Crouser v. BAC Home Loans Servicing, LP (In Re Crouser) , 567 F. App'x 902 ( 2014 )

Case: 13-14304 Date Filed: 06/02/2014 Page: 1 of 4
[DO NOT PUBLISH]
IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT
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No. 13-14304
Non-Argument Calendar
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D.C. Docket No. 1:12-cv-00156-JRH-BKE; 1:11-BKC-01047-JSD
In Re: GEORGE CROUSER,
Debtor.
__________________________________________________________
GEORGE CROUSER,
Plaintiff-Appellant,
versus
BAC HOME LOANS SERVICING, LP,
f.k.a. Countrywide Home Loans, L.P.,
Defendant-Appellee,
OFFICE OF THE U.S. TRUSTEE,
HUON LE,
Chapter 13 Trustee,
Trustees-Appellees.
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Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Southern District of Georgia
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(June 2, 2014)
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Before WILSON, PRYOR and ANDERSON, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:
George Crouser appeals a judgment that the proceeds he received in a
settlement for a violation of the automatic stay are property of his bankruptcy
estate, under Chapter 13 of the Bankruptcy Code. See 11 U.S.C. § 1306(a)(1).
After the bankruptcy court confirmed Crouser’s plan to repay his creditors,
Crouser filed an adversary proceeding against his mortgagor for violating the
automatic stay. Crouser and his mortgagor entered a settlement agreement, but the
trustee for Crouser’s estate argued that the proceeds of the settlement were
property of the estate. The bankruptcy court agreed with the trustee, and the
district court affirmed. Because the plain text of section 1306(a)(1) establishes that
proceeds of a settlement received by the debtor before the closure of his case are
property of the estate, we affirm.
As the second court of review, we examine independently the judgment of
the bankruptcy court. In re TOUSA, Inc., 680 F.3d 1298, 1310 (11th Cir. 2012).
We review de novo the legal conclusions of the bankruptcy court and examine its
factual findings for clear error. Id.
The bankruptcy court did not err by including in Crouser’s estate the
proceeds of a settlement he received from his mortgagor for violating the
automatic stay. A debtor’s estate under Chapter 13 includes “all [his] legal or
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equitable interests . . . in property as of the commencement of the case,” 11 U.S.C.
§ 541(a)(1), and “all property [in which he has a legal or equitable interest] after
the commencement of the case but before the case is closed, dismissed, or
converted,” id. § 1306(a)(1). The broad scope of “all property” under section
1306(a)(1) includes even causes of action that the debtor acquires after
commencement of the estate. See In re Waldron, 536 F.3d 1239, 1241–42 (11th
Cir. 2008) (including claims for underinsured motorist benefits that arose after
confirmation but before the completion of the debtor’s bankruptcy case as property
of the estate); see also Carver v. Carver, 954 F.2d 1573, 1577 (11th Cir. 1992)
(“[W]hen a debtor files under Chapter 13 of the Bankruptcy Code, the estate also
includes property and earnings of the debtor acquired after filing for bankruptcy
but before the disposition of the case.”). Crouser’s cause of action against his
mortgagor arose post-petition, and he settled the action before the closure of his
bankruptcy case. Under the plain language of section 1306(a)(1), his settlement
proceeds are after-acquired property that vested in Crouser’s bankruptcy estate.
Crouser argues that the bankruptcy estate is not an “individual” entitled to
recover for violations of the automatic stay, see Jove Engineering v. IRS, 92 F.3d
1539, 1552–53 (11th Cir. 1996), but Crouser, not his estate, sued and settled with
his mortgagor. When Crouser acquired the proceeds of that settlement, his
property vested in the estate, and the trustee was entitled to recover them.
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We AFFIRM the judgment in favor of the trustee.
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