UNPUBLISHED

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

SANG SUP CHOI; KYUNG SOOK CHOI,

Plaintiffs-Appellants,

v.

RAFIQ A. MIAN; RUBINA MIAN,

No. 95-2326

Defendants-Appellees,

and

UNITED STATES TRUSTEE,

Party in Interest.

Appeal from the United States District Court

for the District of Maryland, at Greenbelt.

Alexander Williams, Jr., District Judge.

(CA-95-1074-AW, BK-921-5093)

Argued: March 6, 1996

Decided: April 4, 1996

Before WIDENER and WILKINS, Circuit Judges, and CHAPMAN,

Senior Circuit Judge.

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Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.

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COUNSEL

ARGUED: Stanley R. Jacobs, Rockville, Maryland, for Appellants.

Andrew Martin Croll, HENESON & SCARLETT, P.A., Baltimore,

Maryland, for Appellees. ON BRIEF: Robert B. Scarlett, HENESON

& SCARLETT, P.A., Baltimore, Maryland, for Appellees.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. See

Local Rule 36(c).

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OPINION

PER CURIAM:

Sang Sup Choi and Kyung Sook Choi (the Chois) appeal from the

judgment of the district court affirming a decision of the bankruptcy

court holding that the indebtedness of Rafiq A. Mian and Rubina

Mian (the Mians) to the Chois should be discharged. We agree with

the bankruptcy court that although the Mians obtained credit from the

Chois using a false written statement, the indebtedness was not

excused from discharge because the Chois could not have reasonably

relied on the statement provided by the Mians. See 11 U.S.C.A.

§ 523(a)(2)(B) (West 1993).

I.

The Chois entered into a conditional agreement to sell a newlyconstructed dwelling to the Mians on June 1, 1990, for a price of

$3,580,000 to be paid with the proceeds of a bank loan and a large

cash payment. During negotiations, the Mians provided to the Chois'

real estate agent a financial information statement that represented the

annual income of the Mians to be $1.3 million, but that did not supply

any details concerning their assets and liabilities.* The Mians were

unable to obtain the financing contemplated in the agreement, however, and it expired.

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*The financial information statement was a standard form used by the

realtor that allowed for a series of entries showing the income, assets,

and liabilities of a potential purchaser. The only entry made by the Mians

was an unsupported representation that their base salary was $1.3 million.

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Several months later, the parties executed a second agreement to

sell the dwelling for the same price, contingent upon the Mians'

obtaining similar financing. However, the Mians were unable to

secure bank financing for more than $1.3 million. Thereafter, the parties agreed to structure the transaction so that the Chois would receive

the proceeds of the $1.3 million bank loan. The parties also agreed

that the Chois would accept $2.2 million of the purchase price in the

form of seller-financed notes. Finally, the Mians gave a $70,000 note

to the realtor, representing their share of the commission.

Within three months after the sale, the Mians defaulted on all of

their obligations related to the purchase. In order to prevent the institution of foreclosure proceedings, the Chois voluntarily assumed

responsibility for the Mians' mortgage loan payments. The Chois also

paid the realtor in order to avoid a judgment lien on the property. In

August 1992, the Mians filed a voluntary bankruptcy petition.

The Chois brought this adversary action, asserting that the obligations of the Mians associated with the purchase of the dwelling should

not be discharged because the financial information statement was a

materially false, written statement concerning the Mians' financial

condition made with the intent to deceive and upon which the Chois

reasonably relied when deciding to loan the money. See 11 U.S.C.A.

§ 523(a)(2)(B). At the close of the Chois' case, the bankruptcy court

granted the Mians' motion for judgment as a matter of law, finding

that although the Mians had intentionally and falsely represented in

writing that their annual income was $1.3 million, the Chois could not

have reasonably relied on the representation. See Bankr. R. 7052

(applying Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 52 to adversary proceedings). The court reasoned that the data contained in the financial

information statement was insufficient to support the decision to loan

the Mians $2.2 million and that the Mians' inability to obtain financing should have alerted the Chois that the statement was inaccurate.

Accordingly, it concluded that the Mians' indebtedness to the Chois

should be discharged in bankruptcy. The district court affirmed.

II.

The Chois argue that the bankruptcy court improperly concluded

that the Mians' liability was not excepted from discharge by 11

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U.S.C.A. § 523(a)(2)(B) because it erroneously found that the Chois

unreasonably relied upon the financial information statement provided by the Mians. Because the determination of whether reliance is

reasonable under 11 U.S.C.A. § 523(a)(2)(B) is factual in nature, we

review it for clear error. See Insurance Co. of N. Am. v. Cohn (In re

Cohn), 54 F.3d 1108, 1118 (3d Cir. 1995). Thus, even if we would

decide that the Chois reasonably relied on the information provided

by the Mians if we were evaluating the evidence as the trier of fact,

we are bound by the findings of the bankruptcy court if supported by

the record viewed in its entirety. See Anderson v. City of Bessemer

City, N.C., 470 U.S. 564, 573-74 (1985). Based upon our review of

the record as a whole, we cannot say that the bankruptcy court clearly

erred in concluding that the Chois could not have reasonably relied

on the financial information statement. Accordingly, we affirm the

judgment of the district court affirming the decision of the bankruptcy

court.

AFFIRMED

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