Debts are commonly payable long before they fall due."See also Johnson v. Methorst, 110 F.3d 1313, 1317 n. 3 (8th Cir. 1997) (noting that "Webster's New World Dictionary (2d ed. 1984) defines `payable' in part as `[r]equiring payment on a certain date: DUE'"); Cathey v. United States, 35 F.Supp.2d 518, 520 (S.D.Tex. 1998) (noting that "English dictionaries agree on the meaning of payable, defining it to mean inter alia `[t]hat may, can, or should be paid,' `due,' or `capable of being paid'"); Royal Indemnity Co. v. Wyckoff Heights Hosp., 953 F.Supp. 460, 466 (E.D.N.Y. 1996) ("Although `payable' might mean a future obligation in some circumstances, as is used in the Policy, the only reasonable understanding is that it adds to the meaning of `paid' by including a sum which is enforceably due or obligated, but not yet actually remitted.").2.
Other courts addressing the exemption invoked here have reached the same conclusion. In Cathey v. United States, 35 F.Supp.2d 518 (S.D.Tex.1998), aff'd, 200 F.3d 814 (5th Cir.1999) (unpubl.), the plaintiff contended that because funds seized from a bank account “were worker's compensation benefits, they [we]re exempt from levy under § 6334(a)(7).” Id. at 520.
Merriam-Websters Collegiate Dictionary 910 (11th ed. 2005). In the context of similar setoff language, "payable" has been defined as that which is presently owing or to be paid in the future, see Cathey v. United States, 35 F.Supp.2d 518, 521 (S.D.Tex. 1998); Coutts v. Wisconsin Ret. Bd., 209 Wis.2d 655, 562 N.W.2d 917, 923 (1997), or that which must or may be paid, or an amount that need only be capable of being paid. See Rydingsword v. Liberty Mut. Ins. Co., 224 Conn. 8, 615 A.2d 1032, 1036-37 (1992) (confirming arbitration award for reduction of future workers' compensation benefits based on present value of those benefits).