Court Opinion

ID: 9701623
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-25 22:27:37.420548+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T15:02:34.757482
License: Public Domain

LATTA, Bankruptcy Judge,
dissenting.
Because I believe that the majority fails to appreciate the development in the legal standard for determining the presence of an undue hardship that has occurred since the decision in Cheesman, and because I do not conclude that the facts of this case demonstrate an undue hardship, I respectfully dissent.
The majority of the Panel places great weight upon the fact that the Cheesman court found no evidence that the debtors had acted in bad faith in seeking to discharge their student loans even though they had chosen low-paying professions. Cheesman, 25 F.3d at 360. The majority asserts that Cheesman prohibits consideration of a debtor’s choice of employment in determining the presence of undue hardship. I find no such prohibition in Chees-man. To the contrary, in Rice, the court announced that one of the relevant factors to be considered is “whether the debtor has attempted to maximize his income by seeking employment commensurate with his educational background and abilities.” Rice v. United States (In re Rice), 78 F.3d 1144, 1149 (6th Cir.1996). In Hornsby, the court included the factors articulated in Rice among those that are relevant in evaluating discharge of ordinary student loans even though Rice involved the more stringent unconscionability standard applied in discharge of Health Education Assistance Loans. See Hornsby, 144 F.3d. 433, 437 n. 7. While I do not disagree with the majority’s conclusion that Oyler has acted in good faith, I believe that the majority has failed to properly consider Oyler’s employment choices in evaluating his entitlement to a discharge of his student loans. Specifically, I find that Oyler failed to prove that he has attempted to maximize his income and failed to prove that “additional circumstances” make his current state of affairs likely to continue.
The record reflects that the Oylers have voluntarily undertaken a very simple and frugal lifestyle in pursuance of Mr. Oyler’s ministry. While it is true that Oyler’s actual salary is well below federal poverty guidelines, the basic needs of the family are met by the provision of shelter, clothing, and food by Oyler’s congregation. It is significant that after graduating from Fuller Theological Seminary, but before undertaking his present ministry, Oyler was employed as a furniture salesman, a position that enabled him to repay $2,000-$3,000 of his student loan debt over a one-year period. The record also indicates that Oyler has a musical background, has worked as an audio engineer, and at one time, owned his own business. Oyler has multiple job skills and a masters degree from a well-recognized theological seminary. He has no significant health problems that prevent him from working; indeed, he claims to be able to work sixty to seventy hours per week. Oyler offered no proof that he had been unable to find better paying employment, either within his chosen field or outside of it. Oyler offered no proof that his arrangement with his current employer prohibits him from seeking supplemental income from other sources, other than his unsupported statement that he simply has no time to do so.
Oyler very candidly explained that he is in essence starting a new business. He did not accept a position with an existing congregation or ministry, but instead decided to return to Canton, Ohio to launch a new congregation. It is significant that he chose to locate his ministry in a community that is not familiar with Messianic Judaism. Although Oyler is licensed by the International Church of Foursquare Gos*261pel, he apparently receives no denominational support for this new church endeav- or. One might say that the failure of this endeavor to provide adequate support for Oyler and his family is the result of a poor business plan.
While Oyler has no present plans to abandon his ministry, there is nothing to prevent him from doing so. He has changed occupations in the past and could do so again. He has many marketable skills and no medical impairment. Further, should he continue to pursue his ministry, it is hoped and expected that his long hours of work will eventually result in the growth of his congregation and consequent increase in his income. Throughout his Chapter 13 case, Oyler has remained current in his plan payments of $50 per month. He has no other debts than his student loans. There is nothing in the record to indicate that he cannot continue to make payments of at least $50 per month on his student loans in the future, and nothing to indicate that his current ability to pay only $50 per month will persist over the remaining repayment period of his student loans. “[T]he dis-chargeability of student loans should be based upon the certainty of hopelessness, not simply a present inability to fulfill financial commitment.” In the Matter of Roberson, 999 F.2d 1132, 1136 (7th Cir.1993) quoted with approval in Goulet v. Educational Credit Mgmt. Corp., 284 F.3d 773, 778 (7th Cir.2002) (emphasis added in Goulet).
“ [Fundamental to the concept of undue hardship under 523(a)(8) is the notion that a debtor has done everything in his power to improve his financial condition” and that his “distressed state of financial affairs is the result of events that are clearly out of the debtor’s control.” Berry v. ECMC (In re Berry), 266 B.R. 359, 365 (Bankr.N.D.Ohio 2000). Events clearly out of the debtor’s control generally involve an unexpected illness, injury or disability of the debtor or his dependents. Id. Significantly, for purposes of this case, “hardships that are both foreseeable and voluntarily assumed” as a result of the “[i]nformed free choice of one’s chosen pursuits” do not qualify as “undue” hardships for purposes of student loan discharge. Fischer v. State Univ. N.Y. (In re Fischer), 23 B.R. 432, 434 (Bankr.W.D.Ky.1982) cited with approval by In re Paolini, 124 F.3d 199, 1997 WL 476515, *5 (6th Cir.1997).1
According to the Fischer court, “voluntary selection of a curriculum leading to an unremunerative occupation does nothing to enhance a claim of undue hardship.” 23 B.R. at 434. Consequently, discharge of student loans has been denied to musicians, social workers, teachers, nutritionists, psychiatrists working in poverty areas, and poets. Id.
I know of no other case in which a court has agreed to support a debtor’s entrepreneurial efforts through discharge of student loans. The focus of enquiry under § 523(a)(8) should be upon the capacity of the debtor to repay his or her student loans without undue hardship. Because I believe that Oyler clearly has that capaci*262ty, I would reverse the decision of the bankruptcy court.

. "Although not binding [precedent], unpublished decisions of the Sixth Circuit may be cited if persuasive and no published decisions will serve as well.” Gibson v. Gibson (In re Gibson), 219 B.R. 195, 201, n. 2 (6th Cir. BAP 1998). Unlike the debtor here, the debtor in Paolini had been diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder, a circumstance beyond her control. Nevertheless, the Sixth Circuit determined that although her condition currently impaired her ability to sustain gainful employment, there was no showing that it would necessarily impair her ability to work in the future and thus her student loans were not discharged.