Court Opinion

ID: 9688749
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-24 18:02:54.026031+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:18:41.805236
License: Public Domain

PERRIS, Bankruptcy Judge,
concurring.
I agree that the confirmed chapter 13 plan in this case did not extinguish CBIC’s lien and that the bankruptcy court did not abuse its discretion in applying laches to bar debtors’ objection to CBIC’s claim. Confirmation of a plan that does not mention a secured creditor’s claim in any way cannot affect that creditor’s lien under either the approach approved in Fireman’s Fund Mortg. Corp. v. Hobdy (In re Hobdy), 130 B.R. 318 (9th Cir. BAP 1991), which requires either a formal claim objection or lien avoidance action, or the “middle-of-the-road” approach the majority adopts today, which focuses on the sufficiency of notice and the totality of the circumstances to determine whether a debtor can in effect “object” to a creditor’s claim through plan provisions that modify the debt and lien.
Under either approach, the fact that debtors’ plan did not mention CBIC’s claim precludes confirmation of that plan from extinguishing CBIC’s lien. Because the approach taken does not alter the outcome, in my opinion this case is not the appropriate vehicle for deciding whether to depart from our prior holding in Hobdy and adopt a new test. Accordingly, I concur in the outcome, but do not join in part B. of the Discussion section of the opinion, which adopts the sufficiency of notice/totality of circumstances approach.