Leslie S. Osborne v. Denise J. Dumoulin , 428 F. App'x 871 ( 2011 )

[DO NOT PUBLISH]
IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT
________________________ FILED
U.S. COURT OF APPEALS
No. 08-15355 ELEVENTH CIRCUIT
MAY 10, 2011
Non-Argument Calendar
JOHN LEY
________________________
CLERK
D. C. Docket No. 08-60686-CV-AJ,
BKCY No. 07-17750-BKC-JK
DENISE J. DUMOULIN,
Debtor,
__________________________________________________________________
LESLIE S. OSBORNE,
Plaintiff-Appellant,
versus
DENISE J. DUMOULIN,
Defendant-Appellee.
________________________
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Southern District of Florida
_________________________
(May 10, 2011)
Before DUBINA, Chief Judge, TJOFLAT and KRAVITCH, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:
The question presented on appeal is whether a debtor who elects not to claim
a homestead exemption and indicates an intent to surrender the property is entitled
to the additional exemptions for personal property under Fla. Stat. § 222.25(4).
Chapter 222 of the Florida Statutes addresses what real and personal
property a Florida resident may claim as exempt during certain legal proceedings
including bankruptcy. Section 222.25 exempts personal property other than a
homestead.1 In 2007, subparagraph 4 was added to permit a debtor to increase the
amount of personal exemptions “if the debtor does not claim or receive the benefits
of a homestead exemption.” Fla. Stat. § 222.25(4).
In this case, Denise Dumoulin filed a voluntary Chapter 7 bankruptcy
petition. Although she initially filed a schedule of assets claiming an exemption
for her homestead along with a notice indicating her intent to surrender the
property, she later amended the schedule of assets to remove the homestead
exemption, indicate her intent to surrender the property, and seek additional
personal property exemptions under Fla. Stat. § 222.25(4). Trustee Leslie Osborne
objected to the additional exemptions on the ground that Dumoulin was not
entitled to claim exemptions under § 222.25(4).
1
Generally, homestead exemptions arise under the Florida Constitution, Art. X, § 4.
2
The bankruptcy court overruled the objection, concluding Dumoulin had not
“received the benefit” of the homestead exemption under § 222.25(4) because she
amended the schedule of assets to remove the homestead exemption and had
indicated her intent to surrender the property, and thus she was entitled to
additional exemptions.
The trustee appealed to the district court, which affirmed the bankruptcy
court’s order overruling the objection to the claim of exemption, and the trustee
appealed.2 Because the Florida courts were split on the interpretation of
§ 222.25(4), we certified the controlling question to the Florida Supreme Court,
which rephrased the question as follows:
Whether for the purpose of the statutory personal property exemption
in section 222.25(4), a debtor in bankruptcy receives the benefits of
Florida’s article X, section 4, constitutional homestead exemption
where the debtor owns homestead property but does not claim the
homestead exemption in bankruptcy and the trustee’s administration
of the property is not otherwise impeded by the existence of the
homestead exemption.
Osborne v. Dumoulin, – So.3d –, 2011 WL 320986 (Fla. Feb. 3, 2011).
II. Standard of Review
In the bankruptcy context, we sit as a “second court of review” and thus
“examine[] independently the factual and legal determinations of the bankruptcy
2
We note that the debtor is now deceased. See Osborne, 2011 WL 320986, at *11 n.1.
Under Bankruptcy Rule 1016, the death of the debtor does not abate a Chapter 7 petition.
3
court and employ[] the same standards of review as the district court.” In re
Optical Technologies, Inc., 425 F.3d 1294, 1299-1300 (11th Cir. 2005); In re Issac
Leaseco, Inc., 389 F.3d 1205, 1209 (11th Cir. 2004) (quotation marks and citation
omitted). Generally, we review legal conclusions by either the bankruptcy court or
the district court de novo.3 In re Financial Federated Title & Trust, Inc., 309 F.3d
1325, 1328-29 (11th Cir. 2002).
III. Analysis
Section 222.25 exempts personal property other than a homestead, but
allows for an expanded personal property exemption to qualified debtors, i.e., those
who did not claim any homestead exemption. Fla. Stat. § 222.25(4). “The intent
of the statute appears to be to give a debtor who lacks homestead protections some
extra personal exemptions.” In re Rogers, 396 B.R. 100, 102 (M.D. Fla. 2008)
Under the terms of the statute, the extra personal exemptions are not
available to debtors who either (1) claim a homestead exemption under the Florida
Constitution, or (2) receive the benefits of a homestead exemption under the
Florida Constitution. Id. at 102-03. The second clause applies to debtors who do
not affirmatively claim a homestead exemption. The statute prevents such debtors
3
Although we generally review factual findings for clear error, In re Financial Federated
Title & Trust, Inc., 309 F.3d 1325, 1329 (11th Cir. 2002), in this case the parties stipulated to the
facts and the bankruptcy court made no factual findings.
4
from claiming the additional personal property exemption if they indirectly
“receive the benefits of” the homestead exemption. Id. Thus, the issue is what
constitutes “receiving the benefits” of the homestead exemption.
The trustee argues that both the terms “claim” and “receive the benefits” in
§ 222.25(4) must be given meaning. According to the trustee, every person who
owns a homestead receives the benefits of that homestead and would be precluded
from claiming the exemption. The trustee further explains that the definition of
benefit includes those interests which are never realized.4
The Florida Supreme Court has read the personal property exemption
liberally. Osborne v. Dumoulin, __ So.3d __ 2011 WL 320986, at *7 (Fla. Feb. 3,
2011). Benefits, according to the state supreme court, are the protection of the
homestead from creditors. Id. at *8. To “claim or receive” the benefits within the
meaning of the § 222.25(4) gives the debtor the option to claim the homestead
exemption. When the debtor elects not to do so, thus surrendering the home to the
4
The trustee also argues that the court ignored the bankruptcy rules limiting the time in
which a debtor can amend the schedule of assets or the statement of intention. Courts have no
“discretion to deny amendments to claims of exemption, unless a showing of bad faith by the debtor
or prejudice to a creditor is made by clear and convincing evidence.” In re Jordan, 332 B.R. 472,
475 (Bankr. M.D. Fla. 2005) (citing Doan v. Hudgins (In re Doan), 672 F.2d 831, 833 (11th Cir.
1982); In re Talmo, 185 B.R. 637, 645 (Bankr. S.D. Fla. 1995)). Here, there is no claim that the
debtor acted in bad faith in amending her schedules or that any creditor has been prejudiced. Thus,
trustee’s argument regarding the timeliness of the amended schedules is without merit.
5
bankruptcy trustee, the debtor has lost the benefits of the homestead exemption.5
Id. at *9.
In addressing our certified question, the Florida Supreme Court has held that
where a debtor in bankruptcy elects not to claim the constitutional
homestead exemption and the trustee’s administration of the
bankruptcy estate is not otherwise obstructed by the existence of the
homestead exemption, the debtor does not receive the benefits of the
homestead exemption and may claim the section 222.25(4) personal
property exemption of $4000.
Id. at *11. Accordingly, because the debtor in this case amended her election and
did not take the homestead exemption and indicated her intent to surrender the
property, she was entitled to the personal property exemption. We therefore affirm
the bankruptcy court.
AFFIRMED.
5
The debtor need not actually abandon the homestead under this analysis. Osborne, 2011
WL 320986, at *9. But the state supreme court noted that the analysis depended on the facts of the
case and conceded that there could be circumstances in which a debtor elected the personal property
exemption instead of the homestead but continued to receive the benefits of the homestead
exemption. For example, if a husband filed for bankruptcy individually while the nondebtor spouse
retained the homestead exemption. Id. at *10. That is not the factual scenario in this case.
6