Tchotcho Mensah Pinckney

1On March 6, 2008, two months after the filing of this case under Chapter 13, the Debtor filed an action
against America’s Wholesale Lender Branch, # 009185, American Dream Mortgage, L.L.C. and Founders Title
Agency of Maryland, L.L.C. in the Circuit Court of Maryland for Prince George’s County, Case No. 08-07327,
alleging misrepresentations in connection with two loan transactions occurring on March 30, 2007. The Motion to
Stay alleges that Countrywide was the lender.
Countrywide filed Proof of Claim #5 in the sum of $150,518.84 showing arrearages of $10,079.96 as of the
date of filing. An Objection to that Proof of Claim was filed at Docket #44 and set for hearing on May 6, 2008. The
Debtor also filed an Objection to Countrywide’s Proof of Claim #6 in the amount of $779,133.78.
UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF MARYLAND
at Greenbelt
IN RE: 	:
:
TCHOTCHO MENSAH PINCKNEY 	: 	Case No. 08-10247PM
: 	Chapter 13
Debtor 	:
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - :
MEMORANDUM OF DECISION
This case came before the court on May 6, 2008, for hearing on the Debtor’s Motion to
Stay Administration of this Chapter 13 case pending the resolution of two objections to claims of
Countrywide Home Loans, Inc. (“Countrywide”), and for other relief. 1 Having issued an Order
to Show Cause Why This Bankruptcy Case Should Not Be Dismissed as the Debtor’s Schedules
Date signed May 08, 2008
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2 11 U.S.C. § 109(e) provides:
Only an individual with regular income that owes, on the date of the filing of the petition,
noncontingent, liquidated, unsecured debts of less than $336,900 and noncontingent, liquidated,
secured debts of less than $1,010,650, or an individual with regular income and such individual's
spouse, except a stockbroker or a commodity broker, that owe, on the date of the filing of the
petition, noncontingent, liquidated, unsecured debts that aggregate less than $336,900 and
noncontingent, liquidated, secured debts of less than $1,010,650 may be a debtor under chapter 13
of this title.
listed more secured debt than the maximum allowed under § 109(e) of the Bankruptcy Code 2 , the
court additionally heard the Debtor’s timely Response thereto.
The Debtor’s Amended Schedule D shows a total of $1,477,529.40 in secured claims,
with the two claims of Countrywide aggregating $606,450.00 shown as contingent, unliquidated
and disputed. In his Response to the Order to Show Cause, the Debtor argues that the Objections
to Countrywide’s claims nullify the claims and, therefore, allows for the exclusion of the claims
in the calculation of total secured debt. The court finds that the vast weight of authority is to the
contrary and that the Debtor is not eligible to file a case under Chapter 13.
The principle is stated concisely in Norton Bankruptcy Law and Practice, § 17:13
(3d ed. 2008):
Code § 109(e) addresses “contingent” and “liquidated” debts, but says
nothing about “disputed” debts. Most courts have concluded from this statutory
omission that disputed debts are included in the calculation of the amount of debt
for eligibility purposes.
As explained in the case of Mazzeo v. USA (In re Mazzeo), 131 F.3d 295, 302, 304-305 (CA2
1997), the Bankruptcy Code’s definitions of “debt” and “claim” are considered coextensive, both
having the broadest possible definitions whether the obligation is liquidated or unliquidated,
fixed or contingent, disputed or undisputed, and whether or not it is embodied in an judgment.
Debtor, in arguing that the case should not be dismissed, relies upon the case of In re
Lambert, 43 B.R. 913 (BC Utah 1984), and In re King, 9 B.R. 376 (BC Ore. 1981). The Lambert
decision relies in part upon the King case for its holding, and the soundness of the King case is
questionable in view of the subsequent opinion from the Ninth Circuit of In re Slack, 187 F.3d
1070, 1074 (CA9 1999), finding that “the mere assertion by the debtor that he is not liable for the
claim will not render the debt unliquidated for the purposes of calculating eligibility under §
109(e).” The holding is the same where the debtor may have a counterclaim for more than the
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3Debtor attached a copy of the Complaint filed in the Circuit Court for Prince George’s County, Maryland,
to her objections to Countrywide’s claims. The fact that the Complaint seeks compensatory damages of
$500,000.00, punitive damages of $500,000.00 and fees is irrelevant.
amount of the creditor’s claim. Sylvester v. Dow Jones and Co., Inc. (In re Sylvester), 19 B.R.
671 (BAP 9th Cir. 1982). 3
The court will enter an order dismissing this case on the 30th day after the entry of the
Order herein in the event this case is not converted to another chapter of the Bankruptcy Code.
cc:
John D. Burns, Esq., 6303 Ivy Lane, Suite 102, Greenbelt, MD 20770
Darine K. Tabbara, Esq., 4520 East West Highway, Suite 200, Bethesda, MD 20814
Nancy S. Grigsby, Trustee, P.O. Box 958, Bowie, MD 20718
United States Trustee, 6305 Ivy Lane, #600, Greenbelt MD 20770
Alice Al Blanco, Claims Representative, Bankruptcy Dept., Countrywide Home Loans, Inc.,
7105 Corporate Drive, PTX-B-209, Plano, TX 75024
Prentice-Hall Corporation System, Resident Agent for Countrywide Home Loans, Inc.
7 Saint Paul Street, Suite 1660, Baltimore, MD
Andrew Gissinger, III, President, Countrywide Home Loans, Inc.,
3440 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90010
McCalla Raymer, LLC, National Bankruptcy Department, File No. CWF-08-19445,
1544 Old Alabama Road, Roswell, GA 30076-2102
End of Memorandum
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