Penny Goudelock v. Sixty-01 Ass'n of Apt. Owners , 895 F.3d 633 ( 2018 )


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  •                     FOR PUBLICATION
    UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
    FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
    PENNY D. GOUDELOCK,                              No. 16-35384
    Appellant,
    D.C. No.
    v.                          2:15-cv-01413-
    MJP
    SIXTY-01 ASSOCIATION OF
    APARTMENT OWNERS,
    Appellee.          OPINION
    Appeal from the United States District Court
    for the Western District of Washington
    Marsha J. Pechman, Senior District Judge, Presiding
    Argued and Submitted February 6, 2018
    Seattle, Washington
    Filed July 10, 2018
    Before: Milan D. Smith, Jr. and Mary H. Murguia, Circuit
    Judges, and Eduardo C. Robreno, * District Judge.
    Opinion by Judge Robreno
    *
    The Honorable Eduardo C. Robreno, United States District Judge
    for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, sitting by designation.
    2           GOUDELOCK V. SIXTY-01 ASSOCIATION
    SUMMARY **
    Bankruptcy
    The panel reversed the district court’s decision affirming
    the bankruptcy court’s summary judgment in favor of a
    condominium association, which sought in an adversary
    proceeding to determine the dischargeability of a debtor’s
    personal obligation to pay condominium association
    assessments that accrued between the date the debtor filed
    her Chapter 13 bankruptcy petition and the date the
    condominium unit was foreclosed upon.
    Agreeing with the reasoning of the Seventh Circuit in a
    Chapter 7 case, the panel held that condominium association
    assessments that become due after a debtor has filed for
    bankruptcy under Chapter 13 are dischargeable under
    11 U.S.C. § 1328(a). The panel concluded that the debt
    arose prepetition and was not among exceptions listed in
    § 1328(a). The panel held that the Takings Clause was not
    implicated because the condominium association retained its
    in rem interest. The panel also concluded that equitable
    arguments did not override the express provisions of the
    Bankruptcy Code.
    **
    This summary constitutes no part of the opinion of the court. It
    has been prepared by court staff for the convenience of the reader.
    GOUDELOCK V. SIXTY-01 ASSOCIATION               3
    COUNSEL
    Amanda K. Rice (argued), Jones Day, Detroit, Michigan;
    Nathaniel P. Garrett, Jones Day, San Francisco, California;
    Christina L. Henry, Henry DeGraaff & McCormick P.S.,
    Seattle, Washington; for Appellant.
    Stephen M. Smith (argued), Sound Legal Partners PLLC,
    Kenmore, Washington, for Appellee.
    J. Erik Heath, San Francisco, California, as and for Amicus
    Curiae National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy
    Attorneys.
    OPINION
    ROBRENO, District Judge:
    Appellant Penny Goudelock appeals the district court’s
    affirmance of the bankruptcy court’s grant of summary
    judgment in favor of appellee, Sixty-01 Association of
    Apartment Owners (“Sixty-01”). The issue is whether
    condominium association (“CA”) assessments that become
    due after a debtor has filed for bankruptcy under Chapter 13
    of the Bankruptcy Code are discharged upon confirmation of
    the plan. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C.
    § 158(d)(1). We conclude that such assessments are
    dischargeable under 11 U.S.C. § 1328(a) and, accordingly,
    reverse and remand.
    I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND
    The facts are not in dispute. Goudelock purchased a
    condominium unit in Redmond, Washington in 2001. Her
    deed was subject to a declaration of covenants and
    4           GOUDELOCK V. SIXTY-01 ASSOCIATION
    restrictions (the “Declaration”) that was recorded against the
    property in 1978. The Declaration provides that Sixty-01, a
    CA, may charge property owners assessments for monthly
    fees and for maintenance, repairs, and capital improvements.
    The Declaration grants Sixty-01 two methods for
    collecting unpaid assessments. It provides that all unpaid
    assessments: (1) constitute a lien on the condominium unit,
    enforceable through foreclosure; and (2) create a personal
    obligation through which Sixty-01 can bring suit for
    damages against the owner of the condominium unit. 1
    1
    This is consistent with the applicable Washington law. In
    Washington, condominiums formed before 1990 are subject to the
    Horizontal Property Regimes Act (“HPRA”), codified at RCW § 64.32.
    Condominiums formed after July 1, 1990, are subject to the Washington
    Condominium Act (“WCA”), codified at RCW § 64.34, which was
    modeled after the Uniform Condominium Act. However, certain
    provisions of the newer WCA apply to pre-1990 condominiums. As
    relevant here, the WCA specifies that its provision governing a lien for
    assessments, RCW § 64.34.364, applies to pre-1990 condominiums
    “with respect to events and circumstances occurring after July 1, 1990,”
    though it does not “invalidate or supersede existing, inconsistent
    provisions of the declaration.” RCW § 64.34.010. Because Goudelock
    acquired her condominium in 2001, all events relating thereto
    necessarily occurred after July 1, 1990. Thus, to the extent that it is
    consistent with the Declaration, RCW § 64.34 defines the contours of the
    lien arising from Goudelock’s unpaid assessments. Here, the Declaration
    and the WCA are consistent. Like the Declaration, the WCA establishes
    that an association “has a lien on a unit for any unpaid assessments levied
    against a unit from the time the assessment is due.” RCW § 64.34.364(1).
    The WCA also provides that “[i]n addition to constituting a lien on the
    unit, each assessment shall be the joint and several obligation of the
    owner or owners of the unit to which the same are assessed as of the time
    the assessment is due.” RCW § 64.34.364(12). An association may bring
    a “[s]uit to recover a personal judgment for any delinquent assessment
    . . . in any court of competent jurisdiction without foreclosing or waiving
    the lien securing such sums.” 
    Id. GOUDELOCK V.
    SIXTY-01 ASSOCIATION               5
    Goudelock stopped paying the CA assessments in 2009
    and Sixty-01 sought to enforce its lien by initiating
    foreclosure proceedings in state court. Goudelock moved out
    of her condominium unit and, in March of 2011, filed for
    bankruptcy under Chapter 13. As part of her Chapter 13 plan,
    Goudelock surrendered the condominium unit. Sixty-01
    filed a proof of claim attesting to $18,780.39 in unpaid CA
    assessments and noted that they continued to accrue at a
    monthly rate of $388.46. Before the plan was confirmed by
    the bankruptcy court, Sixty-01 canceled the foreclosure sale
    because the mortgage lender paid the outstanding
    assessments. The condominium unit sat unoccupied until
    February 26, 2015, when the mortgage lender foreclosed on
    it. On July 24, 2015, Goudelock completed her plan
    obligations and received a discharge pursuant to 11 U.S.C.
    § 1328(a).
    Meanwhile, in April of 2015, Sixty-01 had brought suit
    in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Western
    District of Washington to determine the dischargeability of
    Goudelock’s personal obligation to pay the post-petition CA
    assessments that had accrued between March 2011 (when
    Goudelock filed her Chapter 13 petition) and February 2015
    (when the condominium unit was foreclosed upon). The
    bankruptcy court granted summary judgment in Sixty-01’s
    favor, concluding that the post-petition CA assessments
    “were not dischargeable because they arose at the time of
    their assessment and were an incidence of legal ownership
    of the burdened property.” Goudelock v. Sixty-01 Ass’n of
    Apartment Owners, No. C15-1413-MJP, 
    2016 WL 1365942
    ,
    at *1 (W.D. Wash. Apr. 6, 2016) (summarizing the
    bankruptcy court’s holding). The court rejected Goudelock’s
    argument that the personal obligation to pay CA assessments
    was a pre-petition debt under 11 U.S.C. § 1328(a) that arose
    when she initially purchased the condominium unit. 
    Id. 6 GOUDELOCK
    V. SIXTY-01 ASSOCIATION
    Goudelock appealed, and the district court affirmed the
    bankruptcy court’s grant of summary judgment. 
    Id. at 2.
    Goudelock then filed a timely appeal in this court.
    II. STANDARD OF REVIEW
    “This court reviews de novo a district court’s decision on
    appeal from a bankruptcy court” as well as “[t]he bankruptcy
    court’s conclusions of law and interpretation of the
    Bankruptcy Code.” In re Greene, 
    583 F.3d 614
    , 618 (9th Cir.
    2009).
    III.   ANALYSIS
    No circuit court of appeals has addressed the
    dischargeability of CA assessments that have become due
    after the filing of a Chapter 13 petition. There are, however,
    two appellate decisions addressing the dischargeability of
    similar post-petition assessments under Chapter 7.
    Moreover, a number of lower courts have imported the
    teachings of these two appellate decisions under Chapter 7
    to the dischargeability of post-petition association
    assessments under Chapter 13. The two appellate decisions
    (and their progeny) represent polar opposite positions and
    their applicability to Chapter 13 cases is the starting point of
    our analysis.
    First, in Matter of Rosteck, 
    899 F.2d 694
    (7th Cir. 1990),
    the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals found that the
    obligation to pay CA assessments was an unmatured
    contingent debt under the Bankruptcy Code that arose pre-
    petition (when the debtors purchased the property) and that
    merely became mature when the assessments became due
    post-petition. 
    Id. at 696–97.
    As a result, the debt for future
    assessments was dischargeable, which the court held was
    GOUDELOCK V. SIXTY-01 ASSOCIATION                         7
    “consistent with the Bankruptcy Code’s goal of providing
    debtors a fresh start.” 
    Id. at 697.
    A contrasting view was articulated in In re Rosenfeld,
    
    23 F.3d 833
    (4th Cir. 1994), wherein the Fourth Circuit
    Court of Appeals held that the obligation to pay cooperative
    association assessments ran with the land and arose each
    month from the debtor’s continued post-petition ownership
    of the property. 
    Id. at 837.
    Thus, the court concluded that any
    assessments due and payable after the filing of the Chapter
    7 petition were not dischargeable as they were not pre-
    petition debts. 
    Id. at 838.
    2
    Both lines of reasoning have been relied upon by lower
    courts in this circuit when considering the dischargeability
    of post-petition association assessments under Chapter 13,
    ultimately reaching competing results. Compare In re
    Coonfield, 
    517 B.R. 239
    , 243 (Bankr. E.D. Wash. 2014)
    (following Rosteck’s reasoning and concluding “that the
    claim against [the debtors] for association assessments arose
    pre-petition and includes obligations for ongoing
    assessments”), with In re Foster, 
    435 B.R. 650
    , 660–61
    (B.A.P. 9th Cir. 2010) (applying Rosenfeld), and In re
    Batali, No. WW-14-1557-KiFJu, 
    2015 WL 7758330
    , at *8–
    9 (B.A.P. 9th Cir. 2015) (applying Rosenfeld and Foster).
    2
    As noted above, Rosteck and Rosenfeld were both Chapter 7 cases.
    In 1994 Congress embraced Rosenfeld and rejected Rosteck by providing
    that post-petition assessments are not dischargeable under Chapter 7 per
    11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(16). While Congress applied this exception from
    discharge to Chapter 7, 11, and 12 petitions, as well as Chapter 13
    petitions where a debtor is discharged without completing her payments
    (under 11 U.S.C. § 1328(b)), Congress notably omitted the exception for
    Chapter 13 petitions where a discharge follows full payment under the
    plan (under 11 U.S.C. § 1328(a))—which is the posture of this case.
    8         GOUDELOCK V. SIXTY-01 ASSOCIATION
    We agree with the reasoning of Rosteck and conclude
    that its teachings in the Chapter 7 context are applicable to
    Chapter 13 cases. Sixty-01 obtained two state law remedies
    under the Declaration to address the failure to pay CA
    assessments: an in rem remedy of a lien and right of
    foreclosure; and an in personam remedy allowing it to bring
    suit against the property owner. While the in rem lien is not
    dischargeable under Chapter 13, the pre-petition in
    personam obligation is. It is Goudelock’s in personam
    obligation that ultimately is at issue in this case.
    A. The Personal Obligation to Pay CA Assessments
    Is a Debt Under Section 1328(a)
    A Chapter 13 discharge is intended to be a “discharge of
    all debts,” barring a few enumerated exceptions. 11 U.S.C.
    § 1328(a). Bankruptcy proceedings are intended to grant
    debtors a “fresh start,” Grogan v. Garner, 
    498 U.S. 279
    , 286
    (1991), and, as a result, the Bankruptcy Code “is to be
    construed liberally in favor of debtors,” In re Devers,
    
    759 F.2d 751
    , 754 (9th Cir. 1985). Moreover, in that
    Chapter 13 is the preferred route for personal bankruptcy,
    “[a] discharge under Chapter 13 ‘is broader than the
    discharge received in any other chapter.’” United Student
    Aid Funds, Inc. v. Espinosa, 
    559 U.S. 260
    , 268 (2010)
    (quoting 8 Collier on Bankruptcy ¶ 1328.01, p. 1328–5 (rev.
    15th ed. 2008)).
    The Bankruptcy Code defines “debt” as a “liability on a
    claim.” 11 U.S.C § 101(12). In turn, 11 U.S.C. § 101(5)(A)
    defines a “claim,” (and thus, a debt) as a “right to payment,
    whether or not such right is reduced to judgment, liquidated,
    unliquidated, fixed, contingent, matured, unmatured,
    disputed, undisputed, legal, equitable, secured, or
    GOUDELOCK V. SIXTY-01 ASSOCIATION                      9
    unsecured.” 3 This definition of a claim is very broad,
    encompassing all of a debtor’s obligations “no matter how
    remote or contingent.” In re SNTL Corp., 
    571 F.3d 826
    , 838
    (9th Cir. 2009) (quoting In re Jensen, 
    995 F.2d 925
    , 929 (9th
    Cir. 1993)); see also, e.g., 
    Rosteck, 899 F.2d at 696
    ; In re
    Christian Life Ctr., 
    821 F.2d 1370
    , 1375 (9th Cir. 1987)
    (stating that Congress intended to provide “‘the broadest
    possible definition’ of claims so that ‘all legal obligations of
    the debtor, no matter how remote or contingent, will be able
    to be dealt with in the bankruptcy case.’” (quoting S. Rep.
    No. 95-989, at 22 (1978), as reprinted in 1978 U.S.C.C.A.N.
    5787, 5808)).
    Thus, the obligation to pay CA assessments is a debt
    since it creates a right to payment. See 11 U.S.C.
    § 101(5)(A). The fact that the future assessments may be a
    contingent and unmatured form of the debt does not alter this
    analysis. See, e.g., id.; SNTL 
    Corp., 571 F.3d at 838
    .
    B. The CA Assessment Debt Arose Pre-Petition and
    Is Dischargeable
    Neither party disputes that only debts arising pre-petition
    may be discharged. Federal law determines when a claim
    arises under the Bankruptcy Code. SNTL 
    Corp., 571 F.3d at 839
    . In the Ninth Circuit, courts use the “fair contemplation”
    test to determine when a claim arises. 
    Id. This test
    provides
    that “a claim arises when a claimant can fairly or reasonably
    contemplate the claim’s existence even if a cause of action
    has not yet accrued under nonbankruptcy law.” 
    Id. Sixty-01 does
    not contest seriously that Goudelock’s in personam
    3
    Section 101(5)(B) includes an additional definition of “claim”
    regarding the right to an equitable remedy. 11 U.S.C. §101(5)(B).
    However, that definition is not relevant here.
    10        GOUDELOCK V. SIXTY-01 ASSOCIATION
    obligation meets the fair contemplation test. Here, at the time
    of the purchase of the condominium unit, Sixty-01 fairly
    could have contemplated that the monthly CA assessments
    would continue to accrue based upon Goudelock’s continued
    ownership of the condominium unit. Thus, Goudelock’s in
    personam obligation to pay CA assessments arose pre-
    petition when she purchased the condominium unit. See
    
    Rosteck, 899 F.2d at 696
    (concluding that the debtors “had a
    debt for future condominium assessments when they filed
    their bankruptcy petition” in light of the pre-petition
    obligation in the declaration).
    Before becoming due each month, the assessments,
    which are part of the pre-petition debt, are unmatured and
    are also contingent upon continued ownership of the
    property. Unmatured contingent debts are, however,
    dischargeable under Section 1328(a). 11 U.S.C.
    § 101(5)(A); see 
    Coonfield, 517 B.R. at 242
    (providing that
    a homeowners association “possesses its claim by virtue of
    [the debtors] acquiring title to the condominium and
    subsequent assessments are a consequence of, and mature
    from, the act that gave rise to such claim. Thus, absent the
    debtors’ pre-petition act of taking title, the Homeowners
    Association would not have a claim”).
    In this case, Goudelock’s personal obligation to pay CA
    assessments was not the result of a separate, post-petition
    transaction but was created when she took title to the
    condominium unit. As a result, the debt for the assessments
    arose pre-petition and is dischargeable under Section
    1328(a), unless the Bankruptcy Code provides an exception
    to discharge.
    GOUDELOCK V. SIXTY-01 ASSOCIATION                         11
    C. The Personal Debt Arising from CA Assessments
    Is Not Excepted from Discharge under Section
    1328(a)
    Subsections 1328(a)(1)–(4) enumerate the only
    exceptions to the broad discharge of debts under Section
    1328(a). 4 In addition, under 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(16), post-
    petition association assessments are excepted from
    discharge for petitions under Sections 727 (Chapter 7), 1141
    (Chapter 11), 1228(a) and (b) (Chapter 12), and Section
    1328(b) (Chapter 13 cases where the debtor is discharged
    without completing her payments). 5 Notably absent from the
    list of discharge exceptions in Section 1328(a) is a reference
    to Section 523(a)(16), the only provision which excepts
    post-petition association assessments from discharge. See
    
    n.5 supra
    .
    Thus, it appears that Congress’ decision not to add post-
    petition association assessments to the exceptions listed in
    4
    The exceptions to Section 1328(a) discharge are debts regarding:
    (1) curing defaults on unsecured claims or secured claims which require
    payments due after the last payment under the plan is due (under
    11 U.S.C. § 1322(b)(5)); (2) required taxes for which the debtor is liable
    (under 11 U.S.C. § 507(a)(8)(C)); (3) taxes owed under unfiled or late
    tax returns (under 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(1)(B)); (4) taxes from fraudulent
    tax returns or tax evasion (under 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(1)(C)); (5) valuables
    obtained by fraud or false pretenses (under 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(2));
    (6) unscheduled debts (under 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(3)); (7) fraud or
    defalcation while acting as a fiduciary, embezzlement, or larceny (under
    11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(4)); (8) domestic support obligations (under
    11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(5)); (9) student loans (under 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(8));
    (10) obligations for personal injuries resulting from a DUI (under
    11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(9)); (11) restitution and fines arising from a criminal
    conviction; and (12) damages awarded in personal injury actions
    12          GOUDELOCK V. SIXTY-01 ASSOCIATION
    Section 1328(a) was purposeful. See Boudette v. Barnette,
    
    923 F.2d 754
    , 756–57 (9th Cir. 1991) (describing the rule of
    statutory interpretation of expressio unius est exclusio
    alterius as creating “a presumption that when a statute
    designates certain persons, things, or manners of operation,
    all omissions should be understood as exclusions”); see also
    Pa. Dep’t of Pub. Welfare v. Davenport, 
    495 U.S. 552
    , 563
    (1990) (“Congress secured a broader discharge for debtors
    under Chapter 13 than Chapter 7 by extending to Chapter 13
    proceedings some, but not all, of § 523(a)’s exceptions to
    discharge.”), superseded by statute, Criminal Victims
    Protection Act of 1990, PL 101-581, § 3, 104 Stat. 2865; In
    re Riso, 
    978 F.2d 1151
    , 1154 (9th Cir. 1992) (“In order to
    effectuate the fresh start policy [of bankruptcy], exceptions
    to discharge should be strictly construed against an objecting
    creditor and in favor of the debtor.”).
    Sixty-01 cautions against giving undue weight to
    “Congress’ silence” regarding its failure to include post-
    petition CA assessments as an exception to discharge under
    Section 1328(a), citing Foster. The court in Foster wondered
    whether the failure to include this exception was simply the
    result of a “statutory 
    misstep.” 435 B.R. at 659
    . We reject
    this conjecture. This is not a case implicating a drafting error
    resulting from willful or malicious injury. The parties agree that none of
    these exceptions are implicated here.
    5
    As stated, Congress added this exception to resolve the split
    between the Fourth and Seventh Circuits in Rosenfeld, 
    23 F.3d 833
    , and
    Rosteck, 
    899 F.2d 694
    regarding post-petition association assessments in
    Chapter 7 cases. Congress recognized in the legislative history of Section
    523(a)(16) that “[e]xcept to the extent that the debt is nondischargeable
    under [Section 523(a)], obligations to pay such fees [(post-petition
    assessments)] would be dischargeable.” 140 Cong. Rec. H10752-01,
    H10770 § 309 (citing Rosteck, 
    899 F.2d 694
    ).
    GOUDELOCK V. SIXTY-01 ASSOCIATION                 13
    or a Congressional oversight. Rather, it is an instance where
    Congress confronted an issue of policy, and spoke by
    creating explicit exceptions to discharge in Section 1328(a)
    but did not include (as it did for other chapters) post-petition
    CA assessments. See 
    Boudette, 923 F.2d at 756
    –57.
    This very dilemma (whether Congress’ exclusion of a
    discharge exception was an oversight or purposeful) was
    addressed by the Supreme Court in Davenport. In that case,
    the Court concluded that because Congress had not explicitly
    included the Chapter 7 discharge exception for fines,
    penalties and forfeitures (Section 523(a)(7)) in Chapter 13,
    and given Congress’ broad definition of the term “debt,” as
    well as the fact that Chapter 13 afforded a broader discharge
    than Chapter 7, criminal restitution orders were
    dischargeable under Chapter 13. 
    Davenport, 495 U.S. at 562
    –64. Congress disagreed with the Court’s decision and
    later overruled it by amending Section 1328(a) to
    specifically exclude criminal restitution from discharge. See
    PL 101-581, § 3, 104 Stat. 2865; 11 U.S.C. § 1328(a)(3).
    Davenport illustrates the proper interaction between
    Congress and the courts. As applied here, the Bankruptcy
    Code does not provide an exception to discharge under
    Section 1328(a) for post-petition association assessments
    (including CA assessments). If Congress concludes that such
    an exception is sound public policy, it may amend the
    Bankruptcy Code to provide for it as it did in response to
    Davenport.
    D. The Takings Clause and Notions of Equity
    The parties raise two additional arguments that warrant
    brief discussion.
    First, Sixty-01 contends that, because it asserts that the
    personal obligation to pay CA assessments is a real property
    14        GOUDELOCK V. SIXTY-01 ASSOCIATION
    interest stemming from the Declaration, the Fifth
    Amendment’s Takings Clause prohibits the government
    from discharging the obligation. The Takings Clause
    provides that “private property [shall not] be taken for public
    use, without just compensation.” U.S. Const. amend. V.
    Sixty-01 argues just that—that the discharge of the post-
    petition CA assessments would amount to a taking of a
    substantial property right without just compensation.
    This argument fails. In the bankruptcy context, the
    Supreme Court has distinguished between secured in rem
    debts and unsecured in personam debts: in personam debts
    are dischargeable while the creditor retains its in rem
    property interests. See Johnson v. Home State Bank,
    
    501 U.S. 78
    , 82–84 (1991) (concluding that the debtor’s in
    personam obligation under a mortgage, but not the in rem
    obligation, was discharged pursuant to a Chapter 7 petition
    and that, in addition, the remaining in rem property interest
    was a “claim” under the broad definition in the Bankruptcy
    Code subject to inclusion in a subsequent Chapter 13
    reorganization plan); 
    id. at 84
    n.5 (“[A] discharge under the
    Code extinguishes the debtor’s personal liability on his
    creditor’s claims.”); see also In re Anderson, 
    378 B.R. 296
    ,
    298 (Bankr. W.D. Wash. 2007) (“A bankruptcy discharge
    extinguishes only in personam claims against the debtor(s),
    but generally has no effect on an in rem claim against the
    debtor’s property.” (quoting Cen-Pen Corp. v. Hanson,
    
    58 F.3d 89
    , 92 (4th Cir. 1995))). Because Sixty-01 retains its
    in rem interest (even after the discharge of Goudelock’s in
    personam debt), the Takings Cause is not implicated.
    Second, both parties raise equitable arguments regarding
    why post-petition CA assessments should or should not be
    discharged under certain circumstances. Many of these
    arguments turn on whether the debtor relinquishes his or her
    GOUDELOCK V. SIXTY-01 ASSOCIATION                 15
    property or remains in possession of it post-petition.
    However, there is no legal basis for distinguishing between
    whether Goudelock retained possession of her condominium
    unit post-petition and, thus, continued to enjoy the benefit of
    occupancy at no cost, or, instead, surrendered it at some
    point. Sixty-01 points out that bankruptcy courts are
    “essentially courts of equity,” Granfinanciera, S.A. v.
    Nordberg, 
    492 U.S. 33
    , 57 (1989) (quoting Katchen v.
    Landy, 
    382 U.S. 323
    , 327 (1966)), and argues that affording
    Goudelock what would essentially be “free rent” for four
    years is inequitable and unjust. However, notions of equity
    and fairness do not override the express provisions of the
    Bankruptcy Code. Norwest Bank Worthington v. Ahlers,
    
    485 U.S. 197
    , 206 (1988) (“[W]hatever equitable powers
    remain in the bankruptcy courts must and can only be
    exercised within the confines of the Bankruptcy Code.”).
    The legislative branch, not the courts, is the appropriate
    place to balance conflicting policy interests and adjust the
    Bankruptcy Code accordingly if it is warranted. See
    
    Davenport, 495 U.S. at 562
    –63 (recognizing that Congress
    makes “policy choice[s] regarding the dischargeability” of
    debts).
    IV.     CONCLUSION
    For the foregoing reasons, we reverse the district court’s
    affirmance of the bankruptcy court’s grant of summary
    judgment in favor of Sixty-01 and remand for further
    proceedings consistent with this disposition.
    REVERSED AND REMANDED.
    

Document Info

Docket Number: 16-35384

Citation Numbers: 895 F.3d 633

Filed Date: 7/10/2018

Precedential Status: Precedential

Modified Date: 7/10/2018

Authorities (19)

Foster v. Double R Ranch Ass'n (In Re Foster) , 435 B.R. 650 ( 2010 )

Cen-Pen Corporation v. Walter E. Hanson Loraine P. Hanson , 58 F.3d 89 ( 1995 )

Eric David Boudette v. John Barnette, Police Officer James ... , 923 F.2d 754 ( 1991 )

In the Matter of William N. Rosteck and Joyce M. Rosteck, ... , 899 F.2d 694 ( 1990 )

SNTL Corp. v. Centre Insurance , 571 F.3d 826 ( 2009 )

In Re Jeffrey Rosenfeld, Debtor. River Place East Housing ... , 23 F.3d 833 ( 1994 )

Bankr. L. Rep. P 70,524 in Re Cloyd W. Devers and Barbara ... , 759 F.2d 751 ( 1985 )

In Re Greene , 583 F.3d 614 ( 2009 )

In Re Mark Riso Shelly Riso, Debtors. Gary L. Snoke v. Mark ... , 978 F.3d 1151 ( 1992 )

In Re Robert Burns Jensen Rosemary Tooker Jensen, Debtors. ... , 995 F.2d 925 ( 1993 )

bankr-l-rep-p-71894-in-re-christian-life-center-debtor-christian-life , 821 F.2d 1370 ( 1987 )

Katchen v. Landy , 86 S. Ct. 467 ( 1966 )

Granfinanciera, S.A. v. Nordberg , 109 S. Ct. 2782 ( 1989 )

Norwest Bank Worthington v. Ahlers , 108 S. Ct. 963 ( 1988 )

In Re Anderson , 378 B.R. 296 ( 2007 )

Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare v. Davenport , 110 S. Ct. 2126 ( 1990 )

Grogan v. Garner , 111 S. Ct. 654 ( 1991 )

Johnson v. Home State Bank , 111 S. Ct. 2150 ( 1991 )

United Student Aid Funds, Inc. v. Espinosa , 130 S. Ct. 1367 ( 2010 )

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