Samson v. Western Capital Partners, LLC (In Re Blixseth)
454 B.R. 92
| 9th Cir. BAP | 2011Background
- Debtor Edra Blixseth guaranteed a $13,650,000 loan to her son from Western Capital Partners, LLC and pledged broad personal-property collateral.
- Security documents described Collateral as encompassing all personal property and interests of the Debtor in various entities, with a comprehensive UCC Financing Statement filed referencing the loan and security agreement.
- Debtor filed Chapter 11 in 2009, converted to Chapter 7, with Trustee Richard Samson appointed in May 2009.
- Debtor amended schedules in June 2009, increasing stated personal-property value, but did not alter Western Capital's secured debt or collateral description; no statement of intention was filed regarding the Collateral by the deadline.
- Western Capital filed multiple stay-relief motions; the bankruptcy court granted relief under § 362(h) on the theory that loss of the stay applied to all Collateral due to lack of a timely statement of intention.
- The Trustee did not object to the stay-relief motions and later sought to enforce the automatic stay, arguing § 362(h) did not extend to unscheduled property; the court denied enforcement and the Trustee appealed.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scope of § 362(h) Stay Termination | Trustee argues 362(h) only terminates for property identified on schedules. | Western Capital argues 362(h) terminates for all collateral securing the debt, regardless of scheduling. | § 362(h) terminates for all personal property securing a scheduled debt. |
Key Cases Cited
- Consol. Freightways Corp. of Del. v. Aetna, Inc. (In re Consol. Freightways Corp. of Del.), 564 F.3d 1161 (9th Cir. 2009) (identical language in statute implies same meaning across sections)
- Wind N' Wave, 509 F.3d 938 (9th Cir. 2007) (statutory terms interpreted consistently across provisions)
- In re Dumont, 383 B.R. 481 (9th Cir. BAP 2008) (section 362(h) applied based on statutory language)
- In re Joye, 578 F.3d 1070 (9th Cir. 2009) (plain-language approach to 362(h) and 521(a)(2))
- Ransom v. FIA Card Servs., N.A., 131 S. Ct. 716 (Supreme Court, 2011) (statutory text governs unless absurd result; textual approach)