Pierrotti v. United States of America Internal Revenue Service (In Re Pierrotti), 645 F.3d 277

Pierrotti filed Chapter 13 to prevent foreclosure on his home; IRS asserted a secured claim for taxes with a lien on the property totaling about $18,000 secured portion and other unsecured claims.
Pierrotti proposed to pay the IRS secured claim in equal monthly installments over 15 years, exceeding the plan’s 5-year statutory term.
IRS objected to the 15-year payment period as it violates the Chapter 13 term limit, leading to a confirmation denial by the bankruptcy court.
Pierrotti argued 11 U.S.C. § 1322(b)(2) and § 1322(b)(5) allow modifying secured tax claims and curing over long terms.
Court conducted de novo review and held that § 1322(b)(5) applies only to long-term debts with post-plan final payments, and tax deficiencies here did not fit that category.
Court affirmed denial of confirmation and remanded for proceedings consistent with the opinion.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether a Chapter 13 plan may extend a secured tax claim beyond five years.	Pierrotti asserts § 1322(b)(2) and § 1322(b)(5) permit modification to a 15-year term.	IRS argues § 1322(b)(5) applies only to post-plan long-term debts and cannot extend tax claims beyond plan term.	No; plan cannot extend beyond five years for IRS secured claims.

Grubbs v. Houston First American Savings Association, 730 F.2d 236 (5th Cir. 1984) (defines § 1322(b)(5) scope for long-term debt)
Seidel v. Larson (In re Seidel), 752 F.2d 1382 (9th Cir. 1985) (cure under § 1322(b)(5) not applicable to matured debt)
Enewally v. Wash. Mut. Bank (In re Enewally), 368 F.3d 1165 (9th Cir. 2004) (cannot use modification and cure beyond plan life by dividing secured/ unsecured portions)
TRW Inc. v. Andrews, 534 U.S. 19 (2001) (statutory construction principle on avoiding superfluous language)
Morrison v. W. Builders of Amarillo, Inc. (In re Morrison), 555 F.3d 473 (5th Cir. 2009) (de novo review of statutory interpretation under 11 U.S.C. §1322)