[CLBS] Hoyle

[Jeremy Gugino]

A follow-up to a previous e-mail sent out about this decision.  There are
two distinct issues that were decided: (1) determination of property of the
estate in converted chapter 11 cases and (2) whether Idaho Code 11-207
applied.  One result was predictable (debtor lost the exemption issue for
failure to show that rental money qualified as "earnings" from "personal
services" as required under the statute).  The other issue, whether
post-chapter 11/pre-conversion "earnings" are even property of the estate,
was addressed in my presentation at the seminar on conversion issues.  At
the time, there was conflicting case law on the interplay between 11 USC 348
and 1115.  Under this decision, the post-Ch. 11 "earnings" ARE property of
the converted chapter 7 case - unlike Chapter 13 conversions where the
post-petition earnings are NOT property of the Ch. 7 case.  The court based
this on the plain language of the applicable statutes and chose not to read
into the statutes language that wasn't there (Even Collier's took a liberal
view of the applicable statutes and suggested that converted chapter 11's be
treated in a similar vein as chapter 13's).  If you do individual chapter 11
work this case, and all of the other Hoyle decisions, is a must-read (for so
many reasons).  A link to the latest Hoyle decision is below.  Enjoy.

 

http://www.id.uscourts.gov/decisions-bk/Hoyle_exemption_decision.pdf