ee4c3a84_United_States_Bankruptcy_Court__Summary
[Date Filed] 12/29/2014 [Case Number] 14-30785 [PDF] View [Summary] 
In re: Early Summary: The Trustee objected to confirmation of the debtor’s Chapter 13 Plan. The above-median debtor’s actual expenses exceeded her allowed deductions pursuant to 11 U.S.C. §§ 1325(b)(3) and 707(b)(2)(A) and (B), as detailed on Official Form B22C. Her Schedules I and J listed a monthly net income of $158.22; however, her monthly disposable income, as indicated on line 59 of Form B22C, was $815.53. The debtor proposed to make monthly payments of $158 to unsecured creditors during the length of her 60-month plan. The Trustee objected to the debtor’s proposed monthly payments, arguing that by proposing to pay less than her disposable income into the plan for the benefit of her unsecured creditors the debtor’s plan was in violation of § 1325(b). He contended that the debtor was required to propose monthly payments of $815.53, amounting to a total pool for unsecured creditors of $48,931.80. In response, the debtor argued that, under the United States Supreme Court’s decision in Hamilton v. Lanning, 560 U.S. 505, 130 S.Ct. 2464, 177 L.Ed.2d 23 (2010), debtors may deviate from Form B22C in calculating projected disposable income if their actual expenses are greater than their allowed deductions. The Court sustained the Trustee’s objection, holding that the Supreme Court’s opinion in Lanning requires adherence to the means test except in unusual cases when, due to significant changes in a debtor’s financial circumstances that are known or virtually certain, the means test does not represent the debtor’s post-confirmation income or expenses. A mere discrepancy between the debtor’s actual expenses and her allowed statutory deductions does not warrant deviation from the means test.
Opinions | Southern District of Illinois | United States Bankruptcy Court
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