Opinion ID: 2977328
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: “May be made” vs. “is to be made”

Text: Pivnick also argues that the district court improperly instructed the jury that “reasonable notification of a private sale must include the time after which any sale or other intended disposition may be made.” (Emphasis added.) The relevant statutory language states that “reasonable notification of the time after which any private sale or other intended disposition is to be made shall be sent by the secured party to the debtor . . . .” Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 355.9-504(3) (West 1999) (emphasis added). Pivnick argues that the district court’s use of the “may be made” language rather than the “is to be made” language in the jury instructions constitutes reversible error because the “may be made” language “creates a relaxed notice requirement that does not exist.” We disagree. The Kentucky Court of Appeals (the highest court in Kentucky before its name was changed in 1976) has previously used the phrase “may be made” interchangeably with the phrase “is to be made” when interpreting the statutory language in § 355.9-504(3). See Nelson v. Monarch Inv. Plan of Henderson, Inc., 452 S.W.2d 375, 377 (Ky. 1970). In Nelson, after quoting the statutory language in § 355.9-504(3), the Court stated that it “construe[s] this provision to mean that the debtor is entitled to notification of a specific date after which the creditor may proceed to dispose of the collateral.” Id. (emphasis added). A few lines later, once again departing from the literal “is to be made” language, the Court decided that the debtor must have received “reasonable notification of a time after which a private sale properly could be made.” Id. at 378 (emphasis added). The Court in Nelson seems to be using the terms “may,” “could,” and “is to be” interchangeably. We therefore conclude that the district court properly relied on valid Kentucky precedent in choosing to use the “may be made” language in the jury instructions. No. 07-4304 Pivnick v. White, Getgey & Meyer Co. et al. Page 11 Moreover, even if we were to conclude that the jury instructions erroneously departed from the statutory language, any such error would be harmless. “Our inquiry into jury instructions is limited to whether, taken as a whole, the instructions adequately inform the jury of the relevant considerations and provide the jury with a sound basis in law with which to reach a conclusion.” United States v. Wells, 211 F.3d 988, 1002 (6th Cir. 2000). The district court’s word choices here, even if erroneous, were not so “confusing, misleading, and prejudicial” to the jury as to require reversal. Id. We do not believe that the jury would have been so misled or confused by the phrase “may be disposed” rather than “is to be disposed” that a different outcome would have ensued in the trial. This court will “not reverse a decision on the basis of an erroneous jury instruction where the error is harmless.” Barnes v. Owens-Corning Fiberglas Corp., 201 F.3d 815, 822 (6th Cir. 2000).