Opinion
21-31506
02-09-2023
In re: DON G. WALLACE, ANDREA G. WALLACE, Debtors.
Chapter 13
ORDER DENYING DEBTORS' OBJECTION TO PROOF OF CLAIM (DOC. 29) AND ORDERING OTHER MATTERS
Guy R. Humphrey, United States Bankruptcy Judge
On December 29, 2022 the Debtors filed an Objection to Proof of Claim (doc. 29) (the "Objection") in connection with the deficiency claim of AmeriCredit Financial Services, Inc. dba GM Financial ("Claimant") (Claim 4-2) (the "Claim"). The Objection seeks disallowance of the Claim based on the Debtors' assertion that the Claimant filed its deficiency claim 91 days after confirmation in contravention of the Debtors' Confirmed Plan. See Doc. 23, Nonstandard Provision, ¶ 13.
The debtors filed their Chapter 13 bankruptcy case on August 31, 2021. They filed their original Chapter 13 plan on September 7, 2021 and an amended Chapter 13 plan on October 19, 2021 (the "Plan"). The order confirming the Chapter 13 plan was signed by the court on December 8, 2021, but not entered by the Clerk of Court until December 9, 2021. The Claimant filed a secured claim on September 13, 2021 in the amount of $26,306.35. The claim was filed as secured, with the collateral being a 2020 Chevrolet Trax automobile.
Section 13 of the Plan, titled "Nonstandard Provisions" and also commonly referred to as the "Special Plan Provisions," provides as follows:
Debtors elect to surrender the 2020 Chevy Trax to GM Financial.
Upon confirmation of the Plan, the stay affecting this property shall be deemed modified to allow in rem disposition of the collateral to effect the surrender. The Creditor must timely file a proof of claim pursuant to B.R. 3002(c). Pursuant to L.B.R. 3001-1(d)(2), the Trustee will NOT pay on this claim to the listed creditor until creditor files a deficiency claim. The deficiency claim shall be filed no later than ninety (90) days from the date that the Plan is confirmed. If the deficiency claim is filed more than ninety (90) days after the Plan is confirmed, then it shall be disallowed except upon further Order of the Court by the creditor filing timely a Motion to Extend Time Or Motion To File Deficiency Claim Out Of Time. The personal liability of Debtors shall be discharged upon completion of the Plan and the entry of Discharge.
This is a common Special Plan Provision placed in Chapter 13 plans in Dayton when debtors are surrendering automobiles or other personal property to the secured creditor. In this case, Claimant filed its deficiency claim, as an amended claim (Claim 4-2), on March 9, 2022 in the amount of $1,467.93. The debtors assert that the deficiency claim should be disallowed because it was filed one day late.
As noted, although the Order Confirming Chapter 13 Plan and Awarding Attorney Fees (doc. 25) was signed on December 8, 2021, it was not entered until December 9, 2021. It is well-settled law that time runs from an order's date of entry as noted by the clerk on the docket and not the signing date. See Rosenberg v. Heffron, 131 F.2d 80, 82 (9th Cir. 1942) ("We conclude that in bankruptcy cases, as in civil actions generally, the notation of a judgment, order or decree in the docket constitutes the entry thereof."); In re Burke, 60 B.R. 665, 669 (Bankr. D. Conn. 1986) (explaining that "judgments are effective when entered as provided in Rule 5003(a)"); In re Campbell, 48 B.R. 820, 823 (D. Colo. 1985) ("Both the Bankruptcy Rules and the Rules of Civil Procedure . . . direct clerks of the respective courts, and not the judges, to prepare, sign and enter judgment."). As another bankruptcy court explained, "[I]n unequivocal terms, Bankruptcy Rules 5003 and 9021 establish that a judgment becomes effective when it is entered by the clerk in the docket, thereby making any other events such as the filing or signing of the judgment nondispositive as to a judgment's effective date and time of entry . . . it would be the clerks' notation of such an entry in the docket which would constitute the event triggering the time limitation of this section." Vaughan v. Meridan Nat'l Corp. (In re Ottawa River Steel Co.), 331 B.R. 340, 344 (Bankr.N.D.Ohio 2005). Thus, counting from the date the confirmation order was entered, the Claimant filed its deficiency claim on the 90th day, not the 91st day, after confirmation, in compliance with the Plan's Nonstandard Provision. Accordingly, there is no basis to disallow the claim.
Based upon the foregoing, the Debtors' request for disallowance of the Claim is denied.
Further, the Clerk is hereby directed to take all steps necessary to correct the "Plan confirmed" date at the top of the court's docket sheet to reflect the date the Order Confirming Chapter 13 Plan and Awarding Attorney Fees (doc. 25) was entered (i.e. 12/09/2021).
IT IS SO ORDERED.