Document ID: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-ca10-06-00018/USCOURTS-ca10-06-00018-0/pdf.json

Parties Involved:
Charles Lawrence Born
Appellee
Lorraine Anne Born
Appellee
Edward J. Nazar
Appellant
North American Savings Bank FSB
Appellee

Document Text:

UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY APPELLATE PANEL

OF THE TENTH CIRCUIT

IN RE CHARLES LAWRENCE BORN,

also known as C L Born, and

LORRAINE ANNE BORN, also known

as Lori Born,

Debtors.

BAP No. KS-06-018

EDWARD J. NAZAR, Trustee,

Plaintiff – Appellant,

Bankr. No. 04-14382-7

Adv. No. 05-5067

 Chapter 7

v.

NORTH AMERICAN SAVINGS

BANK FSB, CHARLES LAWRENCE

BORN, and LORRAINE ANNE BORN,

Defendants – Appellees.

JUDGMENT

Filed November 28, 2006

Before CLARK, CORNISH, and MICHAEL, Bankruptcy Judges.

This case originated in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District

of Kansas at Wichita.

The judgment of that court is AFFIRMED.

For the Panel:

Barbara A. Schermerhorn, Clerk of Court

By:

Deputy Clerk

BAP Appeal No. 06-18 Docket No. 32 Filed: 11/28/2006 Page: 1 of 9
* The parties did not request oral argument, and after examining the briefs

and appellate record, the Court has determined unanimously that oral argument

would not materially assist in the determination of this appeal. See Fed. R.

Bankr. P. 8012. The case is therefore ordered submitted without oral argument.

FILED

U.S. Bankruptcy Appellate Panel

of the Tenth Circuit

November 28, 2006

Barbara A. Schermerhorn

Clerk PUBLISH

UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY APPELLATE PANEL

OF THE TENTH CIRCUIT

IN RE CHARLES LAWRENCE BORN,

also known as C L Born, and

LORRAINE ANNE BORN, also known

as Lori Born,

Debtors.

BAP No. KS-06-018

EDWARD J. NAZAR, Trustee,

Plaintiff – Appellant,

Bankr. No. 04-14382-7

Adv. No. 05-5067

 Chapter 7

v. OPINION

NORTH AMERICAN SAVINGS

BANK FSB, CHARLES LAWRENCE

BORN, and LORRAINE ANNE BORN,

Defendants – Appellees.

Appeal from the United States Bankruptcy Court

for the District of Kansas

Submitted on the briefs:*

Nicholas R. Grillot of Redmond & Nazar, LLP, Wichita, Kansas, for Plaintiff–

Appellant.

Linda S. Mock of Shapiro and Reid, Overland Park, Kansas, for Defendant –

Appellee North American Savings Bank, FSB.

Before CLARK, CORNISH, and MICHAEL, Bankruptcy Judges.

BAP Appeal No. 06-18 Docket No. 32 Filed: 11/28/2006 Page: 2 of 9
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MICHAEL, Bankruptcy Judge.

In this appeal, we are asked to determine the rights of a trustee when he or

she avoids a lien upon property of the bankruptcy estate. The obvious answer is

that the trustee holds the lien upon the property, and may foreclose on that lien

for the benefit of the estate. In this case, notwithstanding the avoidance of the

lien, the debtors continued paying the underlying claim. The trustee claims that,

under these facts, his lien extends to the income stream generated as a result of

the debtors’ payments, and that he is entitled to his proportionate share of those

funds. The bankruptcy court disagreed. The trustee appeals. We affirm. 

I. Factual Background

Charles Born and Lorraine Born (“Debtors”) filed a petition for relief under

Chapter 7 of the United States Bankruptcy Code on August 6, 2004. At the time

of their filing, Debtors were indebted to North American Savings Bank (“Bank”). 

Bank’s claim was secured by a lien upon certain real estate and a mobile home

located thereon. The lien upon the real estate was properly perfected; the lien

upon the mobile home was not.

Notwithstanding the filing of the bankruptcy case, Debtors wished to retain

the real estate and the mobile home. To that end, the Debtors continued to make

payments under the terms of their loan agreement with the Bank. Debtors have

not executed any manner of reaffirmation agreement with respect to this debt, nor

has the Bank required any such agreement; instead, it has been happy to see the

Debtors continue to make their payments.

Upon the filing of the Chapter 7 case, Edward J. Nazar (“Trustee” or

“Nazar”) was appointed to serve as trustee. Nazar investigated the financial

affairs of the Debtors and determined that Bank did not hold a perfected lien upon

the mobile home. He then filed an adversary proceeding to avoid that lien. As

part of this litigation, Nazar obtained an order requiring Debtors to make their

monthly payments to him pending the outcome of the adversary proceeding. 

BAP Appeal No. 06-18 Docket No. 32 Filed: 11/28/2006 Page: 3 of 9
1 See June 30, 2005, Journal Entry and Order Requiring Debtors to Make

Monthly Payments to Trustee, in Appellant’s Appendix (“App.”) at 11-12; August

22, 2005, Journal Entry and Order Granting Trustee’s Complaint for Avoidance

of Non-Perfected Security Interest, in App. at 13-15.

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Bank did not contest the avoidance of its lien upon the mobile home, and an

agreed order to that effect was entered on June 30, 2005.1

Thereafter, a dispute arose between Nazar and the Bank as to the value of

Nazar’s interest in the mobile home. Bank argued that the mobile home had no

value. Nazar contended that his interest in the mobile home extended to the

stream of payments which the Debtors were making under the terms of their loan

agreement with the Bank. The bankruptcy court held an evidentiary hearing on

the issue. Bank presented evidence which would have supported a finding that

the value of the mobile home was between zero and five thousand dollars, and the

value of the real estate was twenty thousand dollars. The bankruptcy court

determined that the value of the mobile home was $5,000 and the value of the real

estate was $20,000. 

Nazar argued that the value of the Trustee’s lien interest was $12,916. This

figure was arrived at by taking the current amount owed to the Bank ($51,667.14)

and allocating 20% of that amount to the mobile home, using the ratio of value of

the mobile home to the value of all of the mobile home and the real estate

($5,000/$25,000). The bankruptcy court rejected the Trustee’s argument

regarding allocation of a portion of the debt owed to the Bank to the Trustee. An

order was entered granting the Trustee a $5,000 in rem secured claim against the

mobile home, and allowing the Trustee to recover 20% of each payment made by

the Debtors under the terms of their loan with the Bank until the $5,000 was paid

in full. The Trustee appealed.

While this method of realization upon an avoided lien seems somewhat

novel, it is not at issue in this appeal. Bank does not contest the forced allocation

of payments. We offer no opinion as to whether a trustee or a lender could be

BAP Appeal No. 06-18 Docket No. 32 Filed: 11/28/2006 Page: 4 of 9
2 28 U.S.C. § 158(a)(1), (b)(1), and (c)(1); Fed. R. Bankr. P. 8002. 

3 Quackenbush v. Allstate Ins. Co., 517 U.S. 706, 712 (1996) (quoting Catlin

v. United States, 324 U.S. 229, 233 (1945)). 

4 Pierce v. Underwood, 487 U.S. 552, 558 (1988).

5 Salve Regina Coll. v. Russell, 499 U.S. 225, 238 (1991).

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compelled to accept such payments in lieu of more traditional means of lien

foreclosure or satisfaction. 

II. Appellate Jurisdiction

This Court has jurisdiction to hear timely-filed appeals from “final

judgments, orders, and decrees” of bankruptcy courts within the Tenth Circuit,

unless one of the parties elects to have the district court hear the appeal.2

 Neither

party elected to have this appeal heard by the United States District Court for the

District of Kansas. The parties have thus consented to appellate review by this

Court.

A decision is considered final “if it ‘ends the litigation on the merits and

leaves nothing for the court to do but execute the judgment.’”3

 In this case, the

decision of the bankruptcy court terminated the adversary proceeding at issue. 

Nothing remains for the bankruptcy court’s consideration. Thus, the decision is

final for purposes of review.

III. Standard of Review

There are no factual disputes before the Court. The issues presented in this

appeal are issues of law. Questions of law are reviewable de novo.

4

 De novo

review requires an independent determination of the issues, giving no special

weight to the bankruptcy court’s decision.5

IV. Discussion

For our purposes, the real estate has a value of $20,000, and the mobile

home is worth $5,000. Debtors owe the Bank in excess of $51,000, an amount

greater than the value of the real estate and the mobile home. Debtors, without

BAP Appeal No. 06-18 Docket No. 32 Filed: 11/28/2006 Page: 5 of 9
6 347 B.R. 411 (10th Cir. BAP 2006).

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reaffirming the debt owed to the Bank, are currently paying that debt according to

its terms. The Trustee has avoided the lien upon the mobile home. The question

goes to the scope of the rights held by the Trustee as a result of the lien

avoidance. The Trustee contends that his lien interest extends to the stream of

payments being made by the Debtors. The Bank contends that the lien which was

avoided encumbered the mobile home and no more. Put another way, does the

trustee have an interest in the mobile home or an interest in the income stream

which the Bank may receive? The bankruptcy court found that the Trustee’s

rights extended only to the mobile home and not the income stream. We agree,

and find prior decisions of this Court to be determinative of the issue.

In Morris v. St. John National Bank (In re Haberman),6

 the trustee

successfully avoided a lien upon a motor vehicle. The vehicle had a value of

$2,000, but the debt owed to the lender secured by the vehicle was $3,237.50. 

While the bankruptcy was pending, the debtors voluntarily paid the lender the

entire amount due. The trustee argued that he was entitled to recover the entire

$3,237.50 from the bank that had received the payments, while the bank took the

position that the trustee was entitled to $2,000, and not a penny more. The

bankruptcy court ruled in favor of the bank. The Bankruptcy Appellate Panel

noted that

BAP Appeal No. 06-18 Docket No. 32 Filed: 11/28/2006 Page: 6 of 9
7 Id. at 414-15 (footnotes omitted) (emphasis added).

8 Id. at 415.

9 257 B.R. 324 (10th Cir. BAP), aff’d, 23 F. App’x 968 (10th Cir. 2001).

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The Trustee avoided the Bank’s lien using his status as a judicial lien

creditor pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 544(a). Once the lien was avoided,

it was automatically preserved for the benefit of the bankruptcy

estate, and the Trustee inherited the position of the entity whose lien

was avoided, i.e., he inherited the position of the Bank. 11 U.S.C.

§§ 544(a), 551. Section 551 does not elevate the status of the

avoided lien, but is intended to prevent junior lien holders “from

improving their position at the expense of the estate when a senior

lien is avoided.” In other words, § 551 only preserves the transfer

that has been avoided - in this case, the Bank’s security interest in

the vehicle - but does not expand or otherwise enhance the status of

the avoided lien. Other rights of the creditor whose lien has been

avoided are not preserved for the benefit of the estate. 5 Collier on

Bankruptcy ¶ 551.02[1] (Alan N. Resnick & Henry J. Sommer eds.,

15th ed. rev. 2006).7

The court in Haberman rejected the same argument advanced by the Trustee in

this case:

Once the lien was avoided and preserved for the estate, the Trustee

argues that he succeeded to the avoided creditor’s interest in the

property, which he believes to be the entire amount owed to the

creditor on the date of bankruptcy. He bases this belief on the

possibility that a creditor could recover more than the value of the

collateral if the debtor elects to keep the collateral and pay the debt

in full. This, however, ignores the fact that a creditor under that

scenario could not rely on its lien on the collateral to ensure full

recovery of the debt unless the collateral is worth at least as much as

the debt. If the debtor defaults, the creditor is forced to repossess

and sell the collateral, and if the sale proceeds are insufficient to

satisfy the debt in full, the creditor is left with an unsecured

deficiency claim. The creditor is not secured simply because of a

debtor’s promise to pay. The Trustee does recognize this fact since

he admits as a practical matter that if a debtor surrenders the

collateral all a trustee would be entitled to is the value of that

collateral.8

The bankruptcy court decision was affirmed, and the trustee was limited in his

recovery to the value of the vehicle.

In Morris v. Vulcan Chemical Credit Union (In re Rubia),

9

 the Chapter 7

trustee successfully avoided a lien upon a motor vehicle. While the matter was

pending, the debtor continued to make payments to the secured creditor, a credit

BAP Appeal No. 06-18 Docket No. 32 Filed: 11/28/2006 Page: 7 of 9
10 257 B.R. at 328 (citations omitted) (footnote omitted).

11 See Complaint for Avoidance of Non-Perfected Security Interest at ¶ 9, in

App. at 2.

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union. Upon avoiding the lien, the trustee sought an order compelling the credit

union to turn over the post-petition payments to the trustee. The bankruptcy court

denied the trustee’s request, and the Bankruptcy Appellate Panel affirmed. In

doing so, the appellate court noted that

[t]he Trustee holds the lien position that VCCU [the credit union]

held in the Ranger prior to the lien’s avoidance. The value of the

Trustee’s lien position is measured by the value of the Ranger, but it

is limited by the amount of the debtor’s debt to VCCU on the petition

date. The Trustee has no right to any payment made to VCCU on the

debt, but rather he only has rights in the Ranger up to the amount of

VCCU’s debt on the petition date.10

In Rubia, the vehicle was worth more than the debt owed against it; accordingly,

the value of the trustee’s interest was limited by the amount owed to the credit

union. In both Haberman and Rubia, this Court reached the same conclusion: 

when a trustee avoids a lien, he or she has an interest in the property subject to

the lien. A trustee has no interest in the underlying debt or any stream of

payments which the underlying debt might generate.

In the present case, the relief which Nazar seeks is directly contrary to the

holdings of Rubia and Haberman. He is not satisfied with receiving the value of

the mobile home; instead, he wishes to be paid an amount in excess of that value,

based upon the payments that the Debtors are voluntarily making to the Bank. 

The decision of the bankruptcy court that he is not entitled to such relief is

correct, and shall be affirmed.

On appeal, Nazar argues that, should he not prevail on his income stream

theory, he is entitled to receive interest on the $5,000 he will receive over time. 

This argument was not raised to the trial court; indeed, the complaint filed by the

Trustee contains no request for such relief.11 It is well established that an

appellate court will not entertain an issue that was not first presented to the trial

BAP Appeal No. 06-18 Docket No. 32 Filed: 11/28/2006 Page: 8 of 9
12 See Employers Reinsurance Corp. v. Mid-Continent Cas. Co., 358 F.3d

757, 769 (10th Cir. 2004) (quoting Hynes v. Energy W., Inc., 211 F.3d 1193,

1201-02 (10th Cir. 2000)).

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court.12 Accordingly, we decline to review the issue of whether Nazar was

entitled to interest on the payments which he will receive.

V. Conclusion

The decision of the bankruptcy court is affirmed.

BAP Appeal No. 06-18 Docket No. 32 Filed: 11/28/2006 Page: 9 of 9