Opinion ID: 470008
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Debtor's Estate

Text: 10 The record before us does not contain the list of creditors and schedule of assets and liabilities filed by the debtor, Arthur Cournoyer, pursuant to 11 U.S.C. Sec. 521(1). 3 Our statement of the debtor's assets and liabilities is derived from the bankruptcy court's opinion, motions, responses to motions and memoranda in the record. The bankruptcy court's opinion puts the value of the used truck parts (inventory) at $130,000. The Town and Cournoyer differ over the valuation of the inventory. Cournoyer insists that in order to obtain full value for the truck parts they must be sold as such, a process he estimates will take six months to a year. The Town contends that since the business can no longer be operated in the ordinary course the value of the truck parts is what they will bring immediately after being removed from the property, mostly as scrap. In a memorandum to the bankruptcy court dated October 22, 1984, the trustee noted that Cournoyer's business records indicated very few sales over the past year; it was the trustee's opinion that the going value of the business was minimal. 11 Although there is a question as to title ownership of part of the land on which the salvage business is operated, 4 we assume, for purposes of this opinion, that Arthur Cournoyer and his father own the entire thirty-three acre tract. It is clear that they exercise dominion and control over it. When he filed in bankruptcy in 1981, Cournoyer listed the value of the land at $22,500. The Town asserts that its reevaluation appraisal in 1982 was $65,710. The bankruptcy court's opinion values Cournoyer's total assets at $217,000. According to the Town, they amount to $217,475.51. The debts of the bankrupt estate are considerably less than the assets. In its opinion, the bankruptcy court stated the total debts to be $18,000. In its motion for abstention on July 1, 1981, the Town listed Cournoyer's debts from his filed schedule as $9,377.46 secured and $6,092.52 unsecured. The secured creditors are the state court appointed master, the Town, and a former attorney of Cournoyer. The unsecured creditors are Cournoyer's present attorney, another former attorney, and a Mr. Powell whose claim dates back to 1976. At oral argument, counsel for the Town suggested that Powell's claim is barred by the statute of limitations.