The debtor's proposed Chapter 13 plan offered to pay the full amount of the creditor's "910 claim" (vehicle purchased for personal use within 910 days of the bankruptcy filing) plus the contract rate of interest (4.9%). The creditor argued that it was entitled to receive interest on its claim at the prime rate (8.25%). The court held that Till v. SCS Credit Corp., 541 U.S. 465 (2004), applied even though the contract rate was less than the prime rate. The court held that the creditor was entitled to receive the full amount of its 910 claim plus interest at the prime rate under the cram down provisions of § 13259(a)(5)(B).
Opinions
The Middle District of Georgia offers opinions in PDF format, listed by year and judge. For a more detailed search, enter the keyword or case number in the search box above.
Please note: These opinions are not a complete inventory of all judges' decisions and are not documents of record. Official court records are available at the clerk's office.
Robert F. Hershner, Jr. (Retired)
Judge James D. Walker Jr. (Retired)
An oversecured creditor may add post-petition attorney fees to its secured claim if the fees are reasonable and provided for by agreement or state statute, even if the creditor does not comply with Georgia.s 10-day notice requirement.
An oversecured creditor may add post-petition attorney fees to its secured claim if the fees are reasonable and provided for by agreement or state statute, even if the creditor does not comply with Georgia.s 10-day notice requirement.
Court allowed unsecured claim when financial records of both the debtor and the creditor documented the claim as a trade debt.
Court applied 13-factor test to determine that undocumented advances made by Debtor.s sole shareholder to Debtor were loans rather than capital contributions. Consequently, the shareholder.s unsecured claim was allowed.
Once plan was confirmed, the trustee could apply all payments to the debtor's attorney, to the exclusion of other creditors, until the attorney had received $1,500.
The debtor's attorney is entitled to reasonable fees for necessary services he actually performed.
A creditor with a 910 claim objected to confirmation because the debtor filed his case 915 days after purchasing a car. The Court overruled the objection, finding the timing was not a bad-faith attempt to run out the 910 clock, but rather resulted from the debtor's sincere efforts to negotiate a feasible payment plan.
Multiple documents signed by the debtor when he borrowed money from the creditor to purchase a truck demonstrated the parties. intent to create a security agreement. The documents included a note, a bill of sale, and a title application that listed the creditor as a lienholder on the truck. Therefore, the creditor was entitled to be treated as a secured creditor in the debtor's Chapter 13 plan.
The debtor, for ten years, used credit cards to meet his living expenses and to maintain his lifestyle. The debtor filed for Chapter 7 relief after finding a new job that tripled his annual income. The United States trustee contended that granting Chapter 7 relief would be an abuse under the totality of the circumstances under section 707(b)(3) of the Bankruptcy Code. The court agreed that the debtor's Chapter 7 case should be dismissed, but allowed the debtor ten days to convert his Chapter 7 case to a case under Chapter 11 or Chapter 13.