pick-up truck from a motor vehicle dealer in Georgia. The vehicle was for his personal use and had a "cash price" of $32,919.12. The dealer agreed to finance the sale pursuant to a retail installment contract, with the seller retaining a security interest in the vehicle to secure the unpaid balance of the total sales price.

As part of the transaction, the Debtor traded in a 2002 Chevrolet Silverado pick-up truck. That vehicle had a "negative equity," with the Debtor owing $6,347.50 more on the vehicle than its then-market value. There is nothing in the record of this case to indicate that the trade-in's negative equity was not bona fide and reasonable in amount. The total sales price of the new vehicle included the negative equity, which had the effect of increasing the purchase price. The total amount financed was $36,384.62. The dealer subsequently assigned the retail installment contract to Nuvell Credit Corporation ("Creditor"), which perfected its security interest by having its lien noted on the title to the new vehicle.

Three hundred and one days later, on April 19, 2006, the Debtor filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy protection. The Creditor filed its secured proof of claim showing an amount due on the contract of $33,670.31. The Debtor retained the vehicle and listed it on his schedules as being valued at $23,375.00. The Debtor proposed a Chapter 13 plan that sought to modify the Creditor's secured claim of $33,670.31 by bifurcating it into secured and unsecured portions based on the retail value of the vehicle. The Creditor objected to the confirmation of the proposed plan, contending that its secured claim could not be modified through "cramdown" because it fell within the hanging paragraph. The parties agreed that the debt for the vehicle was acquired within 910 days of the filing for bankruptcy and that the vehicle was...