United States Bankruptcy Appellate Panel

FOR THE EIGHTH CIRCUIT

______

No. 05-6059EM

______

In re: *

 *

Keith L. Dixon, *

 *

Debtor. *

 *

Keith L. Dixon, *

 *

Debtor-Appellant, * Appeal from the United States

 * Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern 

v. * District of Missouri

 *

John V. LaBarge, Jr., *

 *

Trustee-Appellee. *

______

Submitted: January 31, 2006

Filed: February 17, 2006

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Before KRESSEL, Chief Judge, FEDERMAN and MAHONEY, Bankruptcy Judges.

______

KRESSEL, Chief Judge.
1

 The Honorable Barry S. Schermer, Chief Judge, United States Bankruptcy

Court for the Eastern District of Missouri.

2

The debtor appeals the bankruptcy court’s1 order determining that he was not

eligible to be a debtor in a bankruptcy case and its order dismissing his case. Because

we feel that the bankruptcy court correctly applied the statute and did not abuse its

discretion, we affirm.

BACKGROUND

The debtor filed his chapter 13 case on November 10, 2005. The debtor’s case

is governed by the Bankruptcy Code as amended by the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention

and Consumer Protection Act of 2005, Pub. L. No. 109-8, 119 Stat. 23. With his

petition, the debtor filed a document entitled “Certification Requesting Waiver of

Debt Counseling by Individual Debtor.” The certification was attested to under

penalty of perjury. Because the certificate is of the ultimate significance, we set out

its contents in full.

1. My real estate, residence and homestead was

scheduled for foreclosure at 12:00 p.m., November

10, 2005 at the St. Louis County Courthouse,

Clayton, MO.

2. I did not contact an attorney to determine how I

could stop said foreclosure until approximately 6:30

p.m., November 9, 2005.

3. I was advised that I had to file a Chapter 13 Petition

prior to 12:00 p.m., on November 10, 2005 to stop

the foreclosure or get the mortgage company to

voluntary halt the foreclosure.
3

4. I had already attempted to get the mortgage company

to stop the foreclosure so I determined that I would

have to file the Chapter 13.

5. I was advised that I had to complete credit or debt

counseling prior to filing a bankruptcy and given the

name of a Debt Counseling Service or Agency that

had been approved by the U.S. Trustee’s Office,

Credit Counseling Centers of America of Dallas,

Texas.

6. That I called them and was advised that it would be

two weeks before they could provide me with the

debt counseling on the phone and that it would be

twenty-four hours before they could provide me with

the counseling by internet.

7. I have no computer and had no access to the internet.

8. It was therefore impossible for me to complete credit

counseling prior to the time set for foreclosure on my

home.

9. If I did not file the Petition prior to the time set for

the foreclosure and receive the protection of the

automatic stay under the Bankruptcy Code, my home

would have been sold in the foreclosure.

10. It was therefore imperative that I file said

Bankruptcy Petition prior to the foreclosure and

without the debt counseling.

Wherefore, I request waiver of the requirement to obtain

budget and credit counseling prior to filing based on

exigent circumstances.
4

The bankruptcy court reviewed the certificate and determined that the certificate did

not describe exigent circumstances which merited a waiver of the statutory

requirement of obtaining a prepetition briefing. As a result, the bankruptcy court held

that the debtor was not eligible to be a debtor. In a subsequent order, the bankruptcy

court dismissed the debtor’s case. On November 21, 2005, the debtor filed a “Motion

to Set Aside” both of the bankruptcy court’s orders. The motion was also apparently

intended to constitute an amended certification and, in that regard, contained

additional facts not contained in the debtor’s original certification. On November 22,

2005, the bankruptcy court denied that motion.

On November 22, 2005, the debtor filed a Notice of Appeal appealing from the

two orders of the bankruptcy court entered on November 16, 2005. In the body of the

Notice of Appeal, the debtor notes the filing of his motion to vacate and the

bankruptcy court’s denial of that motion, however he does not appeal from the latter

order. Consistent with the Notice of Appeal, the debtor filed, at the same time, a

“Designation of Issues on Appeal,” assigning no claims of error to the bankruptcy

court’s order of November 22, 2005. 

DISCUSSION

One of the primary amendments enacted by BAPCPA, was a new eligibility

requirement for individual debtors. Specifically, § 109(h)(1) states that, as a general

rule, all individual debtors must receive an appropriate briefing during the 180 days

preceding the date of filing. The statute indicates which agencies are eligible to

provide such a briefing and, in very general terms, what such a briefing should entail.

It is the clear expectation of the statute that all individual debtors receive such a

briefing prior to filing. Section 521(b)(1) of the Bankruptcy Code requires “an

individual debtor to file a certificate from the agency that provided the debtor’s

services under § 109(h) describing the services provided to the debtor. . . .”

Presumably, the “services” in this section refer to the “briefing” required by §
2

 Implementation Order for the United States Bankruptcy Court for the

Eastern District of Missouri, at 16. The bankruptcy court issued an “Amended Order

Implementing Interim Procedures Under the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and

Consumer Protection Act of 2005 and Adopting Interim Bankruptcy Rules and

Official Forms”. Last amended 1/19/2006.

5

109(h)(1). See, In re Laporta, 332 B.R. 879, 883 (Bankr. D. Minn. 2005). The

bankruptcy court’s implementation order requires the certificate to be filed with the

petition.2

The requirements of § 109(h)(1) are explicitly subject to at least two exceptions.

The first exception is found in § 109(h)(2). If the United States Trustee certifies that

there are no approved agencies available to provide adequate services in a district,

then debtors in that district are excused from complying with the requirements of §

109(h). That exception is not applicable here.

The second exception to § 109(h) is the one that is implicated in this appeal,

namely that the debtor file a certification of exigent circumstances. 11 U.S.C. §

109(h)(3)(i).

There could be a third exception. Section 109(h)(4) provides for an exception

for debtors who are unable to complete the briefing requirements because of

incapacity, disability, or active military duty in a military combat zone. That

subsection, on its face, says that the briefing requirements do not apply. However,

while the requirements of subdivision (h)(1) specifically excuse people who meet the

requirements of subsections (2) and (3), it explicitly provides that the briefing

requirement applies “notwithstanding any other provision of this section.” Thus, the

language of § 109(h)(1) and (4) seem to preempt each other’s applicability.

Fortunately, we are not required in this appeal to attack that Gordian Knot. 
6

 CERTIFICATE OF EXIGENT CIRCUMSTANCES

The debtor in this case admittedly did not obtain the mandated briefing. Rather,

he attempted to establish his eligibility under § 109(h)(3) which provides that the

briefing requirement does not apply with respect to a debtor who submits to the court

“a certification” under § 109(h)(3)(A) which provides:

Subject to subparagraph (B), the requirements of

paragraph (1) shall not apply with respect to a debtor who

submits to the court a certification that – 

(i) describes exigent circumstances

that merit a waiver of the requirements of

paragraph (1);

(ii) states that the debtor requested

credit counseling services from an approved

nonprofit budget and credit counsel agency,

but was unable to obtain the services referred

to in paragraph (1) during the 5-day period

beginning on the date on which the debtor

made that request; and 

(iii) is satisfactory to the court.

11 U.S.C. § 109(h)(3)(A). Subsection (B) goes on to provide that the waiver is good

for only 30 days. There is a disagreement about whether the certification must be

made under penalty of perjury. See In re Hubbard, 332 B.R. 285, 289 (Bankr. S.D.

Tx. 2005) (Requiring a certification that is sworn under penalty of perjury); Laporta,

332 B.R. at 881; See also In re Cleaver, 333 B.R. 430, 434 (Bankr. S.D. Oh. 2005);

In re Talib 335B.R. 417, 420 (Bankr. W.D. Mo. 2005); In re Davenport, 335 B.R.

218, 220 fn. 4 (Bankr. M.D. Fl. 2005); In re Rodriguez, No. 05-05694, 2005 WL

3676825 (Bankr. D. Id. Dec. 9, 2005); In re Graham, No. 05-61921, 2005 WL
3

 At least one court has interpreted this portion of the statute to refer to the

form of the certification. In re Laporta, 332 B.R. at 881. In In re Laporta the

bankruptcy court stated that the certification must be sworn and meet the standards set

in 28 U.S.C. § 1746. 

7

3629925, *2 (Bankr. W.D. Ky. Dec. 21, 2005)(Stating that a certification need not be

sworn under penalty of perjury). This debtor’s certification was sworn to, so it is

sufficient under both lines of cases.

By its terms the exigent circumstances exception has three statutory

requirements. For analytical purposes we discuss them in reverse order.

SATISFACTORY TO THE COURT

After describing the two specific requirements of the certification, the statute

adds the third: that the certification be “satisfactory to the court.” It is unclear what

substantive content this requirement has. It is difficult for us to posit a situation where

a court would determine that the requirements of subdivisions (i) and (ii) are met, but,

still is not satisfactory to the court.3

 However, rules of statutory interpretation require

us to give some meaning to each provision of the statute. “It is our duty ‘to give

effect, if possible to every clause and word of a statute.’” TRW, Inc. v. Andrews, 534

U.S. 19, 31 (2001) (quoting Montclair v. Ramsdell, 107 U.S. 147, 152 (1883)).

We think the fairest reading of the statute is that Congress wanted the court to

exercise its discretion in making the determinations under subdivisions (i) and (ii).

As such, we review any findings of fact made by the court for clear error, Blackwell

v. Lurie (In re Popkin & Stern), 223 F.3d 764, 765 (8th Cir. 2000), and we review the

court’s determination of the existence of exigent circumstances under subdivision (i)

or the compliance with the requirements of subdivision (ii) for an abuse of discretion.
4

 In this spot, the statute refers to a “waiver” of the briefing requirement.

Later on, in § 109(h)(3)(B), the statute refers to it as an “exemption.” Waiver is

defined as a voluntary relinquishment of a known right or advantage. Black’s Law

Dictionary 1574 (7thed. 1999). An exemption is defined as “a freedom from a duty,

liability or other requirement.” Id. at 593. Neither one is a particularly accurate term,

since the debtor is required to eventually participate in such a briefing. What the court

is authorized to grant would be better described as a “deferral” which is defined as an

“Act of delaying, postponing or putting off.” Black’s Law Dictionary 421 (6th ed.

1990).

8

 INABILITY TO OBTAIN BRIEFING

The second requirement of the statute is in large part objective. Subdivision

(3)(A)(ii) requires that the certification state that the debtor requested credit

counseling services from one agency, but was unable to receive it within five days.

The debtor in this case specifically states in his certification that he was given the

name of a debt counseling agency approved by the United States Trustee, called it,

and was told that he could not receive debt counseling on the telephone for at least

two weeks or on the internet for at least twenty-four hours. His certification goes on

to say that he doesn’t have a computer and has no access to the Internet. The

bankruptcy court apparently accepted this part of the certification and implicitly

determined that he was unable to obtain the briefing required by § 109(h)(1) within

five days of his request.

EXIGENT CIRCUMSTANCES

The most problematic of the requirements, and the one primarily implicated in

this appeal, is the statute’s requirement that the debtor’s certification “describe exigent

circumstances that merit a waiver of the requirements of paragraph (1).”

As courts have pointed out, that brief sentence has at least two substantive

components: first, there must be exigent circumstances and, second, those

circumstances must merit a waiver of the briefing requirements.4

 In re Talib, 335
9

B.R. at 422-423; In re Rodriguez, No. 05-05694, 2005 WL 3676825, *5 (Bankr. D.

Id. Dec. 9, 2005); In re Cleaver, 333 B.R. at 434. In this context, it is fair to say that

“exigent” indicates that the debtor finds himself in a situation in which adverse events

are imminent and will occur before the debtor is able to avail himself of the statutory

briefing. Virtually, all of the cases in which the exigent circumstances certificate is

filed will, in fact, involve exigent circumstances. After all, the reason that such

debtors are filing bankruptcy quickly and before they receive the briefing is because

they feel that they are unable to wait. The real question for the court in such

certifications will usually be whether or not those exigent circumstances merit the

statutory waiver.

In this case the bankruptcy court found that the certificate filed by the debtor

did not merit a waiver. The bankruptcy court observed that Mo. Rev. Stat. § 443.310

requires twenty days notice of foreclosure under Missouri law. In the face of that

much notice of the impending foreclosure sale, the bankruptcy court determined that

his exigent circumstances did not merit the waiver of the prebankruptcy briefing

requirement. We cannot say that the bankruptcy court abused its discretion in making

that determination. A review of the reported decisions on facts similar to these,

discloses that most courts have come to the same conclusion. See In re Wallert, 332

B.R. 884, 889 (Bankr. D. Minn. 2005); In re Talib, 335 B.R. at 422; In re Randolph,

05-15752-3P7, 2005 WL 3408043 (Bankr. M. D. Fl. Dec. 2, 2005); In re Rodriguez,

2005 WL 3676825, *8; In re DiPinto, No. 06-10112, 2006 WL 213721, *3 (Bankr.

E.D. Pa. Jan 30, 2006) while others have decided that the circumstances merited

waiver. See In re Cleaver, 333 B.R. at 435. As a reviewing court, we are not in a

position to substitute our judgment for that of the bankruptcy court, which is in a

position to review the certificate and whatever record exists at this preliminary stage

of the case in making its determination. Kelly v. Armstrong, 206 F.3d 794, 802 (8th

Cir. 2000). In the absence of an abuse of the bankruptcy court’s discretion, we do not

disturb its determination.
10

With this as background, we turn to the three orders that the bankruptcy court

has entered in this case. 

ORDER DENYING REQUEST FOR WAIVER

This is an interlocutory order which, standing on its own, would not be

appealable as of right, but because the case was later dismissed based on the

determinations made in this order, we properly review the merits of this order as part

of our review of the dismissal order. See Dwyer v. Cohen (In re Dwyer), 244 B.R.

426, 428 (B.A.P. 8th Cir. 2000). As we discussed above, we find no abuse of

discretion or other error in the bankruptcy court’s denial of the debtor’s request for a

waiver. 

DISMISSAL ORDER

Once the bankruptcy court denied the debtor’s request for a waiver, it

concluded correctly that under § 109(h), the debtor was not eligible to be a debtor

under the Bankruptcy Code. It determined, as virtually every court that has visited

this issue has, that once that determination is made, dismissal of the case is

appropriate. In re Booth, No. 05-45002, 2005 WL 3434776, *2 (Bankr. N.D. Fl. Oct.

19, 2005); In re Laporta, 332 B.R. at 884; In re Cleaver, 333 B.R. at 436; In re

Wallert, 332 B.R. at 891; In re Talib 335B.R. 417 at 424; In re Randolph, 2005 WL

3408043, *1; In re Davenport, 335 B.R. at 221; In re Rodriguez, 2005 WL 3676825,

*10; In re Sosa, No. 05-20097, 2005 WL 3627817 (Bankr. W.D. Tx. Dec. 22, 2005);

In re DiPinto, 2006 WL 213721, *6.

However, two courts dismissed the debtors’ petitions rather than dismissing

their cases: In re Childs, Nos. 05-90089, 90185, 90045, 90001, 90029, 2005 WL

3529729, *6 (Bankr. D. Md. Dec. 19, 2005); In re Valdez, No. 05-60175, 2005 WL

3526495, *2 (Bankr. S.D. Fl. Dec. 13, 2005).
11

 

Yet, another court determined that since the debtor was not eligible to file, no

case was commenced and therefore “striking” the petition was more appropriate than

dismissal of the case. In re Rios, No. 05-55002, 2005 WL 3462728, *3 (Bankr.

S.D.N.Y. Dec. 19, 2005).

Since the debtor has not really challenged the bankruptcy court’s decision to

dismiss his case as opposed to dismissing or striking his petition, we need not decide

among the various possible dispositions. 

ORDER DENYING MOTION TO SET ASIDE

As noted, the debtor has not appealed from this order and we therefore lack

jurisdiction to review it. In re Dwyer, 244 B.R. at 428. In any case, neither the

debtor’s motion nor his brief on appeal point to any rule which would support his

request for relief from the earlier orders. As is so often true, this failure leaves us in

the position of trying to guess which rule would arguably support the debtor’s motion.

See Broadway v. Norris, 193 F.3d 987, 989 (8th Cir. 1999). We can assume that the

motion was made under either Fed. R. Civ. P. 52, 59 or 60. However, we are unable

to otherwise figure out why the debtor believes he was entitled to any relief from the

original orders. Certainly none of those rules are an excuse to supplement the record

for purposes of appeal, Innovative Home Health Care, Inc. v. P.T.-O.T. Assoc. of the

Black Hills, 141 F.3d 1284, 1285(8th Cir. 1998) although that is what the debtor

seems to have done here. In his brief, he argues many facts which were not presented

in his original certification and thus not considered by the bankruptcy court in its

original decision.
12

CONCLUSION

We think the bankruptcy court did not abuse its discretion in determining that

the debtor had not demonstrated exigent circumstances meriting a waiver of the

prepetition briefing requirement. We agree with the bankruptcy court’s conclusion

that the debtor was therefore not eligible to be a debtor and that, therefore, dismissal

of his case was appropriate. We, therefore, affirm.