In the Matter Of: Melvin Joseph Camp v. Ingalls
| Decision Date | 21 January 2011 |
| Docket Number | No. 09–50852.,09–50852. |
| Citation | 631 F.3d 757 |
| Parties | In the Matter of: Melvin Joseph CAMP, Jr., Debtor.Melvin Joseph Camp, Jr., Appellee,v.Ronald E. Ingalls, Trustee, Appellant. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Fifth Circuit |
Robert William Berry, Austin, TX, for Camp.Stephen W. Sather, Barron, Newburger & Sinsley, P.L.L.C., Austin, TX, for Ingalls.Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas.Before STEWART, PRADO and ELROD, Circuit Judges.PRADO, Circuit Judge:
The Chapter 7 Trustee, Ronald E. Ingalls (“the Trustee”), appeals the district court's reversal of the bankruptcy court's order sustaining his objection to the federal exemptions claimed by Chapter 7 debtor Melvin Joseph Camp Jr. Because Florida's opt-out statute applies only to Florida residents, and Camp was not a Florida resident when he filed for bankruptcy, we affirm the district court's decision that Camp may use the federal exemptions.
The facts are not in dispute. Camp lived in Florida from January 17, 2004, to April 30, 2007. He then moved to Texas, where he filed a voluntary petition for Chapter 7 bankruptcy on June 10, 2008. In his bankruptcy petition, Camp elected to claim the federal exemptions set forth in § 522(d) of the Bankruptcy Code. See 11 U.S.C. § 522(d). The Trustee objected to this exemption claim. The Trustee argued that because Camp had not lived in Texas for the entire 730–day period preceding the bankruptcy filing, the law that applies to Camp under the choice-of-law provision in § 522(b)(3)(A) is not the law of the state of filing—i.e., Texas—but the law of the state in which Camp lived for a majority of the 180–day period prior to the 730–day period—i.e., Florida. The Trustee further argued that Florida law does not permit Camp to claim the federal exemptions.
The bankruptcy court agreed and sustained the objection, ruling that Camp may use only the exemptions granted by Florida law. Camp appealed to the district court, which reversed the bankruptcy court and held that Camp may use the federal exemptions. The Trustee appeals.
“When a court of appeals reviews the decision of a district court, sitting as an appellate court, it applies the same standards of review to the bankruptcy court's finding of fact and conclusions of law as applied by the district court.” Jacobsen v. Moser ( In re Jacobsen), 609 F.3d 647, 652 (5th Cir.2010) (citation and internal quotation marks omitted).
“Issues of statutory interpretation are reviewed de novo.” Id. (alteration and citation omitted). In interpreting a statute, we “always turn first to one, cardinal canon before all others”: “courts must presume that a legislature says in a statute what it means and means in a statute what it says there.” Conn. Nat'l Bank v. Germain, 503 U.S. 249, 253–54, 112 S.Ct. 1146, 117 L.Ed.2d 391 (1992) (citations omitted). “ ‘[W]hen the statute's language is plain, the sole function of the courts—at least where the disposition required by the text is not absurd—is to enforce it according to its terms.’ ” Lamie v. U.S. Trustee, 540 U.S. 526, 534, 124 S.Ct. 1023, 157 L.Ed.2d 1024 (2004) (quoting Hartford Underwriters Ins. Co. v. Union Planters Bank, N.A., 530 U.S. 1, 6, 120 S.Ct. 1942, 147 L.Ed.2d 1 (2000)). “When the words of a statute are unambiguous, then, this first canon is also the last: ‘judicial inquiry is complete.’ ” Germain, 503 U.S. at 254, 112 S.Ct. 1146 (quoting Rubin v. United States, 449 U.S. 424, 430, 101 S.Ct. 698, 66 L.Ed.2d 633 (1981)) (citations omitted).
Section 522(b) of the Bankruptcy Code permits individual debtors to exempt certain property from the bankruptcy estate. See 11 U.S.C. § 522(b). 1 Generally, a debtor has the option to elect either federal or state exemptions. See id. § 522(b)(1) (). Each state, however, has the right to opt out of the federal exemption scheme. See id. § 522(b)(2) (). In states that have opted out, debtors are limited to the state exemptions.
According to the plain language of § 522(b)(2), then, Congress has allowed each state to make its own decision about whether the federal exemptions will be available to debtors. As the district court correctly decided, because Camp had not lived in Texas for the entire 730–day period preceding his bankruptcy filing, the to him under § 522(b)(3)(A) is Florida law. Thus, § 522(b)(2) requires us to look to Florida law to determine if Camp is “specifically” disallowed from using the federal exemptions.
Florida has opted out of the federal exemption scheme only with respect to Florida residents. Specifically, Florida's opt-out statute states:
In accordance with the provisions of [11 U.S.C. § 522(b)], residents of this state shall not be entitled to the federal exemptions provided in [11 U.S.C. § 522(d)]. Nothing herein shall affect the exemptions given to residents of this state by the State Constitution and the Florida Statutes.
Fla. Stat. Ann.. § 222.20 (emphasis added).2 No other provision in Florida law addresses the right to opt out under § 522(b)(2).
Therefore, Florida's opt-out statute, by its own express terms, does not apply to nonresident debtors, who remain eligible to use the federal exemptions because nothing in Florida law specifically disallows them from doing so. See In re Battle, 366 B.R. 635, 636 (Bankr.W.D.Tex.2006) (); In re Schulz, 101 B.R. 301, 302 (Bankr.N.D.Fla.1989) (same); see also In re Chandler, 362 B.R. 723, 726–27 (Bankr.N.D.W.Va.2007) (); In re Underwood, 342 B.R. 358, 361–62 (Bankr.N.D.Fla.2006) (); In re Volk, 26 B.R. 457, 460–61 (Bankr.D.S.D.1983) (); In re Walley, 9 B.R. 55, 57–58 (Bankr.S.D.Ala.1981) (). Here, because Camp was not a Florida resident at the time he filed his bankruptcy petition, Florida law does not restrict his access to the federal exemptions.3
The Trustee's counterarguments are unpersuasive. He argues that the term “resident” should be read broadly to include any person who is subject to Florida's jurisdiction, such as a debtor who is subject to Florida's state-law exemption scheme under § 522(b)(3)(A). This argument is incompatible with the plain language of § 522(b)(2), which clearly evidences Congress's intent to defer to each state's own legislative decision regarding the availability of the federal exemptions. Accordingly, the Bankruptcy Code does not re-define the unambiguous terms of a state's own opt-out statute.
The Trustee has not cited to any Florida case to support his contention that the term “resident” should be read more broadly than its plain meaning. Moreover, it is not illogical, as the Trustee argues, for a state to treat its own residents differently from other persons who have less of a connection to the state, especially because resident debtors are more likely to claim exemptions for assets that are located in the state. In addition, Florida's opt-out statute has contained a residency requirement ever since it was enacted in 1979, even though § 522(b), since 1978, has forced some debtors to apply the opt-out law of the state of their former domicile. In other words, despite being on notice that nonresident debtors might be required to apply Florida's opt-out statute, the Florida legislature has not deleted the residency requirement. Therefore, we too will refrain from rewriting the statute.
Lastly, it is not true, as the Trustee contends, that our decision today will lead to impermissible forum shopping. Congress has approved the federal exemptions for use in every state, and it has delegated to the states the power to decide whether those exemptions are available to a particular debtor. Thus, to the extent there is any forum shopping that arises from our decision, it is caused by Congress's decision to defer to state decision making, and it results in the election of an exemption scheme that has Congress's explicit approval. As a result, we cannot say that our straightforward interpretation of the plain language of § 522(b)(2) and Florida's opt-out statute is absurd merely because it might increase the potential for limited forum shopping.
Camp may elect to claim the federal exemptions. We affirm the decision of the district court.
AFFIRMED.
1. Section 522(b) states, in...
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